So this actually happened on Thursday last, but because the review was behind a paywall, I was only now able to figure out how to download it using Factiva. I am so grateful to Lynne Segal for her thoughtful and generous review. I am thrilled that people understand the value of revisiting the state socialist past.
The Book of the Day in the UK's Observer!
Meagan Day asked great questions for this Jacobin interview
It’s always a pleasure to talk to such smart and thoughtful journalists. I enjoyed this interview very much.
Interview with Dahlia Balcazar
Thanks to Dahlia Balcazar of Bitch Media for such a fun conversation!
A two-page spread in the UK's Independent!
The gods of publicity have smiled upon me. But I am most grateful to Alison Davies, publicist extraordinaire at Vintage. Link to the electronic version: https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/women-sex-gender-pay-gap-capitalism-sexism/
My new column in today's Washington Post
Read the new column here: “What the socialist Kama Sutra tells us about sex behind the Iron Curtain”
Reviews, reviews everywhere!
The last week has been a whirlwind of reviews to coincide with the original publication date of my book in the US. Perhaps because of Michelle Obama’s memoir, quite a few books were pushed back a week and my new publication date is Tuesday, November 20th, just in time for people to read it before Thanksgiving dinner. It will make for many debates around the table, I am sure. So far the reviews have been very encouraging. Even the conservative Times of London said that parts of the book were “fascinating,” and that “This book is not as silly as its title suggests.” That’s high praise from a Tory paper!
Amazing night at the Half King reading series
Thanks so much to Glenn Raucher for making it happen, and for his astute questions.
What the Pool is reading this week!
Two wonderful reviews from The Guardian and Pacific Standard!
Thanks so much to Rebecca Stoner and Emily Witt for their thoughtful reviews in Pacific Standard and The Guardian.
Spotted in the window of Waterstones on Gower Street in London
So thrilled to have chatted with Molly Fischer on The Cut podcast
So this was such a fun conversation to have with Molly Fischer for The Cut podcast. I’ve attached a clip of my bit, but you can listen to the full podcast here: https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/the-cut-on-tuesdays-episode-4-alexandria-ocasio-cortez.html
Thanks to Lidjia Haas and Violet Lucca at the Harper's Blog!
Okay, so I am terribly slow on the uptake because I am not on social media, but I was so thrilled to discover this lovely conversation between Lidjia Haas and Violet Lucca at Harper’s Magazine about Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism.
https://soundcloud.com/harpersmagazine/fall-books-and-an-interview-with-rachel-kushner
The conversation starts at around 22:40 and goes for about 10 minutes.
Ok, now I'm convinced...
This helpful table, provide by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) today, has convinced me finally that socialism would be a terrible idea. We might get health care, education, and public transport, but look how much more we will pay for owning a Ford pickup truck. It’s a slam du(mb)k argument.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/cea-report-opportunity-costs-socialism/
Kirkus Review →
Thanks to Jean Bookishthoughts!
So delighted to be included in her September 2018 book haul.
Cover of the Bulgarian version of The Man and Women Intimately
This is one of the Bulgarian covers of a sexual education book that was translated from the German and first published in Bulgaria in 1979.
Summer Reading: The Cold War: A World History
A sweeping history of the Cold War, but Westad doesn't have much to say about women. So far, I've found only one relevant paragraph which segues immediately into a discussion of militarism.
Summer reading: Axel Honneth, The Idea of Socialism, 2017
Reading Peter Singer on A Darwinian Left
I'm rereading Peter Singer's A Darwinian Left: Politics, Evolution and Cooperation. It's an old book (2000), but I find it a provocative little essay to help rethink the Marxist view of human nature. Can we evolve to be more cooperative? Are Darwinism and Marxism compatible? This is a wonderful little book for discussion groups.