Sam Sacks
@ssacks.bsky.social
Fiction critic at the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/news/author/sam-sacks); editor at Open Letters Review, formerly Open Letters Monthly (https://openlettersreview.com/) sam_sacks [at] hotmail
"If she didn’t know it then, she knows it now. Bari Weiss was hired at CBS News to help deliver its parent Paramount’s hoped-for acquisition of the strategically coveted Warner Bros. movies, streaming and TV empire." Gift link. www.wsj.com/opinion/bari...
Opinion | Bari Weiss Delivers for CBS’s Parent
The Ellison family is getting what it paid for when it acquired the journalistic mouthpiece.
www.wsj.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"If she didn’t know it then, she knows it now. Bari Weiss was hired at CBS News to help deliver its parent Paramount’s hoped-for acquisition of the strategically coveted Warner Bros. movies, streaming and TV empire." Gift link. www.wsj.com/opinion/bari...
Just lost a toenail for the first time. It's gross and fascinating, bothersome but ultimately harmless. As a way of becoming completely preoccupied with something insignificant, I almost recommend it.
December 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Just lost a toenail for the first time. It's gross and fascinating, bothersome but ultimately harmless. As a way of becoming completely preoccupied with something insignificant, I almost recommend it.
Reposted by Sam Sacks
7 people died in ICE custody in December. At the same time, ICE was detaining more people than ever before. 68,442 and counting. This is not a coincidence worth ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
ICE's Deadly December: Record-Setting Detained Population and Detention Deaths
Record detention population of 68,442 coincides with seven December deaths in ICE custody, the deadliest month of 2025. Facilities may struggle during rapid intake periods when resources are strained.
open.substack.com
December 26, 2025 at 4:23 PM
7 people died in ICE custody in December. At the same time, ICE was detaining more people than ever before. 68,442 and counting. This is not a coincidence worth ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Moses Herzog was 47. Frank Bascombe was 38. Rabbit Angstrom was 26. In Ben Markovits’ very good book, Tom Lanyard is 55. What happens when the male-midlife-crisis novel gets old?
Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rekindling his life’s meaning. on.wsj.com/4pdfKyf
Fiction: ‘The Rest of Our Lives’ by Ben Markovits
Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rekindling his life’s meaning.
on.wsj.com
December 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Moses Herzog was 47. Frank Bascombe was 38. Rabbit Angstrom was 26. In Ben Markovits’ very good book, Tom Lanyard is 55. What happens when the male-midlife-crisis novel gets old?
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rekindling his life’s meaning. on.wsj.com/4pdfKyf
Fiction: ‘The Rest of Our Lives’ by Ben Markovits
Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rekindling his life’s meaning.
on.wsj.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Facing an unraveling marriage, a middle-aged lawyer sets off on a road trip in the hopes of rekindling his life’s meaning. on.wsj.com/4pdfKyf
Reposted by Sam Sacks
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
December 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.
"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.
"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.
Yakima, Washington
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Lucía Pedro Juan was deported after 20 years in the U.S. A few days later, her husband Francisco died from medical complications while detained by ICE in El Paso. She went home alone.
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
She survived ICE detention, her husband didn't
Lucía Pedro Juan shared a loving embrace and encouraging words with her husband. It was the last time she saw him alive.
www.usatoday.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Lucía Pedro Juan was deported after 20 years in the U.S. A few days later, her husband Francisco died from medical complications while detained by ICE in El Paso. She went home alone.
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
There is no sight that more efficiently puts the lie to immigration “court” than the common sight of children “representing themselves.” Children too small to climb into the chair, children in pajamas who don’t know where they are, children not yet old enough to speak.
Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court
More than a dozen undocumented minors were forced to make their case in front of an immigration judge as the Trump administration ramps up removal proceedings.
coppercourier.com
December 6, 2025 at 5:18 PM
There is no sight that more efficiently puts the lie to immigration “court” than the common sight of children “representing themselves.” Children too small to climb into the chair, children in pajamas who don’t know where they are, children not yet old enough to speak.
Reposted by Sam Sacks
"Her family has now been told she has been deported, despite US District Judge Brendan Hurson ruling Thursday that she could not be deported pending a hearing...attorneys said Monday that they have...confirm[ed] with the hospital she was born in Maryland." https://bit.ly/3MMdJvz
ICE detains woman whose lawyer insists is US citizen. DHS says she isn't
Federal agents arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales on her way home in Baltimore, Maryland.
bit.ly
December 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
"Her family has now been told she has been deported, despite US District Judge Brendan Hurson ruling Thursday that she could not be deported pending a hearing...attorneys said Monday that they have...confirm[ed] with the hospital she was born in Maryland." https://bit.ly/3MMdJvz
Reposted by Sam Sacks
“I wish to God you could pay more money.”
I wrote about F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish, and how his difficult final year led him to produce some of his best work: the irresistible, cynical, revealing and very funny Pat Hobby stories.
I wrote about F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish, and how his difficult final year led him to produce some of his best work: the irresistible, cynical, revealing and very funny Pat Hobby stories.
When F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish came true
The Pat Hobby stories about a washed-up writer in Hollywood were written to make money fast — they are also the final flowering of Fitzgerald’s eccentric genius
giftarticle.ft.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:12 PM
“I wish to God you could pay more money.”
I wrote about F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish, and how his difficult final year led him to produce some of his best work: the irresistible, cynical, revealing and very funny Pat Hobby stories.
I wrote about F Scott Fitzgerald’s Christmas wish, and how his difficult final year led him to produce some of his best work: the irresistible, cynical, revealing and very funny Pat Hobby stories.
The photograph for this piece, by the way, was taken by one of my editors at the legendary John K. King Books in Detroit
Merriam-Webster has surprised us all by bringing out a beautiful new print edition of the Collegiate Dictionary, the first since 2003. Which raises the question: Why? My rumination, in this weekend's WSJ (gift link). www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’: People of the (Big, Red) Book
For some, dictionaries are more than writing tools. They are doorways to discoveries.
www.wsj.com
December 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The photograph for this piece, by the way, was taken by one of my editors at the legendary John K. King Books in Detroit
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Woman comes to US at age 6. Graduates nursing school. Work permit. No criminal record. Snatched and imprisoned by ICE for 6 months now. About to be forced back to Honduras. A life destroyed and one less nurse. Merry Christmas.
www.nola.com/news/educati...
www.nola.com/news/educati...
December 20, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Woman comes to US at age 6. Graduates nursing school. Work permit. No criminal record. Snatched and imprisoned by ICE for 6 months now. About to be forced back to Honduras. A life destroyed and one less nurse. Merry Christmas.
www.nola.com/news/educati...
www.nola.com/news/educati...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
“Gantchev suffered from type 2 diabetes and told his wife no diet accommodations were made for him. She and Anna said the small amount of food that is given to people detained at North Lake was not enough for maintaining Gantchev's blood sugar levels.”
Bulgarian Chicago business owner dies in ICE custody, sparking calls for 'immediate investigation'
https://abc7chicago.com/post/bulgarian-chicago-business-owner-nenko-gantchev-dies-ice-custody-family-congresswoman-call-immediate-investigation/18301520/
https://abc7chicago.com/post/bulgarian-chicago-business-owner-nenko-gantchev-dies-ice-custody-family-congresswoman-call-immediate-investigation/18301520/
Bulgarian Chicago business owner dies in ICE custody, sparking calls for 'immediate investigation'
A Bulgarian man from Chicago arrested during an immigration enforcement 'blitz' has died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Michigan private prison, the ABC7 I-Team has learned.
abc7chicago.com
December 20, 2025 at 3:04 AM
“Gantchev suffered from type 2 diabetes and told his wife no diet accommodations were made for him. She and Anna said the small amount of food that is given to people detained at North Lake was not enough for maintaining Gantchev's blood sugar levels.”
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Everyone should take a couple of minutes and watch this, because it's a perfect illustration of how ICE disappears people by making it almost impossible to communicate with family, friends, and lawyers.
December 19, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Everyone should take a couple of minutes and watch this, because it's a perfect illustration of how ICE disappears people by making it almost impossible to communicate with family, friends, and lawyers.
According to this survey by the City Journal (a conservative public policy magazine), approximately 90 percent of Gen Z conservatives today are openly pro-Hitler antisemites
From a focus group of Gen Z Republicans. (www.city-journal.org/article/manh...)
Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.
Tell me again about how Zohran Mamdani is the big threat to Jewish thriving in the US today.
December 19, 2025 at 6:57 PM
According to this survey by the City Journal (a conservative public policy magazine), approximately 90 percent of Gen Z conservatives today are openly pro-Hitler antisemites
Merriam-Webster has surprised us all by bringing out a beautiful new print edition of the Collegiate Dictionary, the first since 2003. Which raises the question: Why? My rumination, in this weekend's WSJ (gift link). www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
‘Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’: People of the (Big, Red) Book
For some, dictionaries are more than writing tools. They are doorways to discoveries.
www.wsj.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Merriam-Webster has surprised us all by bringing out a beautiful new print edition of the Collegiate Dictionary, the first since 2003. Which raises the question: Why? My rumination, in this weekend's WSJ (gift link). www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Here's a brief thread of the fiction that has stayed with me most in 2025, a year in which I reviewed exactly 100 books, and was more grateful than ever for the chance to do so. First, these are screenshots of the three brilliant novels that made the WSJ Best Books list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
December 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Here's a brief thread of the fiction that has stayed with me most in 2025, a year in which I reviewed exactly 100 books, and was more grateful than ever for the chance to do so. First, these are screenshots of the three brilliant novels that made the WSJ Best Books list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
This is happening around the country and it's the new normal in immigration court — the creation of a "heads I win, tails you lose" system where the government is seeking to dismiss virtually EVERY SINGLE asylum claim through so-called "safe third country" agreements.
NEW: The Trump administration is stepping up its battle against NYC's immigrants—stopping their asylum cases and instead filing motions to send them to other countries across the world.
One Latin American woman was told this week she'd be sent to Uganda.
hellgatenyc.com/trump-asylum...
One Latin American woman was told this week she'd be sent to Uganda.
hellgatenyc.com/trump-asylum...
The Trump Administration Wants to Send NYC's Asylum Seekers to Uganda and Beyond
And other links to start your Thursday.
hellgatenyc.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
This is happening around the country and it's the new normal in immigration court — the creation of a "heads I win, tails you lose" system where the government is seeking to dismiss virtually EVERY SINGLE asylum claim through so-called "safe third country" agreements.
Podhoretz's literary journalism is a lot of fun, by the way--opinionated and rangy in that omnivorous postwar fashion
December 17, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Podhoretz's literary journalism is a lot of fun, by the way--opinionated and rangy in that omnivorous postwar fashion
Reposted by Sam Sacks
This was the book that inspired one reviewer to write that it made him want to go and shoot himself.
December 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
This was the book that inspired one reviewer to write that it made him want to go and shoot himself.
Reposted by Sam Sacks
As ICE steps up arrests in Broward County, local residents say people without criminal records are being detained. The administration says enforcement is focused on criminals, but community accounts suggest a broader impact.
www.wlrn.org/immigration/...
www.wlrn.org/immigration/...
'Heartbreaking': Images of ICE agents 'hunting people down' across Broward spur anger
Social media posts by local public officials and Broward County residents showing ICE agents come at a time when the Trump administration is deploying federal agents nationwide to track down…
www.wlrn.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:03 PM
As ICE steps up arrests in Broward County, local residents say people without criminal records are being detained. The administration says enforcement is focused on criminals, but community accounts suggest a broader impact.
www.wlrn.org/immigration/...
www.wlrn.org/immigration/...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Making It is a great memoir. We reissued it in 2017 with an intro by Terry Teachout. From our description—
"It is a Balzacian story of raw talent and relentless and ruthless ambition."
"It is a Balzacian story of raw talent and relentless and ruthless ambition."
Norman Podhoretz, Influential Editor and Neoconservative Force, Dies at 95
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Making It is a great memoir. We reissued it in 2017 with an intro by Terry Teachout. From our description—
"It is a Balzacian story of raw talent and relentless and ruthless ambition."
"It is a Balzacian story of raw talent and relentless and ruthless ambition."
Here's a brief thread of the fiction that has stayed with me most in 2025, a year in which I reviewed exactly 100 books, and was more grateful than ever for the chance to do so. First, these are screenshots of the three brilliant novels that made the WSJ Best Books list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
December 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Here's a brief thread of the fiction that has stayed with me most in 2025, a year in which I reviewed exactly 100 books, and was more grateful than ever for the chance to do so. First, these are screenshots of the three brilliant novels that made the WSJ Best Books list. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
Norman Podhoretz has died.
His son, John Podhoretz, who now edits Commentary, the magazine that Norman edited for three and a half decades, has announced the news.
www.commentary.org/john-podhore...
His son, John Podhoretz, who now edits Commentary, the magazine that Norman edited for three and a half decades, has announced the news.
www.commentary.org/john-podhore...
Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025
My father died tonight, December 16, a month shy of his 96th birthday. Norman Podhoretz passed peacefully and without pain, with a new translation of The Odyssey on his desk that
www.commentary.org
December 17, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Norman Podhoretz has died.
His son, John Podhoretz, who now edits Commentary, the magazine that Norman edited for three and a half decades, has announced the news.
www.commentary.org/john-podhore...
His son, John Podhoretz, who now edits Commentary, the magazine that Norman edited for three and a half decades, has announced the news.
www.commentary.org/john-podhore...
Reposted by Sam Sacks
The New York Public Library has released its list of most-checked-out books of 2025. Women authors took 8 out of 10 spots citywide, while Manhattan and Staten Island were 9 out of 10, and Queens was 10 out of 10! www.nypl.org/blog/2025/12...
www.nypl.org
December 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
The New York Public Library has released its list of most-checked-out books of 2025. Women authors took 8 out of 10 spots citywide, while Manhattan and Staten Island were 9 out of 10, and Queens was 10 out of 10! www.nypl.org/blog/2025/12...