Hey Plus, what’s new? Feels like we haven’t talked in about six years.
From Slate
- Some Republicans are starting to hope Mike Pence can save the party. Jamelle Bouie thinks that’s unlikely.
- On Roger Ailes, who died Thursday, here’s Isaac Chotiner: “Ailes was not some phony elitist playing a con on the rubes. No, he really loved degrading people, and he held the same resentments as the pathetic viewers whose worlds he manipulated.”
- And here’s Justin Peters: “He spent most of his 77 years feeding America bullshit and calling it red meat. His legacy is a diminished network, a paralyzed polity, and a country that is worse off than he found it.”
- Joe Lieberman would be a terrible choice for FBI director, and yet picking him would be kind of a smart move for Trump, argues Jim Newell.
- The Slate Plus Digest is not too proud to include this vicious takedown of a rival in the newsletter game.
- There is also culture, though! Like Carl Wilson’s joyful and meticulous review of the wonderful new Mountain Goats album! And Laura Miller’s expert dissection of onetime voice-of-a-generation Douglas Coupland! Don’t forget the arts! They’re what it’s all for!
Not From Slate
- You’ve probably read “My Family’s Slave” already, or at least read about it. It’s worth reading the thing itself, even if you end up condemning it. I find Jesse Singal’s defense about 60 percent convincing.
- Malcolm Harris’ “Why It Makes Sense for Cis People to State Their Pronouns” is self-deprecating and helpful.
- Two more Roger Ailes remembrances you should read: the one by Ailes biographer Gabriel Sherman and the one by ClickHole.
Twitter Thread of the Week
We did this last time and it went OK. So here’s Samuel Sinyangwe on mass incarceration and the political culture of Louisiana.
From the Archive
Wow, news blogging was very different in 2014.
I hope you found the goods as advertised. Thank you for your Slate Plus membership, which makes our journalism possible. See you next week!
Gabriel Roth
Editorial director, Slate Plus
