I'm keeping this brief because I'm on the road this week to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday and meet my twin baby nieces for the first time. Riding the auntwave, you might say, and enjoying every minute.

Complex reactions to CODA by Deaf and CODA writers. Sara Nović: "The notion that deaf people don’t understand the concept of music ... is deeply silly." Jenna Fischtrom Beacom: "One thing that any deaf project must grapple with is that hearing people will be part of anything that is widely viewed as a success." Garrett Zuercher: "Despite what people may think, we have a very strong and distinct voice." Plus: How disability exacerbates anti-Black racism.

Darian Symoné Harvin on how, at the Academy Awards, "hair was at the center of the moments that left viewers' jaws dropped — in joy and disbelief."

Inside the plan to create a post-Roe safe haven in Illinois, a state that's "a blue boat in a red sea," by Caroline Kitchener. 

Some great writing about TV, which I appreciated despite having not watched either show: Brandon Taylor on The Gilded Age and the limits of the sentimental period drama, and Heather Hogan on whether or not Killing Eve "was Actually Gay".

What does it mean to say a house "has character"? Kelton Wright parses the phrase. Meanwhile, homes owned by Black families remain persistently undervalued, even as prices soar.

During the Trump years, I thought frequently about the huge governmental mess that would await the next presidency. Lydia DePillis has a pretty devastating feature on what it's like for one top official at the Environmental Protection Agency. And eight places on the planet that sit on the razor's edge of climate change. 

Outgoing writing fellow Nereya Otieno on learning to ski at the tender age of 29: "Panic, jealousy, fear, elation…repeat."

 

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Paying members keep this newsletter arriving reliably on Fridays. Join them for just $15/YEAR, and get the bonus warm-fuzzy feeling of supporting my writing fellowship program. Next week: I'm very excited to introduce the 2022 fellows!

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Ukrainian refugees photographed with the most important thing they brought with them. A gorgeous thought about the romance of friendship. With Florida's "don't say gay" bill, who's keeping who safe? OMG, Anaïs Nin's house.

Cute. Little. Outfits.

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Blue tea. Specifically, the viridian blend from Roof Crop tisanes, an herbal/floral loose-leaf tea that brews up blue in your mug. It was a gift from a friend (thank you, Sarah!), and I was surprised to find that sipping a blue drink feels like a treat every time, a health-nerd version of tutti-frutti ice cream or a neon Icee. Evoking the unnatural, naturally.

April 9, Los Angeles - I'm in conversation with Chloé Cooper Jones about her memoir, Easy Beauty, at Skylight Books.