Cartoon imperialism
Weekend reads for March 1, 2025
Hello, friends and readers! And happy Saturday to all.
As we do every weekend, we have gathered below a collection of the most challenging, diverting, and insightful pieces we’ve come across in our research this week, along with — as always — a musical performance (or in this case, several) to inspire you. In today’s edition of Weekend Reads:
Pushing through the cringe to find what Pink Floyd has to teach us about growing up —and about fascism
Forget A.I. — the real technological revolution of our time is Ozempic
Finding the limits of freedom in how we understand divorce
The end of doing what you love
How conservatives lost touch with meaning
What films get wrong about the class politics of sex work
The last word on what it means to be a well-dressed world leader
You won’t want to miss any of it. And thank you so much to our supporting subscribers for making this newsletter possible. If you haven’t yet joined our community, why not become part of this, and help us build the future of independent media today?
A programming note: We’re going Live!
Come back and join us next week for three more great Live conversations: Monday, March 3 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, we’ll have our weekly conversation with scholar of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat. On Tuesday, March 4, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern we’ll be speaking with California Congressman Ro Khanna, and on Thursday, March 6, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern we’re back with messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio. We hope to see you at all three!
To join and watch, download the Substack app (click on the button below) and turn on notifications — you’ll get an alert that we’re live and you can watch from your iOS or Android mobile device. And if you haven’t already, subscribe to The Ink to access full videos of past conversations and to join the chat during our live events.
The end of the transatlantic relationship?
Six weeks into Trump 2.0, and it’s clear that the world has changed. We’ve seen the return of the measles — an eradicated disease — and the first death from it. We’ve had purges of the military, retribution against the press — and collaboration by oligarchs. DOGE further insulted federal employees with demands for bullet points and OMB plotted more mass firings.
As bad as all that is, it’s in keeping with some of the worst moments in American history. And while we got used to calling developments “unprecedented” during the first Trump presidency, the bigger development this week really is.
When Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House yesterday, he might have expected a hostile reception, and he might have expected to be pressured into finally signing away his country’s mineral rights for an ambiguous pledge of continued military assistance. He likely didn’t expect to be attacked by Donald Trump and JD Vance for being insufficiently “respectful” of United States largesse. Or — even prepared as he seemed to be — that he’d have to stand up to them and leave without a deal. And it’s not clear that anyone watching expected to witness the end of a geopolitical era — the period of cooperation between the U.S. and Europe that’s held since the end of the Second World War, ended the Cold War, and has continued on, however shakily, ever since.
It doesn’t come as a complete surprise, of course — the transatlantic order has been on life support since the first Trump administration, and Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have promised as much — but today’s display drove home the growing distance between America and its former allies in a way Macron’s gentle rebuke of Trump earlier in the week did not. And much as Trump had cut Ukraine’s leader out of negotiations over his own country’s future, European leaders largely ignored Trump as they expressed support for Zelensky after the meeting. Whether this means a future where Europe goes it alone is as yet unclear — but the relationship between the allies — or former allies — has changed.
And back in the U.S., people are pushing back. They’re hitting billionaires where it can hurt — in the bank account. They’re committing to run for office in 2026. There’s hope — and action.
Meanwhile, here at The Ink…
Before we get to the outside links below, a quick recap of what we brought you this week.
As we did last week, we had a series of challenging and inspiring live conversations — and thousands of Ink readers showed up to listen and ask questions. Foreign policy scholar Stephen Wertheim gave us the background on the cartoon imperialism that’s behind the blowup in the Oval Office that’s dragged international relations into a new, uncertain era. Journalist and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman talked about his recent film — and the relationship that made Donald Trump. Labor journalist Hamilton Nolan told us about the #teslatakedown movement to reduce Elon Musk’s wealth — and his influence. And we heard from historian of fascism Ruth Ben-Ghiat on the necessity of speaking out in this moment — being the anti-fascist skunk at the garden party of apathy and obedience.
If you’re looking for a way to understand what’s been happening, or for marching orders on how to take action, you won’t want to miss these. And we hope you’ll join us in the coming weeks. And in the meantime — be the skunk.
The curated list of links below is one of the perks of being a paying subscriber to The Ink. If you haven’t yet, join us and stand up for independent, tell-it-like-it-is media that bends to no billionaire or tyrant.
And now, your Weekend Reads
Another brick in the wall
Fascism begins with loneliness. Loneliness begins in youth. The fascist impulse is to return to a youth you never had; one where you felt loved and in communion with other people, especially those with power over you. One where mom held you in her arms and you never had to grow up.
“Mother, should I run for President?” Pink asks. “Mother, should I trust the government? Mother, will they put me in the firing line? Oh, is it just a waste of time?” [Flaming Hydra]
Breaking up
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