i’m starting a weekly reading syllabus for the month — a series where i’ll share a curated list of the best pieces of writing i’ve read that week — alongside brief reflections on the spine of each argument so you can decide what to read and how to think with it.
it can be overwhelming to know where to start, and i understand the urge to read everything, and the paralysis that comes with it, especially given the the sheer abundance of good and semi-good writing out there.
each issue will arrive every week throughout november. if all goes well, we’ll continue through december and beyond.
[November 3 - 9]
The Best Essays of the Week
Note: the pieces below span every corner of thought — newspapers, a catholic magazine, a left-wing journal, faith, politics, pop culture, literature, arts — ideas from home and abroad. each brings its own light. the aim is to think well, notice where ideas meet and where they part.
“why even basic ai use is so bad for students” (the new york times)
a thoughtful op-ed from a concerned philosophy professor reflecting on ai use in her classroom. she describes watching students become what she calls “subcognitive” — outsourcing basic mental work of outlining and summarizing, which she argues is actually the most pernicious part. thinking happens through language, and if students aren’t practicing shaping their own sentences and ideas, they slowly lose the ability to understand, reason, or form judgment at all.
“why do we allow child marriage in america” (the new york times)
this piece breaks down how child marriage is still legal in 34 states. personal stories illustrate how minors in these marriages often can’t access shelters, lawyers, or basic protections because of their age. and how even groups like planned parenthood and the aclu in states like california won’t fight to ban it — citing various bizarre reasons. it’s shocking, paralyzing, and heartbreaking. written with real heart.
“james watson exemplified the best and worst of science – from monumental discoveries to sexism and cutthroat competition” (the conversation)
a balanced portrait of james watson, co-discoverer of dna. the article revisits his achievements alongside his prejudice and arrogance. what is even science without morality? idk. shout out to rosalind franklin, who should have been awarded a posthumous nobel for the discovery of dna’s molecular structure.
“put the mona lisa in its own building — for its sake and the visitors” (washington post)
argues that the mona lisa’s massive popularity has ended up working against it. the louvre forces visitors through crowded hallways only to encounter a tiny painting behind glass, with barely any time to actually look at it. after a recent jewel theft at the museum raised security concerns, the author suggests placing the mona lisa in its own transparent, climate-controlled building in the tuileries garden, making it both easier to see and harder to harm, while also relieving the louvre from its constant bottleneck of selfie-seekers.
“why doesn’t anyone trust the media?” (harper’s magazine)
four sharp media thinkers pick apart the collapse of trust in the press — the speakers point to the decline of local news, the rise of partisan silos, corporate cowardice, covid-era mistakes, and the growing pressure to please audiences rather than challenge them. they also note how lawsuits and political intimidation have made newsrooms more cautious and less confident. if traditional media continues to weaken, what essential public role disappears with it?
“two ways of disliking poetry” (public books)
looks at why poetry can feel both irresistible and irritating at the same time. it begins with marianne moore’s famous line, “i, too, dislike it,” and traces how poems invite us in but also pushing us away. the writer then turns to diane seuss, whose poems rough up traditional forms but still cling to poetry as something necessary. the piece suggests that disliking poetry is part of loving it.
“we used to read things in this country” (the baffler)
part lament, part satire, this essay mourns the shrinking attention span of the american public and the corporatization of reading culture. it rails against the algorithmic flattening of intellect, reminding readers that reading was once an act of resistance, not recreation. Its title feels like both an elegy and an accusation.
“the uggo police” (the lamp)
a cultural critique on the online obsession with sydney sweeney. the politicization of beauty standards and how public figures can become screens onto which people project broader cultural tensions. a great piece to reflect using the prompts below.
“the lost ending of gaslight that you didn’t know you needed” (public books)
a fascinating essay on the origins of the term “gaslighting.” the author traces the many stage and film versions of it, uncovering a lost version — one where the wife reclaims her perception and narrative, exposing the truth herself. reframes gaslighting as psychological abuse, and empowers the possibility of resistance and trusting what you see.
guided reflection prompts
questions to help you read this week’s pieces slowly and critically.
what argument lies beneath the facts?
is the writer persuading, warning, mourning, or reminding?how does power show up?
— in law (revenge prosecutions), technology (ai in classrooms), gender (child marriage), politics (the center), knowledge (watson), or culture (art and reading).where does history echo today?
connect the “world war” framing of the revolution to current global entanglements, or the baffler essay’s nostalgia to your own reading habits.
Read slow. I've eschewed the Goodreads headspace of previous years, where the quantification of "things not yet read" tends toward anxiety, when it should really entail excitement, ambition, cultivation. It's good to see pushback on the shortcomings of "X books a year", especially when accompanied by directly personal prompts towards finding a deeper resonance.
I have two little kids, and I hope and pray that by the time they start school, OpenAI will be highly regulated and prohibited in schools. I want them to find pleasure in using their brains, reading, writing, exercising critical thinking, etc.
Speaking of slow reading, I found so many benefits of it for myself. I used to rush through books, considering it was almost mandatory to read at least twenty books a month, until I realized I couldn't remember most of them.
Instead, I started treating reading as conversations with the author, and that is so much more educational and thought-provoking than reading has ever been to me.