Welcome to the very first Dispatches Weekly Digest. The format might change, the content might change, but here’s one thing that won’t change:
This is only for my coolest friends.
Today’s Schedule of Events
The song recommendation (it’s a good one!)
TMI - in which a surprise guest (he was very surprised) asks me some questions about parenting, and I give impassioned answers
A recap of everything that got published on the Dispatches this week, including
All the Nooners, in a row, for your binging pleasure
Let’s get started!
The Song
A number of years ago, I heard someone recommend picking a song you love and listening to it a hundred times in a row. I can’t even remember why, exactly, this person suggested this, but for some reason I decided to try it.
Unsurprisingly, the song I picked lodged itself deeply into my heart. A while later, I shared my experience with one of my teenage nephews, and he ended up playing it on repeat for months, totally unbeknownst to me. Then he sent me a video of himself performing it on my birthday.
My heart exploded right out of my chest cavity. Geyser of blood. Huge mess. Very lucky to have survived. Frankly it was a miracle.
Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to love this song as much as I do, but here it is anyway…
Conor Oberst (who first gained notoriety as the frontman for Bright Eyes) and Phoebe Bridgers have vibes and voices that make a remarkably good match. This is a beautiful album. If you like the song, I recommend listening to the whole thing.
TMI
I debated for a while how to handle this segment, especially on the first week, until I finally decided to enlist the help of a friend. (OK it was more of an ambush.)
CJ is a close friend and a paid subscriber. He’s also my cohost on Nerd Critic, which has been running for 6 years and has, I believe, 19 listeners.
If you want to hear our ~10 minute conversation, you’re going to have to go listen to it. After all, that’s what you paid for!
The Digest
This was a pretty standard week over here at Dispatches from Inner Space. On Monday, I republished a By the Books post on Ender’s Game (which was my favorite book for about ten years), and six Nooners.
One day soon, regular non-Nooner essays and short fiction will make a comeback, but I can’t say exactly when quite yet. I’m waiting till I can come up for air.
As promised, here are the Nooners:
(Listeners get to hear all of these in a row, one right after the other, without the intros and outros attached to the daily version. Once again, I’ll remind you that this is what you paid for.)
#53 (July 8) - How (not) to be cool
It’s all about what you (don’t) say#54 (July 9) - Austin Butler rides a bike
The feminine versus the masculine#55 (July 10) - 80 million intransigent gun owners
Our best defense against Big Brother?#56 (July 11) - A hack for keeping good habits while you travel
The Daily-oooh!#57 (July 12) - Is altruism real?
The challenge of non-transactional love
#58 (July 13) - Give the people what they need
(not what they want)
In Closing…
Two things, real quick.
First, if you want to help me out with the TMI segment, let me know and I’ll set it up.
Second, if you’ve got ideas for other segments, also let me know! I want you to get your money’s worth.
Alright, that’s all. Thanks again, and don’t tell the others, but…
You’re my favorite.
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