Top stories published by Grabbag and Chills in 2019

“Go back 200, 300, or 400 years and you find that most people did not work very long hours at all. In addition to relaxing during long holidays, the medieval peasant took his sweet time eating…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Apr 6, 2019

“What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)”

“We’ve found that even though most people believe they are self-aware, self-awareness is a truly rare quality: We estimate that only 10%–15% of the people we studied actually fit the criteria. Three findings in particular stood…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Feb 9, 2019

“The Dreadful Pedagogy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry”

“Hogwarts ensures the reproduction of a society that is consciously, even proudly, regressive. The closest thing to social justice advocacy is S.P.E.W., a student group founded on the radical proposition that…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Mar 7, 2019

“The Sad Saps of Neoliberal Reddit Trying to Make Globalism Cool Again”

“Ocean, who asked to be quoted as his Reddit moniker, explains that he had a distinct vision for r/neoliberal’s rebirth. The term was thrown around so much after the election, why not lean into the momentum…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Nov 4, 2019

“Leaders Focus Too Much on Changing Policies, and Not Enough on Changing Minds”

“Among many potential explanations, one that gets very little attention may be the most fundamental: the invisible fears and insecurities that keep us locked into behaviors even when we know…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Apr 3, 2019

“In My Chronic Illness, I Found a Deeper Meaning”

“I went from doctor to doctor looking for answers, but overnight I had gone from being a trusted rabbi and chaplain (who works with seriously ill and dying people on hospital medical teams) to a “hysterical” chronically ill person. Though I had…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Sep 16, 2019

“YouTube & Chill: A Glimpse Into The World Of Lo-fi Hip-Hop”

“Some channels are 24/7 streams, some operate as sporadic pop-ups who stream for a few hours. But all stations find ways to cater to the lean-back listener, someone looking for endless hours of background music as they clean…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Apr 9, 2019

“First Evidence That Online Dating Is Changing the Nature of Society”

“One obvious type of network links each node with its nearest neighbors, in a pattern like a chess board or chicken wire. Another obvious kind of network links nodes at random. But real social networks are not…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Mar 11, 2019

“5 Signs Your Organization Might Be Headed for an Ethics Scandal”

“we see a “tone at the top” underpinned by widespread willful blindness, toxic incentives, and mechanisms that deflect scrutiny. These conditions seem to persist and metastasize. They replicate despite changes in…

Jess Brooks in Grabbag and Chills

Mar 25, 2019

“The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice”

“Here’s the deal. The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed — to be seen, heard and companioned exactly as it is. When we make that kind of deep bow to the soul of a suffering person, our respect…

2018

These were the top 10 stories published by Grabbag and Chills in 2019. You can also dive into monthly archives for 2019 by using the calendar at the top of this page.

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Grabbag and Chills

Politics, history, philosophy, my favorite pieces of internet candy, and other things that I can’t squeeze into my other publications

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