Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 1d

When Nanette Vonnegut -- Kurt's daughter -- was about 8, her mother sat her down for The Talk.
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Book Club: To understand our divided America, she started with her hometown

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 1d

Jesus wept.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Inside billionaire Peter Thiel’s private lectures: Warnings of ‘the Antichrist’ and U.S. destruction

In leaked recordings of private lectures by tech billionaire Peter Thiel he argued that “the Antichrist” is likely to take the form of a critic of technology.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 3d

Mitch Albom’s new novel, “Twice,” is about a man with the miraculous ability to travel back to any point in his life and make a different choice. A few hours after starting “Twice,” I knew exactly which choice I would make differently.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...

Review | Mitch Albom’s ‘Twice’ is somehow both bonkers and bland

Albom’s new novel is somehow both bonkers and bland as it follows a man who can go back in time and redo his past.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Ron Charles

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 7d

Senate Republicans don’t seem too worried about the government shutting down....as they have a glorified resort vacation scheduled just days after the looming deadline. trib.al/j9UA4yF

Republicans to Spend Shutdown Playing Golf at Five-Star Resort

Senate Republicans don’t seem too worried about the government shutting down.

trib.al

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 16d

Excellent news for Oklahoma’s students:
apnews.com/article/okla...

Ryan Walters resigns as Oklahoma's top public schools official to lead conservative educators' group

Oklahoma's top public schools official, Ryan Walters, says he's resigning to lead a conservative educators' group.

apnews.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 17d

Thanks — and I concede your point about McEwan’s zigzag motion.

Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 21d

All I want to know this morning is which Cava does White House border czar Tom Homan go to?

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 22d

Judge Steven Merryday's dismissal of Trump’s lawsuit against the NYT may be my favorite literary review of the year:
deadline.com/wp-content/u...

deadline.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 22d

The Kidneystone Kops....
"This reversed a vote on Thursday to allow coverage, apparently because some members had misunderstood the way it was worded."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/h...

Vaccine Panel Postpones One Vote and Reverses Another Amid Confusion

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 22d

No plans to leave!

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 23d

Here’s what’s in Kamala Harris’s upcoming campaign memoir, “107 Days”: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Harris book draws blowback from Shapiro, Buttigieg. Here’s what’s in it.

The same people criticizing what she said about them in her new book about the 2024 campaign could be among those she faces in 2028 if she runs again.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 25d

Brilliant and brave: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

The Aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s Murder. Plus, the Rise and Fall of CBS.

Podcast Episode · On the Media · 09/13/2025 · 50m

podcasts.apple.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 25d

Unsurprisingly, Dan Brown's "The Secret of Secrets" debuts at No. 1.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...

Review | Dan Brown clearly had fun writing his new book. It’s contagious.

Robert Langdon is back in “The Secret of Secrets.” Prepare for 600 hilariously hectic pages of murder, mayhem and New Age murmuring.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · 29d

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 11

Rightwing provocateurs using their faux concern about “violent rhetoric” to encourage more violence is some truly Shakespearean villainy.

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Reposted by Ron Charles

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · Sep 10

Citing DEI concerns, the Trump administration has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states.

Their funding had previously been approved through Sept. 2028.

“How low can you go?” one advocate asked. “How can you do this to children?”

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push

Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...

www.propublica.org

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 9

The nightmare will be played in stereo: "Why pay a celebrity podcast host millions when you can create your own using AI?"
www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...

5,000 Podcasts. 3,000 Episodes a Week. $1 Cost Per Episode — Behind an AI Start Up’s Plan

Former Wondery exec Jeanine Wright is leading a new firm, Inception Point AI, that's betting on flooding the zone with audio content: “I think that people who are still referring to all AI-generated c...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 9

"The Secret of Secrets": Like so many things that are insanely popular — Crocs, Nutella, MrBeast — Dan Brown’s thrillers look easy to imitate but aren’t. He lures us in with a layer of intellectuality as deep as the honey glaze on an Easter ham.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/0...

Review | Dan Brown clearly had fun writing his new book. It’s contagious.

Robert Langdon is back in “The Secret of Secrets.” Prepare for 600 hilariously hectic pages of murder, mayhem and New Age murmuring.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 8

The WSJ’s close textual analysis of Trump’s crude birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein is remarkable: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Exclusive | A Visual Breakdown of the Trump Birthday Letter to Epstein

An analysis of the text and drawing long hidden in a 2003 birthday book

www.wsj.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 8

My gawd. Alpha Schools sound downright dystopian. "Think Tony Robbins for kids," says founder MacKenzie Price. "Our kids are crushing their academics." Listen to her pre-satirized pitch:
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/p...

A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education

www.nytimes.com

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 5

* New U.S. tariffs threaten to strangle some used booksellers.
* The new audio version of "Pride & Prejudice" is fantastic.
That and more in this week's Book Club newsletter:
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Book Club: Arundhati Roy recalls her brilliant mother, both teacher and tyrant

s2.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Ron Charles

CBS Sunday Morning @cbssundaymorning.bsky.social · Sep 3

The Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles offers upcoming highlights from the new season's fiction and non-fiction releases. cbsn.ws/4mMJ3r6

The Book Report: New books for fall (Aug. 31)

The Washington Post book reviewer offers upcoming highlights from the new season's fiction and non-fiction releases.

cbsn.ws

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 3

One of their best and most important episodes: Repudiates Republicans’ crazy, deadly efforts to promote confusion about covid mitigation efforts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wron… - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts

Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 06/19/2025 · 1h 10m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Ron Charles

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · Sep 2

Jesus.

Regiments from Illinois fought in Texas in 1865.

Regiments from Texas do not belong anywhere in Illinois.

Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · Sep 2

BREAKING: Gov. JB Pritzker says the Trump administration has sent the Texas National Guard to Great Lakes Naval Base outside Chicago, awaiting orders to deploy to Chicago.
Trump administration officials will target Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16) celebrations. @wttw.bsky.social

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Ron Charles @roncharles.bsky.social · Sep 1

Here are some of the big books we're looking forward to this month:
www.cbsnews.com/video/the-bo...

The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (August 31)

The Washington Post book reviewer offers upcoming highlights from the new season's fiction and non-fiction releases.

www.cbsnews.com

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