Peter Richardson
@peterrichardson.bsky.social
Books about Hunter Thompson, the Grateful Dead, Ramparts magazine, and Carey McWilliams. Next: Rolling Stone magazine (April 2026)
Olive harvest. Not the biggest one on record, but we had fun. Took our fruit to Figone's Olive Oil Mill and got a tour of the facilities. Will pick up the olive oil this weekend.
November 25, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Olive harvest. Not the biggest one on record, but we had fun. Took our fruit to Figone's Olive Oil Mill and got a tour of the facilities. Will pick up the olive oil this weekend.
Interesting to watch the other team's bench when Jokic does something amazing. They're demoralized, but they can't disguise their awe. Lots of head shaking.
November 25, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Interesting to watch the other team's bench when Jokic does something amazing. They're demoralized, but they can't disguise their awe. Lots of head shaking.
Just did the math on the 2.8% cost-of-living increase for my Social Security next year. Once the Medicare deductions are included, I will lose almost $90 per month. And that's in nominal terms. I also lost the 2.8% in purchasing power. No, I am not happy.
November 23, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Just did the math on the 2.8% cost-of-living increase for my Social Security next year. Once the Medicare deductions are included, I will lose almost $90 per month. And that's in nominal terms. I also lost the 2.8% in purchasing power. No, I am not happy.
I searched for one of my book reviews to make sure it posted. Weirdly, the AI overview included language that had nothing to do with my review. Turns out the robot snatched language from the NEXT review on that website. Anyone relying on that AI overview was stupider after consulting it. Be careful.
November 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I searched for one of my book reviews to make sure it posted. Weirdly, the AI overview included language that had nothing to do with my review. Turns out the robot snatched language from the NEXT review on that website. Anyone relying on that AI overview was stupider after consulting it. Be careful.
Delighted to speak on behalf of this project last night in San Francisco. We need this film, just as we need the kind of journalism Warren Hinckle created and sponsored. zalafilms.com/hinckle/
PAPER TRAIL: Deciphering Warren Hinckle | A Film by George Csicsery
zalafilms.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Delighted to speak on behalf of this project last night in San Francisco. We need this film, just as we need the kind of journalism Warren Hinckle created and sponsored. zalafilms.com/hinckle/
Texas A&M regents: “Curriculum is created and approved based on the accepted body of knowledge needed for our students to be successful in their chosen profession. It is unacceptable for other material to be taught instead.” So many bad ideas, or idea-killing devices, stuffed into two sentences.
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Texas A&M regents: “Curriculum is created and approved based on the accepted body of knowledge needed for our students to be successful in their chosen profession. It is unacceptable for other material to be taught instead.” So many bad ideas, or idea-killing devices, stuffed into two sentences.
I reviewed this forthcoming book about Tucker Carlson. In addition to tracking his career, it offers a disturbing portrait of what now passes for political commentary.
HATED BY ALL THE RIGHT PEOPLE | Kirkus Reviews
A straightforward account of a crooked path to prominence.
www.kirkusreviews.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:27 PM
I reviewed this forthcoming book about Tucker Carlson. In addition to tracking his career, it offers a disturbing portrait of what now passes for political commentary.
I taught a lot of courses in my day, but I don't think I ever offered a Feckless Workshop for Leftist Political Orthodoxy. h/t New York Times.
October 29, 2025 at 1:54 PM
I taught a lot of courses in my day, but I don't think I ever offered a Feckless Workshop for Leftist Political Orthodoxy. h/t New York Times.
Draymond Green: It's ridiculous to think that the NBA isn't concerned about gambling. Yes, the league has official partnerships with FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, ESPN Bet, and Caesars Sportsbook. But it also makes the players watch a video about gambling every year.
October 29, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Draymond Green: It's ridiculous to think that the NBA isn't concerned about gambling. Yes, the league has official partnerships with FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Fanatics Sportsbook, ESPN Bet, and Caesars Sportsbook. But it also makes the players watch a video about gambling every year.
One more chance to untangle the films, books, politics, and mob activity during Los Angeles's most incandescent year. We finish with a strong dose of graft, extortion, and labor racketeering--plus the reforms that led to the rise of Las Vegas. Grateful to Cal's OLLI program for offering this class.
October 29, 2025 at 1:40 AM
One more chance to untangle the films, books, politics, and mob activity during Los Angeles's most incandescent year. We finish with a strong dose of graft, extortion, and labor racketeering--plus the reforms that led to the rise of Las Vegas. Grateful to Cal's OLLI program for offering this class.
First OLLI session at Cal: "City on Fire: Los Angeles in 1939." We'll look at that year under four aspects: film, literature, politics, and organized crime. Today was an overview of the city's early history and the extraordinary films that came out that year.
October 13, 2025 at 11:22 PM
First OLLI session at Cal: "City on Fire: Los Angeles in 1939." We'll look at that year under four aspects: film, literature, politics, and organized crime. Today was an overview of the city's early history and the extraordinary films that came out that year.
I reviewed Cameron Crowe's memoir, The Uncool, for Kirkus. Highly recommended, especially if you liked Almost Famous.
THE UNCOOL | Kirkus Reviews
I was a teenage journalist.
www.kirkusreviews.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I reviewed Cameron Crowe's memoir, The Uncool, for Kirkus. Highly recommended, especially if you liked Almost Famous.
In his DC outburst, why would Stephen Miller disparage old, white, dumb people? That's Trump's base. Which makes Miller's fourth descriptor, hippies, the insult's active ingredient. The base can rightly say, "Well, I may be old, white, and dumb, but at least I'm not a hippie."
September 4, 2025 at 2:23 PM
In his DC outburst, why would Stephen Miller disparage old, white, dumb people? That's Trump's base. Which makes Miller's fourth descriptor, hippies, the insult's active ingredient. The base can rightly say, "Well, I may be old, white, and dumb, but at least I'm not a hippie."
Reposted by Peter Richardson
MY LATEST @latimes.com COLUMNA: Slain L.A. Times columnist Ruben Salazar matters more than ever. Share, porfas!
Commentary: Slain L.A. Times columnist Ruben Salazar matters more than ever, 55 years later
Fifty-five years ago, Salazar was killed in an East Los Angeles bar after a tear gas canister launched by an L.A. County sheriff's deputy tore through his head.
www.latimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:17 PM
MY LATEST @latimes.com COLUMNA: Slain L.A. Times columnist Ruben Salazar matters more than ever. Share, porfas!
Stephen Miller thinks hippies are easy targets. It certainly worked for Reagan in 1966, and now hippie-punching extends to senior citizens. Feels desperate, yes, but it's also time to retire the cartoon version of the counterculture.
August 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Stephen Miller thinks hippies are easy targets. It certainly worked for Reagan in 1966, and now hippie-punching extends to senior citizens. Feels desperate, yes, but it's also time to retire the cartoon version of the counterculture.
If anyone ever asks, I invented the term "nepo-hubris"™️ last week.
August 12, 2025 at 11:03 PM
If anyone ever asks, I invented the term "nepo-hubris"™️ last week.
My thoughts on Jim Newton's "Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an America Awakening." www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE | Kirkus Reviews
A solid addition to the expanding Grateful Dead canon.
www.kirkusreviews.com
August 6, 2025 at 10:16 PM
My thoughts on Jim Newton's "Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an America Awakening." www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Finished "Hated By All the Right People," Jason Zengerle's book about Tucker Carlson. It's a sad comment on American political journalism going back to the 1990s, when Carlson wrote for The Weekly Standard. Since then, we've been living by one simple adage: It's good dog food if the dog will eat it.
August 6, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Finished "Hated By All the Right People," Jason Zengerle's book about Tucker Carlson. It's a sad comment on American political journalism going back to the 1990s, when Carlson wrote for The Weekly Standard. Since then, we've been living by one simple adage: It's good dog food if the dog will eat it.
The Jim Marshall/Grateful Dead book got a little love on the CBS Evening News.
Rare Grateful Dead photographs come to life 60 years after its formation
YouTube video by CBS Evening News
www.youtube.com
August 3, 2025 at 2:40 PM
The Jim Marshall/Grateful Dead book got a little love on the CBS Evening News.
Dennis McNally, Nicholas Meriwether, and I are talking about the Grateful Dead tonight at Manny's. Hosted by Adam Hirschfelder. No one has done more than Dennis and Nick to help us understand the Dead and their achievement. 6 pm, see you there.
Manny's Civic Gathering Space to Host Three-Part Conversation Series on Past, Present and Future of the Grateful Dead
In conjunction with Dead & Company’s highly anticipated three-night run at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, on August 1-3, Manny’s, the Mission
relix.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Dennis McNally, Nicholas Meriwether, and I are talking about the Grateful Dead tonight at Manny's. Hosted by Adam Hirschfelder. No one has done more than Dennis and Nick to help us understand the Dead and their achievement. 6 pm, see you there.
Nice little university/law firm/television network you have here. Be a shame if anything happened to it.
July 19, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Nice little university/law firm/television network you have here. Be a shame if anything happened to it.
Sol Stern was an important figure at Ramparts magazine during its heyday. Later he landed at a conservative think tank and reviewed my book about Ramparts. That led to a spirited exchange, but I always appreciated his perspective, not to mention his achievements as a journalist. RIP Sol Stern.
July 15, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Sol Stern was an important figure at Ramparts magazine during its heyday. Later he landed at a conservative think tank and reviewed my book about Ramparts. That led to a spirited exchange, but I always appreciated his perspective, not to mention his achievements as a journalist. RIP Sol Stern.
Delighted that Rolling Stone magazine is featuring the work of Jim Marshall. Thanks again to Amelia Davis and David Gans for the chance to contribute an essay to the collection. H/T Dan Sullivan and Rosie McGee.
Jim Marshall's Unseen Grateful Dead
A new collection from photographer Jim Marshall takes us inside the Dead’s world like never before.
www.rollingstone.com
July 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Delighted that Rolling Stone magazine is featuring the work of Jim Marshall. Thanks again to Amelia Davis and David Gans for the chance to contribute an essay to the collection. H/T Dan Sullivan and Rosie McGee.
Josh Wood quoted Bill McKeen and me in this article about Hunter Thompson and his hometown. Thompson didn't write much about Louisville, but his Kentucky Derby piece for Scanlan's changed the arc of his career.
Louisville had an impact on Hunter S. Thompson's life, especially these 4 spots
The Louisville native rarely wrote about his hometown, but sure did once, and it changed his life.
www.courier-journal.com
July 2, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Josh Wood quoted Bill McKeen and me in this article about Hunter Thompson and his hometown. Thompson didn't write much about Louisville, but his Kentucky Derby piece for Scanlan's changed the arc of his career.
Just heard a story about Trump's "chaos tax" in higher education. One Heritage Foundation jackass wondered why U.S. colleges admit so many foreign students. That's like asking U.S. firms why they sell to foreign customers. It's called an export, man. Look it up.
June 27, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Just heard a story about Trump's "chaos tax" in higher education. One Heritage Foundation jackass wondered why U.S. colleges admit so many foreign students. That's like asking U.S. firms why they sell to foreign customers. It's called an export, man. Look it up.