In early 1986, the British TV series Yes, Prime Minister aired a scene that remains stunningly relevant with its lessons about political manipulation, polling, media literacy and public policy. The series was a sequel to… Read More
“Saying that men talk about baseball in order to avoid talking about their feelings is the same as saying that women talk about their feelings in order to avoid talking about baseball.”— Deborah Tannen I’m… Read More
Oh, the poor em dash. Often overused by writers like me, it’s now become a symbol of cheating, a giveaway that someone had an AI like ChatGPT whip up an essay for them. Pity, because… Read More
I have written plenty of obituaries over my time, and by that I mean news stories about public figures whose lives were remarkable. I also wrote or edited many articles involving death. There’s a language… Read More
“Adjective salad is delicious, with each element contributing its individual and unique flavor; but a puree of adjective soup tastes yecchy.”— William Safire The American pundit William Safire was born in the same year as… Read More
“The guilty think all talk is of themselves.”— “Geoffrey Chaucer” The quote of the day is a well-known proverb from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, although of course that’s not how he wrote it … modern… Read More