Wilmington Is Becoming the It City Next Door, Philadelphia Magazine, Sarah Maiellano, May 7, 2022

I’ve been a food writer in Philly for the better part of a decade. I get to go to dinners like this often. And here I am, enjoying my lightly cured Wagyu beef cheek carpaccio and surf clam with sustainable caviar — but I don’t know anybody in the room.

That’s because I’m not in Philly. I’m in Wilmington, Delaware.

That isn’t, well, what you’re likely to think of when you think of Wilmington, Delaware. Truth be told, I’ve been to probably every notable city in the Mid-Atlantic except Wilmington. You see it off I-95, and it looks cool and classically urban, at least in its relatively small downtown, but what’s really there? It’s also long been plagued by high crime, but that’s not why I’ve never visited. This article is very interesting, and my impression of the city, maybe accurate at one time, increasingly isn’t.

“We’re becoming Philly’s hip little cousin,”  says Tim Furlong, NBC 10’s Delaware bureau reporter and a native of the area. “Wilmington is on the cusp of something enormous.”

Yes, that’s salesmanship, but maybe it’s also true. It makes me want to plan a day trip. Read the whole thing; it’s a long, great piece.

What is Fast Food, Serious Eats, Adam Chandler, February 20, 2020

Unlike the highbrow grain-bowl dispensaries, fast-food restaurants (bluntly) deliver the all-important sense that you’re not that important. Or special. Or noble. In this way, fast food provides a safe haven free from judgment or pretension. Literally everyone is welcome and everyone goes. There’s no hierarchy.

This reminds me a lot of what I like about all-you-can-eat buffets. There’s a certain kind of freedom in eating what you want and mostly being left alone. But there’s much more here. It’s a short but fun piece, and lots of food for thought.

How America Sold Out Little League Baseball, America Magazine, John W. Miller, May 19, 2022

The privatization of American youth sports over the past 40 years is one of those revolutions of late-stage capitalism that should shock us more than it does. We have commodified the play of millions of children into a $19.2 billion business, weakening volunteer-based programs that promise affordable sports for all children. It is a trend mirrored by our schools, hospitals and military. Once-proud public institutions are being privatized, with many unintended consequences.

This is one of those things that might sound “liberal,” but really isn’t. It has a wider appeal. I remember a lot of conservative ears perking up when Bernie Sanders talked about Minor League Baseball consolidation. I also remember arguments over travel sports from when I was a kid, and how that stuff can consume your life. This is a really great piece, and it strikes me as something very important that a lot of people sense, but which often sits just below the level of conscious thought.

A Problem From Hell, Gideon’s Substack, Noah Millman, May 25, 2022

The day before my wife and I got back to the United States from our vacation in Croatia, the Uvalde shooting happened. Not exactly an occasion for a proud return, following a trip that had me thinking a lot about the pros and cons of American comforts and amenities.

This is a depressing, though probably realistic piece, worth your time. This is the bit that stood out to me:

I believe in the idea of self-mastery, and that gun ownership pursued in that spirit can be not only fine but actively virtuous. I’m just not convinced that American culture as it exists is capable of inculcating that spirit in all the people here who want to own guns.

Related Reading:

New and Old #40

New and Old #41

Thanks for reading! Please consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support this newsletter. You’ll get a weekend subscribers-only post, plus full access to the archive of over 300 posts and growing—more than one full year! And you’ll help ensure more material like this!

Share