robert p. baird
@robertpbaird.com
Thinking is, or ought to be, a coolness and a calmness; and our poor hearts throb, and our poor brains beat too much for that. || I'm on a Bsky hiatus, but THE NIMBUS, my debut novel, is now available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook. || robertpbaird.com
Pinned
robert p. baird
@robertpbaird.com
· Nov 20
Such a treat to find THE NIMBUS on WaPo’s list of the best fiction of the year! www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
If you can go, you should go.
People have been asking me for months how they can see Julia Loktev's essential documentary My Undesirable Friends, and at last, I have a good answer: Check this list.
Argot Pictures - MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS: PART I — LAST AIR IN MOSCOW - Screenings
argotpictures.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:33 AM
If you can go, you should go.
Reposted by robert p. baird
The Trump administration is hitting some kind of record in the number of different ways a single attack can qualify as a war crime.
Breaking NYT:
The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.
That is a war crime called "perfidy."
The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter.
The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status.
That is a war crime called "perfidy."
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:05 AM
The Trump administration is hitting some kind of record in the number of different ways a single attack can qualify as a war crime.
Reposted by robert p. baird
@jordandavis.bsky.social for your files
January 11, 2026 at 11:01 PM
@jordandavis.bsky.social for your files
Just saw a dead christmas tree blow across a Brooklyn crosswalk like a tumbleweed.
January 11, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Just saw a dead christmas tree blow across a Brooklyn crosswalk like a tumbleweed.
This is true, but it also speaks to a truly difficult dynamic: in many areas (not all!) genAI can produce a result that is not entirely incompetent/unuseful. As the responses in the screenshot suggest, if you’re not an expert in a field, a 40-60% result might seem good, or at least good enough…
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
January 9, 2026 at 4:48 PM
This is true, but it also speaks to a truly difficult dynamic: in many areas (not all!) genAI can produce a result that is not entirely incompetent/unuseful. As the responses in the screenshot suggest, if you’re not an expert in a field, a 40-60% result might seem good, or at least good enough…
Reposted by robert p. baird
2020 Academy of American Poets Prize
On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs by Renée Nicole Macklin
poets.org
January 8, 2026 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by robert p. baird
This take down of Douthat is fantastic in substance and style. Great essay. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
God of the Gaps | Robert P. Baird
Ross Douthat’s usual contrarian approach, in his recent book Believe, leads to a curiously impotent, watered-down account of religious experience.
www.nybooks.com
January 6, 2026 at 5:22 PM
This take down of Douthat is fantastic in substance and style. Great essay. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by robert p. baird
I said nothing, and tried to think nothing.
January 6, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I said nothing, and tried to think nothing.
A literary hot take: “readability“ is due for the same hard look that “likability” got ten years ago. No author can pretend to live in a different universe than her readers, but it’s been utterly depressing to watch what is essentially a marketing term get treated as a serious criterion by critics.
January 4, 2026 at 2:32 PM
A literary hot take: “readability“ is due for the same hard look that “likability” got ten years ago. No author can pretend to live in a different universe than her readers, but it’s been utterly depressing to watch what is essentially a marketing term get treated as a serious criterion by critics.
Reposted by robert p. baird
"The book’s strangest feature is its enervating conception of belief." Thank you, @robertpbaird.com for reading Ross Douthat's "Believe" so I don't have to. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
God of the Gaps | Robert P. Baird
Ross Douthat’s usual contrarian approach, in his recent book Believe, leads to a curiously impotent, watered-down account of religious experience.
www.nybooks.com
January 4, 2026 at 1:26 AM
"The book’s strangest feature is its enervating conception of belief." Thank you, @robertpbaird.com for reading Ross Douthat's "Believe" so I don't have to. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by robert p. baird
“The existence of Believe is its own best counterproof: in a world where religious truths were as obvious and reasonable as Douthat wants them to be, there would be no need for him to write it.” —Robert P. Baird (@robertpbaird.com) https://go.nybooks.com/4siw1Vz
God of the Gaps | Robert P. Baird
Ross Douthat’s usual contrarian approach, in his recent book Believe, leads to a curiously impotent, watered-down account of religious experience.
www.nybooks.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:42 PM
“The existence of Believe is its own best counterproof: in a world where religious truths were as obvious and reasonable as Douthat wants them to be, there would be no need for him to write it.” —Robert P. Baird (@robertpbaird.com) https://go.nybooks.com/4siw1Vz
Reposted by robert p. baird
Robert P. Baird (@robertpbaird.com) on Ross Douthat’s mere religion https://go.nybooks.com/4plC8Wh
God of the Gaps | Robert P. Baird
Ross Douthat’s usual contrarian approach, in his recent book Believe, leads to a curiously impotent, watered-down account of religious experience.
www.nybooks.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Robert P. Baird (@robertpbaird.com) on Ross Douthat’s mere religion https://go.nybooks.com/4plC8Wh
Reposted by robert p. baird
Read two @nybooks.com articles this morning: Baird’s review of “Believe” by Douthat and Jeremy Denk’s review of a new book on Erik Satie. Both are great reviews and they make for a weird juxtaposition
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
December 29, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Read two @nybooks.com articles this morning: Baird’s review of “Believe” by Douthat and Jeremy Denk’s review of a new book on Erik Satie. Both are great reviews and they make for a weird juxtaposition
Today in the paper of record you can find a man’s purchase of a wig described as a “journey to a hair system,” and man does it make me grateful for all the wonderful editors I’ve worked with over the years.
December 29, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Today in the paper of record you can find a man’s purchase of a wig described as a “journey to a hair system,” and man does it make me grateful for all the wonderful editors I’ve worked with over the years.
Reposted by robert p. baird
the past isn’t even past, pt. ∞
December 27, 2025 at 2:04 PM
the past isn’t even past, pt. ∞
Weekend reading!
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
December 27, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Weekend reading!
Reposted by robert p. baird
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
December 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by robert p. baird
really excellent dismantling of douthat’s whole project (and perhaps more importantly, one written through a not quite secular lens)
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
December 26, 2025 at 3:00 PM
really excellent dismantling of douthat’s whole project (and perhaps more importantly, one written through a not quite secular lens)
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
December 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
My review of Ross Douthat's BELIEVE is up at @nybooks.com: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Merry Christmas, friends!
December 25, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Merry Christmas, friends!
Reposted by robert p. baird
My year-end gift, a booklet annual of poems titled Malebolge, is printing this week and will mail soon.
In the ancient tradition of vituperatio, the poem of blame or censure, these little poems are a bit bawdy, a bit nasty, but good fun. Sharp darts aimed at public figures who deserve the shame.
In the ancient tradition of vituperatio, the poem of blame or censure, these little poems are a bit bawdy, a bit nasty, but good fun. Sharp darts aimed at public figures who deserve the shame.
December 24, 2025 at 2:23 AM
My year-end gift, a booklet annual of poems titled Malebolge, is printing this week and will mail soon.
In the ancient tradition of vituperatio, the poem of blame or censure, these little poems are a bit bawdy, a bit nasty, but good fun. Sharp darts aimed at public figures who deserve the shame.
In the ancient tradition of vituperatio, the poem of blame or censure, these little poems are a bit bawdy, a bit nasty, but good fun. Sharp darts aimed at public figures who deserve the shame.