John E. Branch Jr. – Medium

John E. Branch Jr.

John E. Branch Jr.

Confronting the shadow

In 1991, a friend and I saw an eclipse from the coast of Mexico. It was like this.

Apr 7

Confronting the shadow

Apr 7

John E. Branch Jr.

It’s a mad mad mad mad nuclear world

We’ve been mad about the bomb for a long time. Here are examples, from lost weapons to lost chances to get rid of them.

Jul 23, 2023

The cover of a book called Atomic Postcards, with a missile forming the letter “I” in the title.

Jul 23, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

Notes on sinking

A few thoughts on descending and ascending, and on growing up as the child of a submariner.

Jun 25, 2023

A steel sphere bearing the words “New York Zoological Society | Bathysphere | National Geographic Society.”

Jun 25, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

On Maggie Q and the costs of an action career

A 2021 film prompts reflections on where Maggie Q came from and how she got here.

May 28, 2023

Actor Maggie Q, with eyes closed, looking reflective.

May 28, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

Mars on the Mind

Why it’s still a good time for reading a 30-year-old novel about the colonization of the Red Planet

May 14, 2023

The cover of the paperback book called Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson. It shows an outline of a planet, and the main color is red.

May 14, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

Red Bull finds a handsome gang of plotters and schemers in ‘Arden of Faversham’

The course of true crime never did run smooth, to judge from a historical example from the Elizabethan age.

Mar 19, 2023

Four characters from Red Bull Theater’s production of Arden of Faversham.

Mar 19, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

Seeing Hopper

An exhibition attuned me to Hopper-esque scenes of private moments in public

Feb 26, 2023

A handful of visitors at an exhibition of paintings.

Feb 26, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

The problem with welcome news about AI in China

That we’d like to believe something doesn’t mean we should

Feb 19, 2023

Feb 19, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

The trouble with football

The game is violent, and destructive, and people love it. That’s the problem.

Feb 12, 2023

Feb 12, 2023

John E. Branch Jr.

Looking backward: A 2015 view of the Wright brothers and Elon Musk

Want a fresh perspective on Elon Musk and tech innovators? An LRB review from 2015, of biographies of the Wright brothers and Musk, can…

Dec 4, 2022

Looking backward: A 2015 view of the Wright brothers and Elon Musk

Dec 4, 2022

John E. Branch Jr.

John E. Branch Jr.

5th-gen. Texan now in NY. Into tech & culture. All views my own or stolen from admirable sources. (I write, but not for NYT.) http://ifitbenotnow.wordpress.com/

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