Welcome to the Weekend Reccs by Harrison Satcher. This newsletter delivers a lovingly-tailored collection of thought-provoking goodness for your Sunday. Inside you’ll find: (1) a weekly column on economics, politics, or something unexpected, (2) a curated list of links for your enjoyment, (3) a lagniappe (because everyone deserves lagniappe), and (4) a collection of interesting, relevant charts. Grab a coffee and enjoy your morning.
New here? Be sure to subscribe to join the community and never miss an issue. If you enjoy what you read, please forward it to your friends.
The links marked with asterisks (*) are the recommended reads.
Hi everyone,
To understate it: this has been quite the week. In light of everything my usual writing schedule was disrupted and so I won’t be including The Long Read in this week’s issue. As ever, I’d rather send you nothing than something subpar.
The only direct commentary I will make on this past week’s events is that we saw (1) how quickly seemingly inconsequential details can take hold and (2) the power these details can have over perceptions.
Many have downplayed the severity of the attempted insurrection on Wednesday. I would argue that a root cause of this is that the first widely-distributed images were more farcical than menacing.
Had stories led with the men armed with guns and zip ties, or the found explosives, or the chants calling for the murder the Vice President and Speaker of the House, or the multiple deaths that occurred, I believe we would be seeing a very different reaction from those who have been framing this as a peculiarity more than a dire threat.
Imagery matters, but the sequence of imagery matters even more. Narratives are set early and travel rapidly.
The Links
An American Coup That Succeeded* A violent white mob murdered dozens of Black residents and drove duly elected officials in Wilmington, NC in 1898. This horrific event and its implications for the South are important and under-taught. (s/o Caroline Tervo)
Mostly Harmless, Redux* The case of the mystery hiker found outside my hometown (linked in a previous issue) has been solved.
Stolen Talent* Queen Elizabeth’s children’s choir had the authority to kidnap children they thought would be good singers.
West Virginia, Mountain Mama, Take Me to a Vaccine Distribution Location, Country Roads* Why is West Virginia outpacing the rest of the country in their vaccine rollout?
Archive Parties* If I hadn’t already been sucked back into Twitter, “archive parties” probably would have gotten me to reengage.
Mustard and Oreos* The Pudding does an innovative thing involving crosswords, again. (s/o Beth Young)
Lagniappe
It is easy for things in the present to feel overwhelming, especially when it comes to politics and the news.
I have found a lot of comfort in recent years through reading about our country’s early troubles and trying to contextualize our present moment in that story. If you’d like to do the same but don’t know where to start John Adams by David McCullough was superb.
Graph(s) of the week
[JLE paper] Canadian children only sometimes get the benefit of working at their father’s company in their youth — unless their father is a top earner. Quite the illustration of dream hoarding.
[WSJ] A graph that gets updated every now and again in the Reccs. The lesson of the Great Recession is that recoveries can in fact take a long time — and that can be painful.
Keep the faith,
Harrison