Columnists

09/30/2026 · Grayling

The Three-Second Pause That Protects Your Day

Before you answer that text, accept that favor, or volunteer for one more thing, try a tiny pause. It can keep an automatic “sure” from becoming an afternoon of resentment.

09/28/2026

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Column

The Trick That Makes Shakespeare’s Summer Last Forever

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” begins as a compliment and ends as a dare to time itself. Its secret is not that summer is beautiful—it’s that summer is unreliable.

09/28/2026

Column

The Most Radical Kind of Help Is Paying Attention

Simone Weil’s famous line about attention is often served as a gentler synonym for focus. It is stranger—and more useful—than that: she believed attention was a form of moral generosity.

09/28/2026

Column

Washington’s Loudest Week Has a Quiet Bill

The White House keeps selling speed, Congress keeps selling certainty, and households keep paying for the gap between them. The week’s biggest story sits where tariffs, budget cuts, and shaky consumer confidence meet.

09/28/2026

Column

The Giant Van Gogh Screensaver Has Gone Too Far

I have nothing against Van Gogh. I have something against being trapped inside a screensaver while a DJ whispers about “healing.” The immersive art craze deserves a little less reverence and a lot more fluorescent lighting.

09/28/2026