Weekend reads for February 3

Explaining the gender divide, understanding the newspaper collapse, and remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman

This week, we’ve looked at how to cut through the chaos of the border crisis (the secret is to listen to immigrants); we’ve heard about the grandmothers and grassroots activists who are standing against fascism in Germany; and we’ve begun looking at evidence of a developing dimension in political difference — young women are increasingly progressive, while young men remain conservative.

For the weekend, we’ve gathered some stories that delve deeper into these topics, along with a few more that zoom out for a broader view.

A fascinating data dump reveals a possible mechanism behind the ideological gender divide. A tale from TikTok reveals how immigrants are using social media and video to reveal the humanity of the long journey to the southern border and the reality of crossing into the United States. A historian reflects on the deep roots of the American right, and what we miss when we only see fascism elsewhere. And we look at what the legacy of a great American actor reveals about the nature of truth, and of truth-telling.

Thanks as always for reading The Ink and continuing to support us (and if you’re not a paid subscriber already, we encourage you to join us). We’ve made these links available for our subscribers (and we think they’re well worth your time).

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Follow the money

“The decline of journalism—and the concomitant rise of a poisoned, “post-truth” information environment that deeply threatens democracy—is not a development that journalists, or society at large, must accept as inevitable. Contrary to received ideas, it’s not an unavoidable consequence of digital technology, generational change, or immutable market forces.” [Washington Monthly]