New York Times, Daunting Obstacle, Painful Experiences
Links and recommendations
A video essay about luxury beliefs in the New York Times:
When Progressive Ideals Become a Luxury
New York City Event:
There’s an exciting event I’ll be part of this coming October in New York City.
It’s a weekend-long “small gathering for big ideas” that offers a chance to meet and have private, off-the-record conversations with some of your favorite independent thinkers. It’s part of The Unspeakeasy, which was founded by Unspeakable Podcast host Meghan Daum and offers “free speech vacation retreats” (sometimes known as “sanity spa retreats”) all over the country. They usually do women-only retreats, but this one’s coed and open to a larger group, with a great lineup of speakers.
Those speakers include me and also linguist and columnist John McWhorter, evolutionary biologist and author Carole Hooven, Mike Pesca of The Gist, Tablet Magazine editor Alana Newhouse, author and policing expert Peter Moskos, Open Therapy Institute founder Andrew Hartz, and writers Lisa Selin Davis and Ben Appel. And of course, Meghan Daum, who will be the ringleader of this whole circus. This is taking place October 11-12 from 9am to 5pm both days in a private location in Soho.
This is different from a typical ideas festival in that instead of regular audience Q&As where you raise your hand and wait for someone to run to you with a mic, we’ll have actual conversations with actual back and forth dialogue and, best of all, lots of downtime for mingling with other thoughtful, intellectually curious people from all over the country. Lunch (a very nice lunch, they assure me) will be served. Nothing will be recorded, no social media is allowed. This is all about in-person, real-life conversations.
Spaces are limited and tickets are selling fast, so go to theunspeakeasy.com/nyc to sign up. This is not a cheap ticket. But they’re offering my readers a special promo code ROB1800 at checkout and receive a large discount.
Again, this is happening October 11-12 in SoHo. Visit theunspeakeasy.com/nyc to learn more.
From the archives:
Downplay the Daunting Obstacle
The Only Reading App I Use:
I’ve been using Readwise since April of 2021.
If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter/X, you’ll know I regularly share screenshots like this from books or articles I’ve read:
These screenshots come from my Readwise app.
Readwise aggregates your reading highlights from various sources like Kindle, Apple Books, Substack, Twitter, and so on. It stores your highlights in one place, making it easier to stay on top of your reading.
Each morning, it emails me 8 random excerpts from different books I’ve read. Since 2021, that daily message has been a quiet ritual for me: fragments from books I half‑forgot are resurfaced, like my own past self giving me a tap on the shoulder.
Moreover, when I’m thinking about a particular topic, a quick search pulls up not just my notes but every highlighted Kindle passage I’ve ever saved on the topic.
Exclusive Offer for My Readers
Use this link → https://readwise.io/robkhenderson/ to try Readwise free for 60 days (double the length of the standard free trial).
I suspect, like me, you’ll wonder how you ever read without it.
Links and recommendations:
Racist—But Underfunded? by Heather Mac Donald
So Many Babies by Roy Baumeister
Follow me on Instagram here. The platform is less volatile and more chill than Twitter/X, so I post some spicier excerpts from my readings on my IG stories
You can follow me on TikTok here
Three interesting findings:
Narcissists are drawn to high-status, attractive partners because it boosts their own self-esteem. They’re also more likely to buy products that signal sophistication and prestige—items that convey they're part of the “in crowd.” (source).
Most of Jeffrey Epstein’s underage victims came from disadvantaged backgrounds—single-parent households, foster care, or unstable family situations. Many had experienced trauma: parents or friends who died by suicide, or in one case, a girl who witnessed her stepfather strangle her 8-year-old stepbrother. (source). Epstein deliberately targeted kids in the foster care system. The abused girls in Rotherham shared a similar profile—young, vulnerable, and from broken homes. And the proportion of children growing up in these unstable environments continues to rise. Cultural elites shake the trees, and predators collect the apples.
A very scientific poll I ran on Twitter uncovered a fascinating sex difference. 72% of women (n = 1018) would prefer to sleep with a person they find unattractive but the person finds them attractive, whereas 75% of men (n = 6576) would prefer to sleep with a person they find attractive, but the person finds them unattractive.
After looking at the prices I'm thinking the real question is, "Is the Unspeakeasy a luxury?"