Forget politics this week
It’s been an exciting week. I watched the Washington Nationals win the World Series and took my kids trick-or-treating for Halloween (this year, my kids went as Batman and Spider-Man—which means we covered DC Comics and Marvel. I’m not sure whether my son is pretending to shoot webs or is throwing gang signs. I’m hoping it’s the former).
And, oh yeah, there’s an impeachment (inquiry) going on.
I’ve been all over that in my Daily Beast column, but I wanted to share a few other things past you that might otherwise slip through the cracks:
1. As some of you know, for the last couple of years, I have been on a low sugar, low carb diet. Frankly, I haven’t found anything better for staying in shape. The interesting thing, though, is that it goes against everything I was taught as a kid (remember the so-called “food pyramid,” which suggested lots of servings of grains and pasta?) If you’re interested in this topic, I just watched a documentary called “FAT” by health expert Vinnie Tortorich that tells the story of how the government and the media helped spread this disinformation (which led to more obesity). I also learned that this is about more than just looking good; it turns out that many kids with epilepsy can be treated with a ketogenic diet—if doctors only knew (or cared) about our diet (as opposed to always recommending pills and surgery).
2. Speaking of movies, I’ve seen a couple of good, if small, ones in the last week, or so. Both include lots of music. First, Renee Zellweger’s “Judy” about the last days of Judy Garland’s life, is quite good. I think she deserves an Oscar, in fact. I also enjoyed the documentary, “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.” Maybe I’m showing my age here, but she’s simply the best female singer, in my book.
3. If you’re into history, I wanted to say something about Brendan Simms’ massive new biograph, “Hitler: Only The World Was Enough.” What makes this book interesting is that it goes against the notion that Hitler was really interested in going east and taking on the communists. Simms’ theory is that Hitler was obsessed with Anglo-America, and that this developed during his time as a corporal in World War I—where he encountered American soldiers. Simms provides evidence to suggest that Hitler was angry that so many German-American immigrants were fighting against the Mother Land, and his desire for more “living room” was partly to prevent future immigration out of Germany (this, of course, was also about eugenics). Simms suggests that Hitler hated capitalism more than communism, and, thus, anticipated a clash with England and America, which is where he departs from some other historians. I was supposed to interview Simms on the podcast about this book, but technical problems intervened. I’m not sure if we will get it rescheduled, so I wanted to at least give it a plug for our readers who are history buffs.
If you like this newsletter, please tell a friend. I also want to recommend my friend (and past podcast guest) Thomas Kidd’s email newsletter. Thomas, as you may know, teaches at Baylor and writes great stuff about history and religion. But his emails are very practical advice about how to be more effective. For example, his latest one is titled, “The 5-hour workday.” They’re free to anyone who subscribes, so if you’d like some more wisdom delivered to your inbox, sign up here!
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In case you missed it on Matt Lewis and the News podcast ...
Jessica Pan on Talking to Strangers Journalist Jessica Pan talks about her book, Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes... > Click here to listen to the episode
Mike Murphy on Republican Priests vs. Mathematicians GOP strategist Mike Murphy joins the podcast to talk about Republican attacks on Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the Marco Rubio vs. Jeb feud, the prospects of impeaching Trump, whether Democrats will blow it, why Republicans think Trump is magic, and more!... > Click here to listen to our conversation.
Kathryn Jean Lopez on Faith Is Katie Hill a victim of "revenge porn," or a #MeToo abuser? Or both?? Katie Herzog of The Stranger weighs in. We also discuss Jordan Peterson's diet, Naomi Wolf (and the perils of not having a fact checker), the evils of "cancel culture," and more!... > Click here to listen to our conversation
Read my most recent Daily Beast columns...
Mark Zuckerberg Has Me Rethinking My Free-Speech Absolutism
> Click here to read the column
The Excuses for Trump Just Keep Getting More Pathetic
> Click here to read the column
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