Mitch Friedfeld
@mitchfriedfeld.bsky.social
Concerned citizen, retired government drone. Classical music, guitar, classic rock, politics. #Mahler, #Bach, #Schubert
Sure, there are hundreds of dedicated people at work here. But the culture is rotten to the core. And this is before the Butler debacle. Once the book got out of the Kennedy/Johnson years, the pace picked up.
January 6, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Sure, there are hundreds of dedicated people at work here. But the culture is rotten to the core. And this is before the Butler debacle. Once the book got out of the Kennedy/Johnson years, the pace picked up.
I thought The Absent One, the second Department Q novel, was so bad that I’m giving up the series entirely. I’ll probably continue it on TV but that’s no sure thing.
January 3, 2026 at 11:04 PM
I thought The Absent One, the second Department Q novel, was so bad that I’m giving up the series entirely. I’ll probably continue it on TV but that’s no sure thing.
Normally I wouldn't brag about my 9/12, 371, on this week's Slate News Quiz (year in review). But I did manage to beat both average score and the Slatester, so... can you do better? slate.com/news-and-pol...
Test Your Knowledge of 2025’s Big Stories
Think you’re smarter than a Slate senior supervising producer? Find out with this end-of-year news quiz.
slate.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Normally I wouldn't brag about my 9/12, 371, on this week's Slate News Quiz (year in review). But I did manage to beat both average score and the Slatester, so... can you do better? slate.com/news-and-pol...
The mighty Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, #Bach - Tariq Harb, guitar youtu.be/6jtuTCy8RXg?... via @YouTube
Bach: Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565 - Tariq Harb, guitar
YouTube video by Tariq Harb
youtu.be
December 26, 2025 at 4:10 AM
The mighty Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, #Bach - Tariq Harb, guitar youtu.be/6jtuTCy8RXg?... via @YouTube
Have you been feeling optimistic about your fellow humans lately? This collection of columns by WaPo advice columnist Carolyn Hax should bring that to a screeching halt. Cue Edvard Munch. wapo.st/3MNVw0F
Carolyn Hax: Most-read columns of 2025
A roundup of the most-read Carolyn Hax columns of 2025 includes a woman’s birthday obsession, a flight-tracking in-law and a petty inheritance decision.
wapo.st
December 24, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Have you been feeling optimistic about your fellow humans lately? This collection of columns by WaPo advice columnist Carolyn Hax should bring that to a screeching halt. Cue Edvard Munch. wapo.st/3MNVw0F
Title of the year: “If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies: How Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All,” by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares. Hope the book lives up to it.
December 21, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Title of the year: “If Anyone Builds it, Everyone Dies: How Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All,” by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares. Hope the book lives up to it.
If you like thrillers and/or meta-fiction, try “The Plot” and the “The Sequel,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Enjoyed both.
December 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
If you like thrillers and/or meta-fiction, try “The Plot” and the “The Sequel,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Enjoyed both.
Now this I didn’t expect. Popped into a breakfast/lunch place and guess what’s playing in the background, my favorite one-hit wonder, released 60 years ago: youtu.be/_4FsMlzPwT8?...
Lies
YouTube video by The Knickerbockers - Topic
youtu.be
December 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Now this I didn’t expect. Popped into a breakfast/lunch place and guess what’s playing in the background, my favorite one-hit wonder, released 60 years ago: youtu.be/_4FsMlzPwT8?...
Emily Peck: But it's just a steak? Why is it so expensive?
Felix Salmon: Because it has a big price tag on it, Emily.
Now this is the content I'm looking for in Slate Money.
Felix Salmon: Because it has a big price tag on it, Emily.
Now this is the content I'm looking for in Slate Money.
December 20, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Emily Peck: But it's just a steak? Why is it so expensive?
Felix Salmon: Because it has a big price tag on it, Emily.
Now this is the content I'm looking for in Slate Money.
Felix Salmon: Because it has a big price tag on it, Emily.
Now this is the content I'm looking for in Slate Money.
Reality therapy. open.substack.com/pub/genewein...
Hey, MAGA: He Thinks You're Stupid. Are You?
I’ve been wanting to write this for some time, but couldn’t find the occasion.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reality therapy. open.substack.com/pub/genewein...
The New Year's period is going to be grim: so many of my podcasts are taking two-week breaks. Twol weeks! How dare they take away my free content like that.
December 18, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The New Year's period is going to be grim: so many of my podcasts are taking two-week breaks. Twol weeks! How dare they take away my free content like that.
Good riddance. More, please. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Bongino announces he is leaving FBI deputy director job in January
President Donald Trump commended Bongino on his tenure and suggested that he would be returning to his job as a conservative podcaster.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Good riddance. More, please. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“…he found Vianello at his desk, a disassembled pistol spread in front of him. The metal parts lay scattered on an open copy of Gazzetta dello Sport, their dull menace in sharp contrast to the pink paper, like a ballet dancer wearing brass knuckles.”
A Sea of Troubles; Donna Leon
A Sea of Troubles; Donna Leon
December 15, 2025 at 9:59 PM
“…he found Vianello at his desk, a disassembled pistol spread in front of him. The metal parts lay scattered on an open copy of Gazzetta dello Sport, their dull menace in sharp contrast to the pink paper, like a ballet dancer wearing brass knuckles.”
A Sea of Troubles; Donna Leon
A Sea of Troubles; Donna Leon
Need a chuckle? Here you go -- Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go? youtu.be/sxfxy-3dGz0?... via @YouTube
Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go?
YouTube video by RamsesThePigeon
youtu.be
December 14, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Need a chuckle? Here you go -- Where Is The Comma In "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" Supposed To Go? youtu.be/sxfxy-3dGz0?... via @YouTube
Good enough. My 10/12, 397, on this week’s Slate News Quiz beat average easily but fell short of the Slatester. Can you do better? slate.com/news-and-pol...
Think You’re Smarter Than Mark Joseph Stern? Find Out With This Week’s News Quiz.
Test your knowledge of this week’s big stories.
slate.com
December 12, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Good enough. My 10/12, 397, on this week’s Slate News Quiz beat average easily but fell short of the Slatester. Can you do better? slate.com/news-and-pol...
MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos's ex-wife, has now given away $26 BILLION, one-third of her net worth. She deserves both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Will Trump and Congress grant it? Please (snorts in derision). Hey Jeff, get in the game.
December 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos's ex-wife, has now given away $26 BILLION, one-third of her net worth. She deserves both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Will Trump and Congress grant it? Please (snorts in derision). Hey Jeff, get in the game.
It’s far worse than you thought — How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism
The President was drawn to the institution for its cultural prestige. He and his allies made it radioactive.
www.newyorker.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:57 AM
It’s far worse than you thought — How the Kennedy Center Has Been Transformed by Trumpism www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
I made it to the last bar. Now, only 10.000 more reps before I can get it cleanly, up to speed, and the biggest challenge, in my memory. Not an easy feat, it's eight pages long. youtu.be/7ZtMRwiJY0U?...
Black Beauty
YouTube video by Guy Van Duser - Topic
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I made it to the last bar. Now, only 10.000 more reps before I can get it cleanly, up to speed, and the biggest challenge, in my memory. Not an easy feat, it's eight pages long. youtu.be/7ZtMRwiJY0U?...
"Today's number: 75. That's the percentage of top-grossing movies that are either sequels or reboots. More proof that Hollywood's greatest special effect is ... copy and paste." Ed Elson, on Prof G Markets.
December 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
"Today's number: 75. That's the percentage of top-grossing movies that are either sequels or reboots. More proof that Hollywood's greatest special effect is ... copy and paste." Ed Elson, on Prof G Markets.
"I'd rather be pretty, you can fake being smart." Alina Habba, Trump’s embattled New Jersey prosecutor, says she will leave role wapo.st/4iKOCF5
Alina Habba, Trump’s embattled New Jersey prosecutor, says she will leave role
In a statement, Habba said she resigned “to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love.”
wapo.st
December 8, 2025 at 7:30 PM
"I'd rather be pretty, you can fake being smart." Alina Habba, Trump’s embattled New Jersey prosecutor, says she will leave role wapo.st/4iKOCF5
Definitely getting old. Thanks to mild arthritis in my left thumb, it now takes both of us, plus this gadget, to open some jars. Oh well.
December 8, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Definitely getting old. Thanks to mild arthritis in my left thumb, it now takes both of us, plus this gadget, to open some jars. Oh well.
Want to play more than a half-million dollars worth of guitars? These guys did that. youtu.be/fixMWe-O5u4?... via @YouTube
This guitar is worth $275,000
YouTube video by Rob Scallon
youtu.be
December 8, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Want to play more than a half-million dollars worth of guitars? These guys did that. youtu.be/fixMWe-O5u4?... via @YouTube