Nov 20, 2020We Cling To AnxietyA sudden loss of tension in our lives would be like a loss of gravity: disorienting, frightening, and cause for panic. Why do we so often want to want? You know, like what you see some delicious food and think ‘if only I was hungry, I’d enjoy eating that’. Why…Self3 min read
Nov 7, 2020The Big Little Joys of Being TransIt’s the small things in life that often bring the most happiness moment-to-moment. In some ways I feel like one of those research monkeys that spent a lifetime in a sterile cage doing nothing but whatever experiment was demanded of me. My life pretending to be a man was sparse…Transgender3 min read
Nov 7, 2020No Brunch.There is work to be done for a better future. We can all take a moment to feel relief at the end of the most wretched presidency in modern history. Just a moment, though, since nothing is over and all the work remains to be done. For the left and…Election 20202 min read
Nov 1, 2020The Cost of ResistanceWe can either benefit from the system or attack it, but not both. If we speak against power — or worse, act against power — we will be punished according to the caprice of the powerful. In our time this can mean loss of job, homelessness, social isolation, hunger, violence…Philosophy4 min read
Oct 30, 2020Saving Humanity Will Be Bad For The EconomyTo keep living we’ll need to change this thing we’ve been taught to serve called ‘the economy’. The economy is destroying the planet and threatening all of humanity. That is a matter of fact. The ecological and human disasters of the economy are too many to list in full but…Economics5 min read
Oct 15, 2020I Wasn’t Born This WayOr maybe I was. Or maybe I changed along the way, or maybe I decided to live like this. It doesn’t actually matter, though. I know I’m supposed to say I was born this way. That is the party line for LGBTQ people, and I understand why, but I can’t…LGBTQ6 min read
Oct 12, 2020How I Knew I Was TransAnswering a question I’ve received from a surprising number of people. Since coming out a lot of people I know have asked how I knew I was trans, so it must be a common curiosity. The complete answer is, of course, both beyond my own understanding and also kinda messy…Transgender2 min read
Oct 11, 2020Agency and BlameThe ability to help ourselves doesn’t mean we’re to blame if we try and fail to do so. There’s a common sentiment — usually uttered with good intent — that goes something like this: it isn’t their fault because they couldn’t help it. That by itself is true enough;. …Philosophy3 min read
Oct 8, 2020How Not To Lose at LEGOsWe’re killing ourselves trying to win at games that aren’t real and have no stakes. My five-year-old nephew, Connor, once fled in tiny adorable anger from our little pile of LEGOs into his room and slammed the door. His mom went to check on him. Why was he angry? He…Philosophy4 min read
Oct 5, 2020When You Just Can’t Fix a ‘Fixer’We can’t stop them from giving advice, but we can be a bit less annoyed by it — science shows us how. I don’t think anyone enjoys hearing sentences that start with ‘you should’; no one wants to be told how to live their life — especially if their life…Relationships3 min read