Reposted by Andrew Barker
oh brother, another bad post from political influencer beltway brian. i am furious at beltway brian all of the time. i share screencaps of beltway brian's posts with people who have no idea who he is. i hate all of beltway brian's posts and i read all of them every single day, including weekends
December 27, 2025 at 5:47 PM
oh brother, another bad post from political influencer beltway brian. i am furious at beltway brian all of the time. i share screencaps of beltway brian's posts with people who have no idea who he is. i hate all of beltway brian's posts and i read all of them every single day, including weekends
Reposted by Andrew Barker
for Christmas I got my wife a button where you can record sounds and I used it to record the Angel of Death scream
December 26, 2025 at 12:10 AM
for Christmas I got my wife a button where you can record sounds and I used it to record the Angel of Death scream
Reposted by Andrew Barker
it's crazy that 500 years ago, you would see the ruler of your country maybe once in your life and hear whispers that they're the Sun God, but now with social media, you get to see on a daily basis that they're the most unhinged, idiotic, and unhappy person you know
December 25, 2025 at 7:31 AM
it's crazy that 500 years ago, you would see the ruler of your country maybe once in your life and hear whispers that they're the Sun God, but now with social media, you get to see on a daily basis that they're the most unhinged, idiotic, and unhappy person you know
I love punching my brain in the crotch with terrible thinkpieces as much as the next man, but I can’t stress enough that this guy would barely be a blip on my radar if not for all the hate-shares on Bluesky.
What if three ghosts visited you in the night and taught you to stop compulsively sharing Thomas Chatterton Williams pieces that aren't even interestingly bad
December 24, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I love punching my brain in the crotch with terrible thinkpieces as much as the next man, but I can’t stress enough that this guy would barely be a blip on my radar if not for all the hate-shares on Bluesky.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
It is a serious problem that there is no political benefit to ever acknowledging this.
I count 10 cities in 2025 that are on track to have the fewest murders since at least 1970. Newark is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1956 (though only have data through Oct this year) and San Francisco is on pace to have the fewest murders since 1942.
December 24, 2025 at 4:01 AM
It is a serious problem that there is no political benefit to ever acknowledging this.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
I know she's just kind of saying whatever, but it's on-brand for Bari Weiss to review a damning story about the US sending people to a concentration camp and respond "we can't air this, have you even asked Tom Homan if he feels bad about any of it yet?" Perfect readout of who she sees, and doesn't.
December 23, 2025 at 2:47 AM
I know she's just kind of saying whatever, but it's on-brand for Bari Weiss to review a damning story about the US sending people to a concentration camp and respond "we can't air this, have you even asked Tom Homan if he feels bad about any of it yet?" Perfect readout of who she sees, and doesn't.
Yes! Over the past decades, “journalist” went from being just A Job Normal People Could Do to an aspirational (if often very poorly-paid) status-conferring position available mostly to people with advanced degrees living in major cities. This was not a good shift.
i say this with nothing but love for all of you to whom this applies, but the moral rot in elite journalism is because journalism is a trade and it should be done by tradespeople and instead it's been professionalized in a way that makes it cozy to capital instead
December 22, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Yes! Over the past decades, “journalist” went from being just A Job Normal People Could Do to an aspirational (if often very poorly-paid) status-conferring position available mostly to people with advanced degrees living in major cities. This was not a good shift.
Okay but for real, I just recently found myself in the position of having to explain to someone who Bari Weiss is, and ended up going on a lot of confusing tangents. Saving this for next time.
For this week's That's Marvelous newsletter I regrettably wrote a little bit about Bari Weiss (but also I happily wrote a little bit about dogs)! Read it here: www.thatsmarvelousnewsletter.com/163-60-minut...
December 22, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Okay but for real, I just recently found myself in the position of having to explain to someone who Bari Weiss is, and ended up going on a lot of confusing tangents. Saving this for next time.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
With Epstein, as with Trump, it’s comforting to believe that the conspiracy is deeper and more clever than it is. The alternative explanation is just that we have a moribund class of political and financial elites who can be endlessly manipulated, scammed and bullied by anyone brazen enough to try.
I've kept a pretty open mind to basically anything that explains how Epstein got away with what he got away with for so long, but I don't have a hard time believing it's ultimately some combination of "rich people are stupid and lazy" and "the law isn't actually real for sufficiently rich people."
December 19, 2025 at 5:55 AM
With Epstein, as with Trump, it’s comforting to believe that the conspiracy is deeper and more clever than it is. The alternative explanation is just that we have a moribund class of political and financial elites who can be endlessly manipulated, scammed and bullied by anyone brazen enough to try.
“This man seems happy with his humble, private life and has no interest in listening to my moneymaking ideas…the only thing to do now is tell everyone where he lives and maybe stalk him.”
this is the most "Get a Job, Stay Away From Her" I've ever felt
December 18, 2025 at 11:03 PM
“This man seems happy with his humble, private life and has no interest in listening to my moneymaking ideas…the only thing to do now is tell everyone where he lives and maybe stalk him.”
Reposted by Andrew Barker
Teens mad at them for having one too few ventures, little kids mad at them for having one too many ventures
December 18, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Teens mad at them for having one too few ventures, little kids mad at them for having one too many ventures
Of a piece with the pushes for more liberals to move to red-state areas so we can slowly begin shifting voting patterns.
Like, look man, I want to do my part, but I do have some other shit going on in my life here…
Like, look man, I want to do my part, but I do have some other shit going on in my life here…
i think something missing in all the "liberals need to come back to twitter. actually everyone needs to transition to video content" discourse is that some people aren't logging on to social media to change hearts and minds. some of us are just talking shit
December 17, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Of a piece with the pushes for more liberals to move to red-state areas so we can slowly begin shifting voting patterns.
Like, look man, I want to do my part, but I do have some other shit going on in my life here…
Like, look man, I want to do my part, but I do have some other shit going on in my life here…
I’m at least a little sympathetic to boomer-aged Dems who experienced the Reagan revolution as a formative political trauma and still can’t fully accept how much the world has since changed. But Gavin was a teenager then — what’s his excuse?
The presidency once served as a reminder of our common humanity. Ronald Reagan described its purpose as building "a nation composed of good and decent people."
December 17, 2025 at 2:22 AM
I’m at least a little sympathetic to boomer-aged Dems who experienced the Reagan revolution as a formative political trauma and still can’t fully accept how much the world has since changed. But Gavin was a teenager then — what’s his excuse?
It’s remarkable how thoroughly leaders in so many sectors of American life have become completely disconnected from — if not openly hostile to — what their customers/viewers/readers/constituents actually want.
December 16, 2025 at 9:51 PM
It’s remarkable how thoroughly leaders in so many sectors of American life have become completely disconnected from — if not openly hostile to — what their customers/viewers/readers/constituents actually want.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
I think it's important not to misunderstand what these social media platforms are. They are not public arenas where we bravely take on reactionary forces in honorable combat. They are apps that expose you to stress and thereby simulate the feeling of having done something useful
December 15, 2025 at 9:41 PM
I think it's important not to misunderstand what these social media platforms are. They are not public arenas where we bravely take on reactionary forces in honorable combat. They are apps that expose you to stress and thereby simulate the feeling of having done something useful
Reposted by Andrew Barker
One of the great failures of contemporary political news coverage in a lot of media is the unspoken principle that no violation of norms or decency by Trump is really news, worthy of sustained attention, unless it also upsets people who love him. It isn't "not taking the bait"; it's sleepwalking.
December 15, 2025 at 4:14 PM
One of the great failures of contemporary political news coverage in a lot of media is the unspoken principle that no violation of norms or decency by Trump is really news, worthy of sustained attention, unless it also upsets people who love him. It isn't "not taking the bait"; it's sleepwalking.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
When I interviewed Spinal Tap and Marty DiBergi this summer, none of them broke character, for the whole hour. Except Rob Reiner, once, losing it when Michael McKean's David St Hubbins talked about minimalism. I didn't use this in the feature and hadn't published any audio, but this is joyful.
December 15, 2025 at 10:24 AM
When I interviewed Spinal Tap and Marty DiBergi this summer, none of them broke character, for the whole hour. Except Rob Reiner, once, losing it when Michael McKean's David St Hubbins talked about minimalism. I didn't use this in the feature and hadn't published any audio, but this is joyful.
He’s just one of the worst human beings the United States of American has ever produced. What else is there to say?
December 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
He’s just one of the worst human beings the United States of American has ever produced. What else is there to say?
Reposted by Andrew Barker
The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.
All from his movies.
All from his movies.
December 15, 2025 at 3:51 AM
The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated. Legend isn't big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can't handle the truth. As you wish. I'll have what she's having. I'm your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing.
All from his movies.
All from his movies.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
The run that Rob Reiner went on between 1984 and 1992 is one of the most amazing hot streaks any director has ever had. Legendary stuff
December 15, 2025 at 3:31 AM
The run that Rob Reiner went on between 1984 and 1992 is one of the most amazing hot streaks any director has ever had. Legendary stuff
Reposted by Andrew Barker
“I miss blockbuster video” the library has every dvd totally untouched and I never see you there
December 12, 2025 at 8:42 PM
“I miss blockbuster video” the library has every dvd totally untouched and I never see you there
In honor of Labcabin’s 30th, shamelessly sharing this excerpt from my book, despite the fact that I somehow misspelled the Manson family’s misspelling of “Helter Skelter” and it made it all the way into print.
December 12, 2025 at 8:23 PM
In honor of Labcabin’s 30th, shamelessly sharing this excerpt from my book, despite the fact that I somehow misspelled the Manson family’s misspelling of “Helter Skelter” and it made it all the way into print.
Reposted by Andrew Barker
Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza are both such awful writers that I cannot even enjoy this modern literary scandal, a fucking shame! Halfwits throwing shots at each other across the Algonquin kids table, I’m sick of it!
December 11, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza are both such awful writers that I cannot even enjoy this modern literary scandal, a fucking shame! Halfwits throwing shots at each other across the Algonquin kids table, I’m sick of it!
Reposted by Andrew Barker
I read a book on making money in ancient Athens recently (by Michael Leese, it's great), and the Greeks absolutely believed that the endless pursuit of wealth was a serious moral defect and personality issue no different than being a drunk or sexual deviant.
If you make a billion dollars — or $500 million or even $100 million dollars — and you keep trying to make more, then there is something seriously wrong with you. It's a mental illness akin to hoarding or drug addiction.
December 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
I read a book on making money in ancient Athens recently (by Michael Leese, it's great), and the Greeks absolutely believed that the endless pursuit of wealth was a serious moral defect and personality issue no different than being a drunk or sexual deviant.