Stuntocracy: Donald Trump’s supposed victory in retaining a batch of jobs at a Carrier plant in Indiana is a portent of the way he’ll govern, Julia Turner writes. A series of gimmicky spectacles will take the place of the difficult work of compromise and long-term thinking. (Read alongside Katy Waldman’s piece from Friday: “The President-Elect Is a Roman Emperor.”)
Cautious celebration: Was the Army Corps of Engineers’ Sunday decision to deny an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline a victory for the activists protesting the project? Daniel Gross looks at the sanguine reactions of the companies constructing the pipeline and isn’t so sure.
Down the middle: Donald Trump is a “slow-vaxxer,” a position that he, and many anti-vaxxers, represent as conservative and judicious. Poppycock, writes Brian Palmer; a stance poised between fact and fiction is still fiction.
A few last twists: Westworld had its season finale Sunday night, and for a while we’ll be spared the many thinkpieces. Willa Paskin thought the HBO drama’s 10th episode showed just how tiresome a show’s addiction to mysteries and surprises can become.
To read: Laura Miller’s 10 favorite books of 2016. (Coming up this week: Two more favorite-books lists from Katy Waldman and Mark O’Connell, as well as best comics, best audiobooks, and best book jackets lists. I’m taking notes.)
For fun: Studio Ghibli’s characters, set free in the real world.
A joy to see,
Rebecca
