Plagues upon the Earth - You're Not Sufficiently Horrified
Release Date: 04/08/2026
Picky How Modernity Completely Screwed Up (Part LXVII)
We Are Not Saved
Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History By: Helen Zoe Veit Published: 2026 304 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Stop me if you’ve heard this one… Up until the beginning of the 20th century we never ever did this one thing, and then starting in the 20th century attitudes and culture gradually changed until now, this very new thing, that basically never existed historically, is accepted as a fact of life. For this go-around it’s children being picky about food. The whole concept only began to emerge in the 1930s and back then it was just used to identify...
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Last Branch Standing - Honey Badger References and Case Analysis
We Are Not Saved
Last Branch Standing: A Potentially Surprising, Occasionally Witty Journey Inside Today's Supreme Court By: Sarah Isgur Published: 2026 416 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A deep dive into the Roberts Court, with a historical framing of the Court as a whole. Two main themes run through the book. First, while people want to evaluate the Court on the single axis of liberal vs. conservative, there is a second, perhaps more important axis that tracks the institutionalism of the justices—respect for precedent, maintaining the legitimacy of the Court, congressional deference, etc....
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Four Short Classics for the Lazy Pseudo-Intellectual
We Are Not Saved
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Against the Machine - Steelmanning Modern Luddism
We Are Not Saved
Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity By: Paul Kingsnorth Published: 2025 368 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Before Kingsnorth can tell you how to be against the Machine, he first sets out to define it. The Machine is multi-faceted, but Kingsnorth distills it down into four S’s: Science, The Self, Sex, and the Screen. To take a position “against the Machine” he urges a return to the four P’s: People, Place, Prayer, and the Past. But before you grasp this simple heuristic too firmly, it turns out that not all P’s are good, and not all S’s are bad. He is opposed...
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A Day in the Life of Abed Salama - More Palestinian Sadness
We Are Not Saved
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy By: Nathan Thrall Published: 2023 272 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The book operates on three levels: First, the book spends quite a bit of time giving you Abed’s history: his youth, his participation in the Palestinian resistance, his marriages, the associated family dynamics, etc. Second, there’s the actual “day” from the title. Abed’s desperate search for his son after he was involved in a horrific bus accident, and the various difficulties presented by Israeli control (checkpoints, different passes,...
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Plagues upon the Earth - You're Not Sufficiently Horrified
We Are Not Saved
Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History By: Kyle Harper Published: 2021 704 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A comprehensive historical overview of the never-ending war between humanity and disease. From its earliest days all the way down to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a specific focus on what he calls the “paradox of progress”: every new advance creates new opportunities for diseases. But it’s not just us driving diseases, they’re driving us as well. Efforts to mitigate the negative effects of these pathogens are scattered throughout our history, our...
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Phenomena - Why Must It Always Be a Spoon?
We Are Not Saved
Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis By: Annie Jacobsen Published: 2017 544 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An exhaustive history of the government’s attempts to systematize and weaponize paranormal abilities. It also covers the broader paranormal research landscape, with lots of discussion of Uri Geller. What authorial biases should I be aware of? Jacobsen claims to be approaching the subject as a neutral observer, but I got a strong “I want to believe” vibe from the book. Her approach...
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Four Books of Speculative Fiction About Christian Damnation
We Are Not Saved
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Unshrunk - Medication, Red in Tooth and Claw
We Are Not Saved
Delano is very much an example of something being wrong with psychiatry, the question is how emblematic is her experience? Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance By: Laura Delano Published: 2025 352 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An autobiographical tale of Delano’s experience with the mental health industry starting at the age of thirteen. Among other things, it covers her bipolar diagnosis, eating disorders, cutting, and one, nearly successful, suicide attempt. On the treatment side of the ledger she took at least a dozen drugs, engaged in constant therapy, and was...
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Three Books About Roman Stoicism or Lack Thereof
We Are Not Saved
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Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History
By: Kyle Harper
Published: 2021
704 Pages
Briefly, what is this book about?
A comprehensive historical overview of the never-ending war between humanity and disease. From its earliest days all the way down to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a specific focus on what he calls the “paradox of progress”: every new advance creates new opportunities for diseases. But it’s not just us driving diseases, they’re driving us as well. Efforts to mitigate the negative effects of these pathogens are scattered throughout our history, our civilization and our genes.
What authorial biases should I be aware of?
None that you’d really be surprised by. He explicitly takes a very global view of humanity’s disease burden, knowing that the story of European diseases like smallpox and the plague have already received plenty of attention. (Which is not to say he ignores them. Merely that he locates them as just one among many.)
Who should read this book?
I think everyone should be more aware of the potential dangers of pandemics, and the monstrous impact plagues have had on the development of humanity and civilization, and this book does a fantastic job with the second part, but it has less to offer on future danger than I hoped. Speaking of which:
What does the book have to say about the future?
Harper definitely takes the stand that our long war against diseases is far from over, and there is a lot of great discussion about how pathogens evolve alongside us, changing tactics as we change our environment. But there’s almost no discussion (none that I really remember) of the danger of bioengineered pathogens, which felt like a significant oversight.
Specific thoughts: Two things which continue to baffle me