Ready for a legal breakdown of the literary agent model? Along the way, I’ll offer a personal publishing horror story and advice to writers considering traditional publishing. (Warning: I think the rebel in me is coming out.)  Primordial Times I’ll start with 1982—the ancient days of landlines, manuscript boxes, and postage stamps. 1982 was also

The Power of Lies: Are we Creating our own Noise? On Saturday, June 20, 2026, I gave two talks in Madison, Wisconsin. Because audience questions took me in different directions, each covered slightly different ground. Also, I prepared more material than I had time to present. But it’s all here, including a few questions from

We are seeing a nationwide surge in attempts to censor books in schools, libraries, and universities. I plan to talk about how librarians might deal with these challenges, but first, I think we should step back to look at the big picture to better understand this moment and the challengers themselves. I’ll begin by stating

Let My People In: The Story of Immigration in the U.S. My sixteen-year-old Chilean nephew was curious about what’s going on with ICE. In Chile, the word “conservative” is associated with capitalism, and the word “liberal” is associated with communism. He observed that Donald Trump says he’s a capitalist but doesn’t act like one. I told

All About Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 into a Quaker family. She always embraced Quakerism and its ideals. Quakers held the belief (considered radical at the time) that all people are equal. One scholar, Kathleen Berry, describes Susan B. Anthony as a “radical egalitarian,” which explains her life choices, even

It’s All About the Tenth Amendment (No, really, it is) The history of the Tenth Amendment explains [almost] everything happening in politics and government today. The Tenth Amendment consists of a single sentence: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the

When the Guardian, the Telegraph, and Jennifer Mercieca recommended The Ideological Brain: The Radical Science of Flexible Thinking by Leor Zmigrod, I figured I should get a copy and read it. So I did. Leor Zmigrod is a political neuroscientist with an impressive resume. Her book is about how our brains function and why so

To gain perspective on today’s politics, I have set out on a journey. I haven’t settled on a title yet, but I’m thinking something like “Make Political Philosophy Cool Again.” Here’s where we’ve been so far: Introduction. (Given the nature of our current information disruption and what I was seeing in both left-leaning and right-leaning

I started out writing about the trial and execution of Socrates. This brought me to the nature of subversiveness and the role of subversive elements in a democracy.  *  *  * To gain perspective on today’s politics, I have set out on a journey. Here’s where we’ve been so far: Introduction. (Given the nature of

As coincidence would have it, as I was reading Book VIII of The Republic and considering a blog post about the interplay of democracy and oligarchy when Biden gave a speech warning Americans of a rising oligarchy. I did not intend my blog post about The Republic to be so timely.

Welcome to the second stop of the journey I announced in November as a way to gain perspective on the state of western democracy in general and American politics in particular. If you are just joining me, here is what came before: Why I am Setting out on a Journey and Inviting You Along (November

Last month, I talked about a philosophical journey for perspective on today’s politics. Plato is always a good place to start. If you’ve never delved into Plato, you’re in for a treat. I’ll try to be a helpful tour guide. I’ll also talk about TV lawyers and the spirit of liberty because . . .

In September, I visited Chile for the Chilean Independence festivities and a reunion for my husband and his siblings. I learned, among other things, that an 84-year-old in-law, who is one of the sweetest people I know, admired Augusto Pinochet. She is also a fan of Donald Trump. She worked all of her life as a

Why does the U.S. Supreme Court have so much power? This question came from a reader in Europe: I don’t understand how a Supreme Court can be as influential as it is in the U.S. Especially in these years, it seems very dangerous to put so much faith in 9 lifetime and politically appointed judges.