#475: Radicalized
Articles on health care, life and death, transformative bike rides, and (not) sharing
Dear Loyal Readers and New Subscribers,
Happy New Year! Hope yours was a good one.
Did you make any resolutions? Honestly, they scare me, so I try to avoid them. Many of you will cheer me on when I tell you that I spent the last two weeks focusing on rest and generally not thinking too hard about this newsletter. But be assured: There are new ideas afoot here at Article Club. I’ll keep you posted.
As far as today’s issue, you get a classic one: Four great articles on a variety of topics from a variety of publications. If more (or more focused) reading is a goal of yours this year, why not start today with these selections?
Today’s lead article is “Radicalized,” a short story (yes, fiction again!) by Cory Doctorow. Originally published in 2019, the piece follows a man who becomes radicalized on the Internet after his wife falls ill and is denied treatment by her insurance provider. To say that the story is prescient would be an understatement.
If anything Luigi Mangione-related is not your cup of tea, here are three other articles that you may find intriguing. The first two in particular are very “new-yeary” in that they explore the big things in life. (The third one is a bit ridiculous.)
Hope you appreciate this week’s articles. As always, if you appreciate an article, I’d love to hear from you (by email or in the comments below). Or if you prefer, show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (like Diana) or buying me a coffee (like Carina). I would be very grateful.
✚ If you’re wondering what this month’s article of the month is going to be, I’ll announce that next week. We’ll meet on Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2 - 3:30 pm PT.
1️⃣ Radicalized
Don’t worry, Article Club is not going to rebrand as a Luigi Mangione fan newsletter. However, I do need to share two quick facts: (1) “Mangione” means “Big Eater,” (2) Luigi’s nose looks like my brother’s (haven’t told my brother yet).
Why am I talking about this? It’s because this short story by Cory Doctorow is eerie. The main character, Joe Gorman, is a regular guy with a wonderful wife. One day she calls him at work with horrific news: Stage 4 breast cancer. They find a treatment that offers hope, but their insurer denies their request.
Reeling, Joe goes online for comfort. He discovers a discussion forum of men facing similar challenges. He feels safe online; he feels a sense of community. Over time, Joe finds himself on his computer in the middle of the night, as men on the forum writhe in pain and discuss ways to achieve vengeance and justice. What will it take, they ask, in order for things to change?
By Cory Doctorow • The American Prospect • 65 min • Gift Link
➕ This piece is part of Mr. Doctorow’s 2019 book and was also recommended by The Lazy Reader, a weekly newsletter featuring the best longform journalism.
2️⃣ Confluences
Around the same time that Jennifer Sinor is bringing a new life into the world, her father and uncle are taking their last journey together. They’re up in Alaska, traveling once more down the Alatna River (wow, it’s beautiful), just like they did when they were younger. This time, however, Ms. Sinor’s uncle, who has prostate cancer and Parkinson’s, is struggling.
One night around the fire, as they discuss their children and hopes for the future, Ms. Sinor’s uncle wonders where Cynde is. Her father replies, “Cynde did not come on this trip.” Her uncle tries to save himself: “I know, I just forgot.” Over the next few days, things get worse.
Even though I’m not sure that Ms. Sinor needed to insert her own story into this braided essay, I was touched by the beauty of her writing, as well as the love that she has for her family.
By Jennifer Sinor • the American Scholar • 23 min • Gift Link
3️⃣ Into The Wind
In her early-20s, Laura Killingbeck lived in Oakland, studied philosophy in college, danced for money to make ends meet, felt disgust at the men who groped her, started drinking and taking painkillers, worked as a mascot at an aquarium, and lived on a sailboat with a man she met at a bar. At some point, she lost herself.
“There was only one solution,” she writes, “and that was to leave everything behind: to undo myself completely, to free myself from my own motivations.” She said goodbye to everyone and everything and bought a one-way ticket to Alaska.
There, Ms. Killingbeck began a bike ride from Anchorage south through Canada. It is healing and transformative. She writes:
Every pedal stroke became part of the rhythm of breath and motion. Every thought and feeling became transient, like the sky. I cried a lot as I rode, often from gratitude, and these tears seemed to cleanse me from the inside out. It didn’t matter what I looked like out here or what anyone thought of me. I was free to fall apart, and inside that dissolution, for fleeting moments, I felt whole.
By Laura Killingbeck • Bicycling • 13 min • Gift Link
4️⃣ The Parents Who Don’t Teach Sharing
Critics of this article say it’s clickbait, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. (Maybe that’s the goal of clickbait?) Apparently, some people who believe in gentle parenting teach their children not to share. Doing so, they argue, is developmentally inappropriate, especially for young children who may not understand the concept. Forcing a child to share therefore causes harm, mental health problems, and future people-pleasing. One psychologist says, “Not sharing in childhood sets kids up to be able to prioritize their own needs and to have things in life that they want for themselves.”
Sounds pretty white middle class capitalist to me — and to Lucía Alcalá, professor of psychology at California State University. In Indigenous Mayan families, she says, children are expected to share from an early age. “We don’t see the terrible 2s in these communities. There’s no such thing.”
By Emi Nietfeld • The Cut • 7 min • Gift Link
Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀
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