I wrote about memorizing poems as a kind of soul-making—an antidote for social media zombification. Link in profile.

J(enna) Wortham Love/Hate List

Xiaofeng Wang, a longtime computer science professor at Indiana University, has disappeared along with his wife, and their profiles on the school's website were wiped ahead of recent FBI raids. wired.com/story/cybersec…

Katy Perry “couldn’t recommend this experience more,” which is useful information for those deciding between space travel and booking a basic economy ticket on Spirit that doesn’t let you carry on any luggage so you have to wear 13 layers of clothing pitchfork.com/thepitch/katy-…

Latest from me. Columbia canceled my course on race, media and international affairs. I'm going to teach it anyway. We cannot wait for elite permission or institutional approval to share knowledge and create learning communities. open.substack.com/pub/karenattia…

A lot of people have chipped in to support n+1 since we learned our NEA funds were "terminated" and that funds were being "allocated in a new direction in furtherance of the Administration’s agenda." To all who have subscribed, donated, bought from our shop: Thank you!!!

The thing that frightens me about this isn't that kids aren't learning to write, per se. It's that learning how to write also teaches you how to think, and the downstream problems presented by a population who can't think are actually scary. nymag.com/intelligencer/…

I wrote an essay for Vulture about my relationship with Paul Reubens and the process of making Pee-wee as Himself. I hope this story about documentary filmmakers and the complex relationships we have with our subjects gives some interesting context. vulture.com/article/matt-w…

giving the people what they want (me, I’m people)

I’m a believer!

PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff defeats top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 to win her first French Open title.

More journalists killed in Gaza than World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam, Yugoslavia & Afghanistan combined

In 2021 the art & fashion world was rocked by the news that Virgil Abloh had died of cancer. Now, nearly five years later, a biography emerges from the legendary fashion writer Robin Givhan Article by the J(enna) Wortham ssense.com/en-us/editoria…

When we were planning the surprise of Mahmoud and Zohran at Ramy’s show, I asked Hanif Abdurraqib to come witness it. I had a feeling he might find the words I couldn’t. What he wrote is something I’ll carry with me for a long time. newyorker.com/news/essay/zoh…

#Gaza : A constructed & deliberate mass starvation. Today, more children died, their bodies emaciated by hunger. The flawed distribution system (GHF) is not designed to address the humanitarian crisis. It’s serving military & political objectives. It’s cruel as it takes more

"Once this tipping point is passed, famines tend to follow a catastrophically self-reinforcing pattern, already visible in Gaza. A slow creep of death yields to mass mortality as organs fail, immune systems collapse and victims lose the will to go on." crisisgroup.org/middle-east-no…

Israel assassinated Gaza’s best known journalist. I wrote about the strange and necessary job of war reporting, and why the powerful want to make them into partisans. nytimes.com/2025/08/21/opi…

Storytime just got legendary. Join @NYLiberty’s Jonquel Jones for books, rhymes, and crafts at Crown Heights Library this Wednesday, August 27 at 4pm. Bonus: sign up for our limited-edition New York Liberty library card! bklynlib.org/4mXEERU