Jan 082012
In this new, occasional American Robotnik feature, I’ll share articles shedding light on various aspects of American society and culture. The readings will have inspired me, informed my thinking and writing, or simply sparked interest in the issues they discuss. I also hope they’ll help you along your acculturation curve. Enjoy.
- “All the Single Ladies” by Kate Bolick, The Atlantic, November 2011 – On the crumbling institution of marriage and the rise of a single woman.
- “Why Craft Booze Is Booming” by Ken Walczak, GOOD, December 9 – Umm, because it’s delicious?
- “How American Food Got So Bad”, Marketplace Podcast, December 14, 2011 (Full Transcript) – Self-explanatory.
- “Strip Maul: Nine Strip Clubs in 48 Hours, a Tourist’s Guide to America’s Porniest City” by Kelly O, Portland Mercury, December 15, 2011 – An outsider’s (Seattleite’s, no less) look at Portland’s darker, but no less fun, side.
- “Cash Flow: How rappers like Jay-Z have risen from do-rags to riches” by Ed Crooks, The Financial Times, reprinted at Slate.com, December 17, 2011 – The business of hip-hop and how the two are opposite sides of the same coin.
Plus a few readings on the recent wave of nostalgia:
- “Nostalgia on Repeat” by Chuck Klosterman, Grantland, September 28, 2011
- “You Say You Want a Devolution” by Kurt Andersen, Vanity Fair, January 2012
- “Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction to Its Own Past” by Simon Reynolds, New York: Faber & Faber, 2011
