President Obama took a stand on behalf of transgender rights this week, and Michelle Goldberg and Jessica Winter both addressed the bathroom backlash with their usual brilliance. Michelle points out that progressives have painted themselves into a corner by abandoning the language of civil liberties, and the right is now using the left’s illiberal language for its own purposes. “If claiming to feel triggered operates as a political trump card,” she points out, “conservatives are going to play it.”
Jessica connects the boom in gender-reveal festivities to the vigilantes inspecting genitals in public facilities. “It will always be time for cake in the restrooms of North Carolina” is probably my favorite sentence to appear on Slate this week.
Dan Kois’ lovely obituary for Geek Love author Katherine Dunn includes the text of an email she sent him declining an assignment to cover a boxing match for Slate. It’s the best thing I read today.
And Jamelle Bouie continues to be the single writer you most need to read to understand Trump. Why is the Donald making nice with Paul Ryan? M-O-N-E-Y.
Not from Slate
“The World’s Smallest Ukulele” by Robert Kolker, Bloomberg Businessweek
I don’t want to exaggerate, but it really is an apartheid experience.” If you had to guess, what would you say those words were about? If you said “a fight over pool chairs at a luxurious Hawaiian resort,” congrats. This story about a clash in paradise between the 1 percent and the 0.1 percent is full of such gems. —Jordan Weissmann, senior business and economics correspondent
“A Black Feminist Roundtable on Bell Hooks, Beyoncé, And ‘Moving Beyond Pain’ ” Feministing
Just as exciting as Lemonade itself has been the torrent of smart writing it provoked—on feminism, Black Lives Matter, and the power of art that engages with politics, among other topics. This week, Feministing took Bell Hooks’ harsh critique of the album as an opportunity to convene a roundtable of leading feminists of color and to push the conversation even further. —Nora Caplan-Bricker, contributing writer
“Global Warming Cited as Wildfires Increase in Fragile Boreal Forest” by Justin Gillis and Henry Fountain, New York Times
A week after the massive fire in Fort McMurray, the realization is sinking in that the devastation there is a symptom of an already-changed planet. Gillis and Fountain examined this conclusion from many angles, with a global perspective—it’s the best piece of reporting on Fort McMurray I’ve read so far. —Eric Holthaus, weather and climate writer
“The Spin Zone” by Megan Garber, the Atlantic
Garber’s ode to the transcendently goofy 1996 tornado-chasing romance Twister was one of the best things I read on the web this week. Not just because, like Garber, I’m incapable of turning off this cyclonic whirl of silliness anytime it comes on basic cable but because she offers a canny reading of director Jan de Bont’s finest achievement (sorry, Speed) as a presciently appropriate thriller for our climate-conscious age. Also, if it hadn’t been for Garber’s 20th-anniversary reminiscence, the world would never have had this fascinating multipart tweet saga from Stu Maschwitz, who recalls working on the film’s visual effects in an era when digital animation was still in its infancy. —Dana Stevens, movie critic
Also: The magnificent web site the Toast announced this week that it’ll shut down in July. Founded and edited by Nicole Cliffe and Mallory “Dear Prudence” Ortberg, the Toast was a favorite of many Slatesters, and we took the opportunity to round up some of our favorite pieces from the site.
Very Short Q-and-A
This week’s personal question is addressed to Rachel Gross, who is finishing her tenure as a Slate editorial assistant to become science editor at Smithsonian.com. Between her first Slate story, about religion and risk, and her latest, about squirrel body language, Rachel’s intelligence, curiosity, and wit have consistently enlivened the magazine.
Slate Plus: Rachel! What will you miss about Slate?
Rachel Gross: One time I walked into my living room to find my housemate, Slate writer Jacob Brogan, and his girlfriend talking about a story in the New York Times. Oberlin College students were protesting against their cafeteria’s subpar General Tso’s chicken, which they deemed to be “cultural appropriation.” “Are you kidding?” I said. “I’m Chinese, and I love Panda Express.” The half-formed thought behind that bold statement was: Chinese American food, not to be confused with actual Chinese food, can be transcendent in its own greasy, lustrous right. Moreover, since there is nothing authentic about General Tso’s chicken, there is nothing that can be appropriated.
“That’s a post,” Jacob said.
“Oh, come on,” I said.
The next day the words “I’m Chinese and I Love Panda Express” graced Slate’s home page. Because Slate is a magical place where outrageous comments that my family might disown me for reach an audience in the six figures.
Thanks, Rachel! We’ll miss you too.
And thank you for your Slate Plus membership, which makes our journalism possible. See you next week!
Gabriel Roth
Editorial director, Slate Plus
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