Archive - The usual palm tree

April 2025

On making children feel bad

Although Harry Potter is ostensibly a story about a boy wizard and magical boarding-school hijinks, it is also — no, wait, hear me out — a cautionary…

Apr 26 •

February 2025

On bad things happening in foreign countries

To start by reiterating a point from elsewhere, two things are true: the first is that Trump's new policy on passports, which requires listing the…

Feb 23 •

January 2025

On what women want

Neil Gaiman appears to be a pretty bad guy. That's not actually what this essay is about, but I know people are going to ask — what about the man, are…

Jan 16 •

May 2024

Gentlewomen prefer bears

It's all fandom and it's all ridiculous

May 16, 2024 •

Harper's, bizarre

A blog post about a letter about free speech and open debate

May 9, 2024 •

April 2024

No, the other one

Apr 10, 2024 •

March 2024

On selectively enforced taboos

Fine, I will write about the chicken shaming

Mar 1, 2024 •

February 2024

On kids these days

We are all products of our time

Feb 22, 2024 •

On careless whispers

You versus the guy everyone told you to worry about

Feb 15, 2024 •

January 2024

An Ideal Harvard

I was going crazy trying to remember what the whole Claudine Gay imbroglio reminded me of; imagine my excitement, and chagrin, when I realized it was…

Jan 3, 2024 •

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