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Jennifer Szalai

@jenszalai.bsky.social
2.8K followers 146 following 165 posts

www.nytimes.com/by/jennifer-szalai

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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It was a short call, Carlberg said: All the poet would say was she
was "in Iceland," where she was
"listening to the wind."
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Memorable anecdote in this story about Brazil’s online gambling—> crushing personal debt crisis. Lula is trying to ban the unregulated online gambling industry, which he inherited from Bolsonaro.
Last few grafs of the print edition, about a treasurer for Bolsonaro’s party who got into massive debt and is now an anti-gambling activist.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“You walk down the street, and you assume you’re generally safe because of the law,” he said. “It’s the rule of law. If you don’t have it, you have either anarchy or you have authoritarianism.“ Rare interview with Minnesota federal court chief judge by @schwartzesque.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Trump’s Minnesota Surge Threatened Democracy, Judge Warns (Gift Article)
In a rare interview, Patrick Schiltz, who served as the federal court’s chief judge last winter, called the administration’s actions “a grave threat to the rule of law.”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
🇨🇦
nytimes.com
Book Review: ‘True North,’ by Paul Theroux (Gift Article)
In “True North,” the veteran travel writer Paul Theroux crisscrosses the country of his forebears for insights about how it differs from his own.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Joe O’Neill in critical fine form, reviewing “Profiles In Cowardice.” Added bonus: the perfect use of “poltroon,” a word for our times.
nytimes.com
Book Review: ‘Profiles in Cowardice,’ by Jacob Weisberg (Gift Article)
In “Profiles in Cowardice,” Jacob Weisberg offers a grim twist on John F. Kennedy’s collection of heroic biographies.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Yet another reminder that the fetishization of “authenticity” in political candidates often favors those very candidates who turn out to be full of surprises.
nytimes.com
Fetterman Has a Surprise Cameo at Trump’s Convention
Senator John Fetterman, who has become alienated from his own party, appeared in a short video filmed in front of a steel mill, saying he is “always going to reject the extremes in socialism.”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
In her new book, the moral philosopher Susan Neiman says “evil” is the apt word for “a country where masked men deport people to wastelands they’ve never seen” and “a military that blows fishermen to bits with the meagerest of justifications.”
nytimes.com
Book Review: ‘Call It Evil,’ by Susan Neiman (Gift Article)
In a new book, Susan Neiman argues that by defining evil in terms of individual monstrousness we fail to perceive its widespread hold on our culture.
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Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Colin Burrow, defining literary criticism, brilliantly, in the LRB: @lrb.co.uk
In the LRB, Colin Burrow writes: 

But to return to the point of it all. Literary criticism is primarily about learning to read very complex creations and situations carefully. That requires a willingness to think and rethink, to take a thought and run with it until it either ceases to be viable or (ideally) generates its own internal impetus. It requires accepting that sometimes you get it wrong and that sometimes other people get it wrong. It makes you pull together a whole range of messy human bits and pieces, from autobiography to philology to counting lines and underlining letters and seeing almost invisible patterns, through histories of individuals and of peoples. All of this can go towards understanding the way a poem might cohere or interestingly not cohere. You’ve got to be bold sometimes in pushing a point and sometimes you’ve got to be humble about things you can’t see or haven’t seen. There’s a dash of politics, or more than a dash if you want that, and there could be a dash of religion too, if that’s your thing. But there has to be a great measure of self-awareness, about where you stand or sit or the corners into which you have been pushed by where you come from. Literary criticism is a supremely occasional skill, where you have to be bold enough to operate where there aren’t any clear rules and make up your own, and decide for yourself what you think, and maybe set that beside what other cleverer people have thought. Someone else might come along and see it differently, but if you’ve made them argue with you then you’ve done something worthwhile. If that doesn’t have a point to it, just in itself, then probably living doesn’t have a point to it either, because making ad hoc judgments on the basis of a mosaic of information and misinformation about people and about what you should say on a particular occasion, even a difficult one, is what we all need to do every day. Literary criticism is like the mess of life, an exercise in tact and understanding.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Kai Bird’s new bio has a lot about Roy Cohn parasitical relationship with the American establishment. Cohn would rail against it, positioning himself as its ultimate antagonist, while nevertheless feasting on its bounty and blind spots.
nytimes.com
America’s Most Notorious Fixer Gets a New Biography (Gift Article)
“American Scoundrel” traces the career of Roy Cohn, whose smash-mouth politics continue to shape our own.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/b...
nytimes.com
He Warned That the End of History Could Be Rough. Maybe Now People Will Listen. (Gift Article)
Francis Fukuyama’s famous take on the post-Cold War world was widely misunderstood. In a new memoir, he tries to set the record straight.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
You don’t have to be particularly interested in ancient literature to enjoy Emily Wilson's new book of essays, though by the time you finish it you probably will be. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/b...
nytimes.com
Book Review: ‘Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea,’ by Emily Wilson (Gift Article)
A new book of essays by the celebrated classicist captures her excitement for her subject matter and the surprising range of her references.
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whet moser @whetmoser.com · 16/08/2026
“many deaths linked to the funding cuts will remain invisible, in part because the cuts themselves left scores of mortality data collectors jobless. In some places, there is simply no one left to count those who died”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Really smart piece that captures how groupthink and perceived popularity can have enormous political implications.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
To really see someone’s face is to recognize them as fully human. This man talks about himself and his wife as humans who deserve security, respect and dignity, and he talks about those who “jump a wall” or “swim a river” as if they’re part of some faceless horde.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
“Mr. Jindra considered himself a MAGA patriot until his wife’s detention. ‘She did not jump a wall, she did not swim a river,’ he said. ‘She came in Trump’s beautiful, big front door.’” A revealing quote.
nytimes.com
Years of Trump Support Came Undone in 15 Minutes in an Airport.
The case represents a new front in President Trump’s mass deportation drive: arrests at airports of people who have active immigration cases and no criminal history.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/b...
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Heartbreaking story detailing how troops who dedicated their lives to serving the country are now being treated with utter disrespect and cruelty. The lawyer representing them is also a profile in courage. “We were right. And it didn’t matter.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
nytimes.com
Inside the Secretive Boards Deciding Trans Troops’ Fate (Gift Article)
The Pentagon is relying on closed-door hearings to kick out transgender service members. An Army Reserve lawyer is one of the few who have seen how they really work.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
100 percent agree. I also think that what a lot of people appreciated about her honest opinion was that in a criticism-starved culture, someone in her position will too often hold her tongue. There‘s something thrilling about seeing someone exercise such critical freedom.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
“Interviews with more than a dozen immigration attorneys, advocacy organizations and an airline employee reveal a broad cross-section of targets: an engineer awaiting a work-visa extension, several newlyweds married to U.S. citizens, and a former au pair.”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Yes. I've seen complaints that Wilson is too mean, given that Nolan plugged her translation and clearly cares about the arts. But there's lots to be said for her critical ruthlessness. Let people enjoy things. Also let people critique things. There's room for both.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"I was humbled to learn that Nolan has read at least the first line of my translation of The Odyssey into iambic pentameter.... But I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script."
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I support Somali-Americans @adamrothman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
On the "shadow tradition" of anti-egalitarian thought in American history - gift link to @jenszalai.bsky.social review of Kim Phillips-Fein's new book. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/b...
nytimes.com
The Men Who Believed Some Men Are More Equal Than Others
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Reading about Platner and the connection between (perceived) "masculinity" and (perceived) "authenticity," and realizing that exactly 10 years ago today I published an essay on why the obsession with choosing the "authentic" politician often leads us astray.
nytimes.com
What Makes a Politician ‘Authentic’? (Published 2016)
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Dreher manifesting the Upton Sinclair quote about how difficult it is to get someone to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
I'm really glad you brought this up, because the fact that Americans pay into Social Security is part of
what makes it an "entitlement.
What's striking is how the word "entitlement" — which is defined as the legal right to a particular claim or benefit — has taken on a pejorative connotation. Now we often emphasize that someone "feels" entitled to something, or "acts" entitled, instead of stating plainly that
the person "is," by law, entitled to it. (Why this has happened could the
subject for an entire essay!)
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
If the comments are any indication, the campaign to turn the word “entitlement” — a factual assertion of a legal claim — into a pejorative has been remarkably successful. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/b...
nytimes.com
Are Old People Ruining American Democracy?
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I really believe James Talarico and some other Dems, like Jon Ossoff, are developing a new kind of moral language and politics for the era of Late Stage Trumpism. Case made below. (discussing work by @jenszalai.bsky.social) newrepublic.com/article/2125...
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
On the long history of liberal debates over virtue and morality, and how mainstream liberals are reclaiming the language of values in the Trump era: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/b...
nytimes.com
Liberals Are Preaching Moral Values. What Took Them So Long?
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Smart and scathing review of a book that’s supposed to be about the author’s humble faith journey but is inadvertently revealing of his worldly ambition and self-regard.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Remembering the Liz Truss Lettuce — the Brits are v good at this
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
New folktale for our time: “The President’s New Pool”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Immigrant who criticized a Trump-endorsed presidential candidate in his home country of Colombia was detained after returning to his home in the U.S.: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/u...
nytimes.com
Memo by Rubio Approved Detention of Immigrant Who Criticized Trump Ally
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Observer beaten by ICE, shackled to a hospital bed for days, said he wanted to call his lawyer and his wife, was refused, so he used his foot to knock the landline handset out of the cradle:
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Dictatorships don't need to be staffed by ideological zealots; they just need to incentivize "frustrated and mediocre" opportunists who will follow orders to get ahead. New piece by Amanda Taub on important research by Adam Scharpf and Christian Glassel. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...
nytimes.com
Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/b...
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Congrats to Brian Goldstone, who won the Pulitzer in Nonfiction for his profoundly moving and important book, "There Is No Place for Us."
nytimes.com
Working While Homeless: In America, It’s All Too Common (Published 2025)
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
There's so much written about A.I. that it's hard to imagine a new way of approaching the subject. But the philosopher Carissa Véliz has done it with "Prophecy," a book so idiosyncratic (and funny!) that it could only have been written by a human. 🎁
nytimes.com
Your Chatbot Is a Fortune Teller, Not a Truth Teller
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
How did Elon Musk go from Silicon Valley nerd worried about climate change to chainsaw-wielding billionaire eviscerating government agencies? On Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff's incisive new book, "Muskism: A Guide For the Perplexed."
nytimes.com
How ‘Muskism’ Is Changing the Way America Works
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 12/04/2026
important news:
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
This thread is great, and I will only add that those of us who have been lucky enough to work with John know that he is the menschiest of mensches (in addition to being a wonderful editor and a terrific writer).
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The publication of two new books on "mattering" — one by a philosopher, the other geared toward self-help — is arguably a reaction to the nihilism that threatens to engulf us all.
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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Wonderful to see @historianheather.bsky.social's book about the Bernie Goetz shootings (along with one by Eliot Williams) reviewed by @jenszalai.bsky.social in @nytimes.com. Can't wait to read Heather's study of the "rebirth of white rage" in the 1980s. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...
nytimes.com
How a 1984 Subway Shooting Foretold the Rise of Vigilante Violence
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
When the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the pulpit of the Riverside Church in Manhattan and condemned the war in Vietnam, some of his closest allies decried it as a terrible betrayal.

It was April 4, 1967. The Voting Rights Act was not yet two years old; the civil rights movement was unfinished. The war was still overwhelmingly popular among Americans, and President Lyndon B. Johnson was determined to maintain that support. The N.A.A.C.P. called King’s attempt to draw a link between civil rights at home and peace abroad a “serious tactical mistake.” A Black columnist took to the pages of Reader’s Digest to disparage the speech as “utterly irresponsible.”Liberal critics accused King of jeopardizing the fight for racial equality. King allowed that his antiwar position was “probably politically unwise.” But he added that it was morally necessary, and that anyone who truly comprehended what the civil rights movement was ultimately about should have recognized that in the face of “hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence” he could not be silent. “Though I often understand the source of their concern,” King said of his skittish colleagues, “I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling.”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I spent some time with C. Thi Nguyen, a philosopher of games, whose brilliant new book offers some insights into how to live in our gamified world. 🎁
nytimes.com
Why Keeping Score Isn’t Fun Anymore
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
And Renee Good’s last words appear to be “We’re not mad at you.”
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
RIP. Tarr adapted a couple of Laszlo Krasznahorkai’s novels into films, including the 7-hour long Satantango.
nytimes.com
Bela Tarr, Titan of Slow-Moving Cinema, Dies at 70
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The admin’s reflexive assertions of domination as the rationale for everything suggest that Jamelle‘s suspicions — that they’re doing it for gender — is right on the money.
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Jennifer Szalai @jenszalai.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Reminded of Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes's "Unmaking the Presidency," which was published 100 years ago (i.e. in January 2020) www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/b...
"The president’s ire is often triggered by something exceedingly petty — like photographs disproving his fantasies about the crowd size at his inauguration. 'The traditional presidency — indeed, the structure of the Constitution,' Hennessey and Wittes observe, 'does not account for the president’s caring about something profoundly dumb.'"
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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
Field “also reminds the intellectuals of the New Right of something they all too easily forget: They can indulge in fantasies of an authoritarian regime because of the freedom and security afforded by the liberal democracy they loathe.” A terrific review of @lkatfield.bsky.social ’s “Furious Minds.”
nytimes.com
The Intellectuals Fueling the MAGA Movement
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