Five Reads: Talking With Ta-Nahisi Coates
The Forrest Four-Cast: September 13, 2018
What follows is our roundup of five of the most compelling stories discovered over the last few days. Look for this column every week in this space.
Speaking of compelling and forward-thinking content, check out the first big programming announcement for SXSW 2019, which occurred earlier this week.
Talking with Ta-Nahisi Coates
Dallas Maverick Harrison Barnes has posted his latest piece in his series for the Players Tribune, in which he interviews leaders who aim to be a force for good in their communities. He chatted with Ta-Nahisi Coates about about Coates’ book “We Were Eight Years in Power,” getting off Twitter, his favorite cultural outlets, advice for young people and the state of the world today (not good). Catch up with Coates’ keynote from at SXSW 2018 here.
Another Sort of Harassment
“Designing Women” creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason dances with bitter fury on Les Moonves’ grave in a guest column for the Hollywood Reporter,. For reasons known only to the deeply despicable CBS exec, Moonves blackballed Bloodworth Thomason, who went from hotshot sitcom inventor to a virtual ghost in the entertainment business.
I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK
Do you need reassurance that you’re not the only one feeling dazed, confused and miserable? The NYT reported on a new survey looking at the emotional tenor of more than 154,000 citizens across 145 countries in 2017. “More people reported negative experiences, defined as worry, stress, physical pain, anger or sadness, than at any point since 2005, when Gallup, the analytics and consulting company, introduced the survey.”
Whither Facebook?
In a New Yorker profile, Evan Osnos asks if Mark Zuckerberg can fix Facebook. Do you wonder if it matters? According to Osnos, “If Facebook were a country, it would have the largest population on earth. More than 2.2 billion people, about a third of humanity, log in at least once a month. That user base has no precedent in the history of American enterprise. Fourteen years after it was founded, in Zuckerberg’s dorm room, Facebook has as many adherents as Christianity.”
Books on the Road
And here’s more proof that “it’s only crazy until you do it.” Bibliophile Rita Collins knew her tiny Montana home town couldn’t support a brick and mortar bookstore. So she took her dream to the road. Since 2015, she’s driven her traveling bookstore around her home state and across the U.S. many times. As Brittany Shoot reports for Atlas Obscura, Collins crowd-sources locations for Saint Rita’s (named after herself as well as the patron saint of impossible causes) and picks up boxes of donated books along the way, passing on extras to literacy programs, as well as prison and public libraries, across the country.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
