The Baffler
@thebaffler.com
Political and cultural criticism. Since 1988. Online and in print. https://thebaffler.com/
Pinned
Who will protect the Earth from the pillage and spillage of mankind? Our new issue, “Bloom and Gloom,” surveys the mess we’ve made of our planet, and describes the terrain on which we stage the battle for its ecological future.
thebaffler.com/issues/no-82
thebaffler.com/issues/no-82
“The America we’ll live in a generation from now rests with our teachers, and they are being forced to square up with one hand tied behind their backs.”
Antisocial Studies | Marianne Dhenin
As the war over American social studies classrooms heats up, the curriculum is in the crosshairs.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:22 PM
“The America we’ll live in a generation from now rests with our teachers, and they are being forced to square up with one hand tied behind their backs.”
Baffler no. 82 features new short fiction from Anelise Chen. Read “Interviews with Certain Vegetables” on our site now.
Interviews with Certain Vegetables | Anelise Chen
I never forced any vegetable to speak to me; I was receptive when they wanted to talk.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Baffler no. 82 features new short fiction from Anelise Chen. Read “Interviews with Certain Vegetables” on our site now.
For three decades, Thomas Friedman has shilled for empire and capital from the pages of the New York Times, a post he’s maintained despite (because of?) a track record of self-contradiction, failed prophecy, and war crime apologia.
Thomas Pain | Belén Fernández
We are three decades closer to the end of Thomas Friedman’s career.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:56 PM
For three decades, Thomas Friedman has shilled for empire and capital from the pages of the New York Times, a post he’s maintained despite (because of?) a track record of self-contradiction, failed prophecy, and war crime apologia.
“Nothing cuts off self-determination more efficiently than eradicating its language.”
Tell Me It’s Going to be OK | Miya Tokumitsu
America’s vast therapeutic brain trust has eradicated the language of solidarity and replaced it with exhortations to “do what you love.”
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:22 PM
“Nothing cuts off self-determination more efficiently than eradicating its language.”
“One day when I was taking refuge in the produce cooler at Costco, I heard a bright voice issue forth from a package of fresh corn. Startled, I looked down and noticed how the gleaming rows of starchy nutrition looked to me like rows of perfect teeth.”
Interviews with Certain Vegetables | Anelise Chen
I never forced any vegetable to speak to me; I was receptive when they wanted to talk.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 5:30 PM
“One day when I was taking refuge in the produce cooler at Costco, I heard a bright voice issue forth from a package of fresh corn. Startled, I looked down and noticed how the gleaming rows of starchy nutrition looked to me like rows of perfect teeth.”
As the number of uninsured Americans continues to climb under Trump, many will turn to free clinics. Yet even these have barriers to access: income-based eligibility caps, ID requirements, and more. Ad-hoc clinics try to fill in the gaps.
Free Healing | Astra Lincoln
At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM
As the number of uninsured Americans continues to climb under Trump, many will turn to free clinics. Yet even these have barriers to access: income-based eligibility caps, ID requirements, and more. Ad-hoc clinics try to fill in the gaps.
The war on America’s past and those tasked with teaching it did not begin with Trump—but he’s certainly ramping up the assault. Progressive curriculum providers find themselves at risk.
Antisocial Studies | Marianne Dhenin
As the war over American social studies classrooms heats up, the curriculum is in the crosshairs.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:55 PM
The war on America’s past and those tasked with teaching it did not begin with Trump—but he’s certainly ramping up the assault. Progressive curriculum providers find themselves at risk.
In short fiction from our new issue, a woman discovers a telepathic connection to produce and conducts a series of interviews with asparagus, corn, and a potato.
Interviews with Certain Vegetables | Anelise Chen
I never forced any vegetable to speak to me; I was receptive when they wanted to talk.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:20 PM
In short fiction from our new issue, a woman discovers a telepathic connection to produce and conducts a series of interviews with asparagus, corn, and a potato.
“In the summer of 2012, the tule elk had suddenly and mysteriously started turning up dead, their emaciated bodies found rotting into the ground. That’s when the forty-year peace between the ranchers and conservationists started to go cold.”
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:29 AM
“In the summer of 2012, the tule elk had suddenly and mysteriously started turning up dead, their emaciated bodies found rotting into the ground. That’s when the forty-year peace between the ranchers and conservationists started to go cold.”
Our new issue is now available online, but you can get a print copy for $4 off when you use promo code BLOOMGLOOM:
No. 82
Pour one out for the Chinese paddlefish, its habitat destroyed by dams on the Yangtze; the cryptic treehunter, the bird’s range in the Brazilian forest cleared for sugarcane plantations; or the...
store.thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Our new issue is now available online, but you can get a print copy for $4 off when you use promo code BLOOMGLOOM:
The ranchers of Point Reyes National Seashore have shaped the organic foodways of northern California. But a legal battle with local conservationists has driven all but two operations from the land, and left dozens of workers without jobs.
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 9, 2026 at 12:03 AM
The ranchers of Point Reyes National Seashore have shaped the organic foodways of northern California. But a legal battle with local conservationists has driven all but two operations from the land, and left dozens of workers without jobs.
It’s bad enough that Thomas Friedman has used his oversized platform to cheer on wrongheaded economic policy. But he’s also supported America’s disastrous interventions abroad—and even made the case for war crimes.
Thomas Pain | Belén Fernández
We are three decades closer to the end of Thomas Friedman’s career.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:01 PM
It’s bad enough that Thomas Friedman has used his oversized platform to cheer on wrongheaded economic policy. But he’s also supported America’s disastrous interventions abroad—and even made the case for war crimes.
Reposted by The Baffler
Reason #1 I cancelled the NYT: Friedman's fatuous, cliché-ridden, superficial pieces. The parodies are endless, because his writing is in itself a parody of intellectual thinking.
2025 marked thirty years of Thomas Friedman as the New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist. Belén Fernández surveys the wreckage.
Thomas Pain | Belén Fernández
We are three decades closer to the end of Thomas Friedman’s career.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Reason #1 I cancelled the NYT: Friedman's fatuous, cliché-ridden, superficial pieces. The parodies are endless, because his writing is in itself a parody of intellectual thinking.
Habitat loss and hunting once drove California’s tule elk to the brink of extinction. The population found sanctuary in Point Reyes. Does the elks’ survival depend on running the region’s organic cattle ranchers out of town?
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Habitat loss and hunting once drove California’s tule elk to the brink of extinction. The population found sanctuary in Point Reyes. Does the elks’ survival depend on running the region’s organic cattle ranchers out of town?
Capitalism may be the root cause of our suffering, but it’s also here to sell us the apparent solution: self-care! From the Archives: Miya Tokumitsu explains how gospels of reassurance and self-care keep capitalism humming along.
Tell Me It’s Going to be OK | Miya Tokumitsu
America’s vast therapeutic brain trust has eradicated the language of solidarity and replaced it with exhortations to “do what you love.”
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Capitalism may be the root cause of our suffering, but it’s also here to sell us the apparent solution: self-care! From the Archives: Miya Tokumitsu explains how gospels of reassurance and self-care keep capitalism humming along.
Reposted by The Baffler
Reading this now. I'm sure there are plenty of aspects of this that are difficult and complex, but the fact that some people are trying SOMETHING to help others get care gives me at least a small spark of hope. bsky.app/profile/theb...
“Love Heals operates squarely within the free clinic tradition, prioritizing patient trust over cultural conformity. At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.” thebaffler.com/latest/free-...
Free Healing | Astra Lincoln
At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Reading this now. I'm sure there are plenty of aspects of this that are difficult and complex, but the fact that some people are trying SOMETHING to help others get care gives me at least a small spark of hope. bsky.app/profile/theb...
“Love Heals operates squarely within the free clinic tradition, prioritizing patient trust over cultural conformity. At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.” thebaffler.com/latest/free-...
Free Healing | Astra Lincoln
At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:12 PM
“Love Heals operates squarely within the free clinic tradition, prioritizing patient trust over cultural conformity. At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.” thebaffler.com/latest/free-...
Reposted by The Baffler
In her story for FERN and The Baffler, Lauren Markham tells the complex story of how a fight over protecting the tule elk pitted environmentalists against ranchers in Point Reyes, California. Link below ⬇️
January 6, 2026 at 3:07 PM
In her story for FERN and The Baffler, Lauren Markham tells the complex story of how a fight over protecting the tule elk pitted environmentalists against ranchers in Point Reyes, California. Link below ⬇️
Reposted by The Baffler
The ranchers of Point Reyes have long been integral to California’s sustainable food culture. But as @laurenmarkham.bsky.social explains, a series of lawsuits has spoiled the idyll, pit environmentalists against organic dairies, and drawn in the MAHA crowd.
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 6, 2026 at 9:15 PM
The ranchers of Point Reyes have long been integral to California’s sustainable food culture. But as @laurenmarkham.bsky.social explains, a series of lawsuits has spoiled the idyll, pit environmentalists against organic dairies, and drawn in the MAHA crowd.
On the oceanfront pastures of Point Reyes, ranchers once grazed the cattle whose milk was integral to California’s organic food scene. But then their neighbors—the wild tule elk—started showing up dead.
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:59 PM
On the oceanfront pastures of Point Reyes, ranchers once grazed the cattle whose milk was integral to California’s organic food scene. But then their neighbors—the wild tule elk—started showing up dead.
2025 marked thirty years of Thomas Friedman as the New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist. Belén Fernández surveys the wreckage.
Thomas Pain | Belén Fernández
We are three decades closer to the end of Thomas Friedman’s career.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 2:53 PM
2025 marked thirty years of Thomas Friedman as the New York Times’ foreign affairs columnist. Belén Fernández surveys the wreckage.
“When small ranches and dairies close in California, land prices being what they are, they often move out of state. When this milk goes out of local circulation, its market share goes to the larger organic conglomerate.”
Last Herd on Earth | Lauren Markham
In California, conservation-minded environmentalists go to war against organic milk producers.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
“When small ranches and dairies close in California, land prices being what they are, they often move out of state. When this milk goes out of local circulation, its market share goes to the larger organic conglomerate.”
In the face of climate change, insurance companies are jacking up rates and skimping on payouts—or leaving markets altogether.
Blame and Claim | Tyler Maroney
A public adjuster is part private detective, part lawyer, part psychologist.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:25 AM
In the face of climate change, insurance companies are jacking up rates and skimping on payouts—or leaving markets altogether.
Last August, Astra Lincoln attended the Love Heals free clinic in Boise, Idaho, one of a new spate of temporary clinics popping up across the country and advertising alongside concerts in order to meet the demands of 27 million uninsured Americans.
Free Healing | Astra Lincoln
At a time when the aperture of America’s care network is closing, Love Heals insists on caring for everyone.
thebaffler.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:44 AM
Last August, Astra Lincoln attended the Love Heals free clinic in Boise, Idaho, one of a new spate of temporary clinics popping up across the country and advertising alongside concerts in order to meet the demands of 27 million uninsured Americans.
“Imagine a family where everything is gone, disappeared into the smoke, and you have the burden of sharing with the insurance company everything that you lost. Where would you start?”
Blame and Claim | Tyler Maroney
A public adjuster is part private detective, part lawyer, part psychologist.
thebaffler.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:02 PM
“Imagine a family where everything is gone, disappeared into the smoke, and you have the burden of sharing with the insurance company everything that you lost. Where would you start?”