Columnists
Friday, June 26, 2026 · Oakland
The Affirmation That Actually Works Starts with Saying No
Most affirmations fail because they ask you to believe something you don't. Here's the one that changes everything—and why it works backward from what you'd expect.
Why We Keep Memorizing the Wrong Poems (And How to Fix It)
Your high school English teacher made you memorize "The Road Not Taken," but Robert Frost spent the last decades of his life furious that everyone missed the joke. Here's what we've all been getting wrong.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Dangerous Comfort of the Unfinished Sentence
We've turned incompleteness into a virtue, but Kafka's most unsettling insight was about what happens when we stop questioning the gaps in our understanding.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Fed Just Bet Everything on a Soft Landing That Nobody Believes Anymore
Jerome Powell lowered rates yesterday despite inflation still running hot. The stock market loved it. The bond market didn't. Somebody's about to be very wrong.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Stop Asking Dancers to Smile and Start Asking Why We Deserve Serious Art
Contemporary dance is finally allowed to be uncomfortable, challenging, and human—but audiences keep begging it to perform happiness instead of truth.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Museum Gift Shop Is Where Culture Goes to Die (And We're All Complicit)
I bought a $34 tote bag with a Rothko painting on it last week and I'm still not over it.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Sad Girl Summer We Didn't Order—And Why It's Actually the Most Honest Trend of 2024
Everyone's pretending to have fun on vacation while secretly doom-scrolling at 2 a.m. Finally, we're admitting it. Here's why that matters.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Brutalist Is Three Hours of Watching Someone Else's Expensive Dream, and I'm Furious About How Much I Loved It
Brady Corbet's maximalist mansion opera shouldn't work. It's bloated, pretentious, and forces you to sit through an intermission like it's 1987. I'm still thinking about it three days later, which means it won.
Friday, June 26, 2026
My Partner Won't Stop Texting His Ex, and He Says I'm Controlling
He claims it's "just friendship," but she's texting him at midnight asking how he's doing. Here's what Darla thinks about that.
Friday, June 26, 2026
I Quit My Job for a "Passion Project" and Now I'm Terrified (And Broke)
Three months into going solo, a reader is facing the hard truth: inspiration doesn't pay rent, and nobody told them about taxes.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Gym Selfie Problem: When Showing Progress Becomes Hiding Pain
A reader is posting workout photos to stay motivated—but his wife thinks he's seeking validation from strangers. He might be doing both, and that's worth examining.
Friday, June 26, 2026
My Kid Chose Community College Over a "Real" University. Why Do I Feel Like She Failed?
A parent wrestles with shame over their daughter's sensible choice—and learns that prestige anxiety says more about them than about her future.
Friday, June 26, 2026
I Bought Real Estate to "Build Wealth" but I'm Actually Just Broke With a Mortgage
A reader admits she overstretched on a rental property to seem smart, and now she's eating ramen while waiting for appreciation. Here's what she should do instead.
Friday, June 26, 2026
I'm 34 and My Mom Still Pays My Phone Bill—When Do I Grow Up?
A reader confesses to a dependency that's costing him thousands and his self-respect. We talk about why shame is keeping him broke, and what actually needs to change.
Friday, June 26, 2026
My Kid's Teacher Says He's "Spirited." I Think She Means He's a Monster.
When your eight-year-old gets sent home for the third time this month, it's time to stop blaming the school and start looking in the mirror.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Dangerous Beauty of Quitting at the Right Moment
We're obsessed with persistence, but history's most interesting people knew something we've forgotten: sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Silent Treatment Backfired—Now I Don't Know How to Stop
She gave him the cold shoulder to punish him. It worked. Too well. Now three weeks in, she can't figure out how to talk to him again without looking like the bad guy.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Fed Just Admitted It Screwed Up the Math, and Nobody Noticed
Inflation data revisions reveal the central bank has been fighting a phantom — one that never existed at the scale they claimed. Here's why that matters for your wallet.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Why the Volta Is the Most Underrated Weapon in Poetry
Every great poem has a secret hinge—a moment where everything pivots. Learn to spot it, and you'll understand why some poems haunt you for years.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Breath Pause: Why Three Seconds Changes Everything
You already know to breathe deeply. Here's what actually happens when you do it right—and why most people are doing it wrong.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Mercury's Retrograde Neighbor Problem: This Week's Cosmic Shuffle Gets Awkward
The planets are rearranging furniture in the cosmic living room, and someone's going to stub their toe. Here's who needs to watch their step—and who's about to get a lucky break.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Art of Showing Up When You'd Rather Not
A hospice volunteer spent six years visiting a man with no family. Last week, she inherited his house. Here's why that's not the point of the story.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Indian River Lagoon's Secret Clarity Window—and Why Most Paddlers Miss It
Three days after a cold front, the lagoon goes from murky soup to gin-clear, and nobody talks about it. Here's when to paddle and what you're actually looking at down there.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Skip the State Capital—Your Next Weekend is in the County Seat Nobody's Heard Of
Small-town courthouse squares are having a moment, and I'm telling you exactly which Tuesday to show up and what to order at the diner that's been there since 1987.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The One Exercise That Actually Fixes Your Posture (It's Not What You Think)
Most people try to fix their slouch by doing more back exercises. That's backward. Here's what actually works.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Cast Iron Is Not Your Enemy—It's Your Best Investment
Everyone's afraid of their cast iron pan. Stop. Here's what actually works, what's pure mythology, and why this one piece of equipment will outlive your marriage.
Friday, June 26, 2026
How to Hand-Plane a Board Flat Without Losing Your Mind (Or Your Fingers)
Hand planing looks like dark magic until you understand grain direction. Master this one skill and you'll stop fighting your wood—and start making furniture that actually sits flat.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Fall Stripers Are Gorging and Stupid—Here's How to Catch Them Before the Cold Snap Hits
September through November is when striped bass lose their minds. They're fattening up for winter, the baitfish are bunched tight, and you don't need to be fancy to fill a cooler.
Friday, June 26, 2026
The Concert Venue Bathroom Situation Is Officially Out of Control and Nobody's Talking About It
I've waited 45 minutes to pee at three different venues this month, and I'm convinced we're living in a concert infrastructure crisis that's worse than anyone admits.
Friday, June 26, 2026
McAfee Knob at Sunrise: Why You Should Get There Before the Instagram People
McAfee Knob in Virginia is the most photographed hiking spot east of the Mississippi, which is exactly why you need to hike it at 5 a.m. when it's actually yours.
Friday, June 26, 2026