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The Present Age Weekly Recap: February 11, 2022
www.readtpa.com
TPA Weekly Recap

The Present Age Weekly Recap: February 11, 2022

Spotify, Rogan, toilets, and a whole lot more.

Parker Molloy
Feb 11, 2022
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The Present Age Weekly Recap: February 11, 2022
www.readtpa.com

Welcome to the weekly recap. In this post, I’ll be linking to my work from the week, sharing some stories from others I thought were interesting, and providing a few casual thoughts on [gestures at everything]. If you’d like to receive this weekly email ONLY, please go to your account page and under “Email notifications” uncheck every box except “TPA Weekly Recap.” If you don’t want to receive the weekly recap, leave all boxes except “TPA Weekly Recap” checked.

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Spotify, clogged toilets, and more!

On Tuesday, I wrote about the type of predictable conundrum a company might find itself in after shelling out a reported $100 million for the exclusive licensing rights to The Joe Rogan Experience. I’m pretty happy with how this piece turned out, and I hope you enjoy it, as well:

The Present Age
Spotify got exactly what it paid for in Joe Rogan. Now what?
Hello, dear readers, I know that I’m several days late to the Joe Rogan/Spotify discourse, but it’s mostly because while it’s a topic definitely within my own intellectual wheelhouse (it’s a media/tech/communication/music story!), I think it’s more nuanced than how a lot of people have been approaching it. Let me explain…
Read more
a year ago · 24 likes · 2 comments · Parker Molloy

Then, on Thursday, I woke up irritated by yet another example of a U.S. political journalist saving juicy scoops for future books rather than reporting them out whenever they first learned the info. In this case, it was New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and a story about Trump flushing pieces of printed paper down the White House toilet.

The Present Age
It's hard to trust the press when journalists keep saving scoops for future books
Hello, dear readers, This morning, I woke up to news that New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s long-awaited Trump book has a name and a cover. Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, is out October 4 from Penguin Press…
Read more
a year ago · 16 likes · Parker Molloy

I’ve got some pieces in progress for next week (I’m hoping to send out 4 newsletters with at least a couple of them being for paid subscribers). Stay tuned for that!


The Present Age is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a subscriber.


Posts from others that I want to draw attention to:

Over at Lucid, Ruth Ben-Ghiat has an interview with Badiucao, the Chinese political artist whose reimagined Olympic posters have been making the rounds on social media over the past couple of weeks. Definitely worth a read!

Lucid
Badiucao: Speaking Out Through Art Against Censorship and Oppression
Welcome back to Lucid. Mark your calendars for our next live Q&A, Friday, February 11, 1-2pmET. Registration information for the Zoom call will be sent on Friday morning. Registration is free and your information will not be used for any other purpose. I look forward to seeing you there…
Read more
a year ago · 22 likes · 7 comments · Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Over at Adam Johnson’s The Column, he’s got a piece breaking down the racist “crack pipe” attack on Health & Human Services’ harm-reduction program. As Johnson writes, “This is how humane policy dies.”

The Column
GOP’s New Fake Racist Meme for the Midterms—“Biden is Handing Out Crack Pipes”—Is Upon Us. The Consequences Could be Deadly.
The business of politics is often messy, confused, and ethically uncertain. It’s rare that issues are moral chip shots, no-doubters, an unqualified good. But such is the case with safe injection sites and drug tool kits, and their increased usage in the United States. Already…
Read more
a year ago · 26 likes · 6 comments · Adam Johnson

The always wonderful Michael Hobbes has a post (and video!) about cancel culture. Absolutely be sure to subscribe. He doesn’t post super often, but when he does, it’s a must-read.

Confirm My Choices
Is "Cancel Culture" Really A Threat to America?
Video essays have become one of my favorite genres of analysis on the internet so I thought I’d try making one. My first attempt is about the “cancel culture” panic…
Read more
a year ago · Michael Hobbes

Good dude and fellow Cubs fan Nick Offerman started a newsletter this week called Donkey Thoughts. His recent book, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play, is a great read, as well!

Donkey Thoughts with Nick Offerman
Welcome to Donkey Thoughts
Hello there. Pull up a bucket. Don’t fret, that bucket’s for sitting on—I’m not going to put you to work just yet. I’d love to offer you one of those cushioned bucket seat/lids, but I’m afraid those are considered rather gauche in my circle. My name is Nick Offerman, and you have arrived at my figurative barnyard, where I stubbornly labor, donkey-like, a…
Read more
a year ago · 95 likes · 31 comments · Nick Offerman

And finally, Washington Post opinions writer Rana Ayyub has a piece discussing her experience being targeted in an online pile-on and how journalism schools need to do more to prepare aspiring writers for the intensity of such an experience.

Rana Ayyub's Newsletter
As I was saying
Journalism schools should introduce a module in their courses for fledgling reporters and commentators, preparing them for the consequences of journalism. They need to be taught coping mechanisms—how to deal with court cases, to deal with humiliating, day-long inte…
Read more
a year ago · 96 likes · 45 comments · Rana Ayyub

That’s it for this week! Please leave any questions, comments, feedback, or recommendations (definitely recommendations) in the comments below. Have a good weekend, everyone!

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This disclaimer was inspired by Ty Burr’s Watch List.

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The Present Age Weekly Recap: February 11, 2022
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