The Bluestocking, Vol IV: Greek tragedies, absurd dogs and CumberRumpole

Hello,

It's a truncated Tiny Letter this week, because I've been travelling for work (well, going to Scotland, but it will soon be a different country, so it counts). Also, because there is no news, Twitter is like when there are too many sharks growing inside the mother shark and they start eating each other. Only the sharks are bad opinions about politics.

Anyway, as an Easter egg, here's a thing I'm working on that I haven't released into the wild yet. Any feedback on how to refine this is very much welcome: Seven questions to ask if you want to know if your online community is sexist.

Helen


The Greek Warrior: Yanis Varoufakis

Politicians got dangerously interesting this summer with the success of Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn and Yanis Varoufakis. Despite having very different ideologies, abilities and chances of electoral success, it does feel like we are in the backlash zone against boring politicians with landmine-tested answers. Maybe Andy Burnham should ride a motorbike or build a big tower with his name on it.

Could conjoined twins share a mind?

An old piece from the NY Times, it features twins who are joined at the head, and therefore share brain tissue. As the weeks go on, you'll notice a theme - I'm researching the concept of identity at the moment, and twins provide a challenge to the idea of us all as unique, special sunbeams.


Lunch with the FT: The Fat Jew

So how Jewish is he? “Religiously, hmmm — I used to go to the synagogue to pick up girls; culturally, very much so — I have so much unfounded anxiety; genetically, 100 per cent — my pubic hair’s longer than my penis. Seriously, though, when Jewish kids come up to me to say thanks for making being Jewish cool again, that makes me proud.”

What a headline, eh? Apparently this guy is HUGE on Instagram and that's why we old squares haven't heard of him. Although he loses some of my respect for referring to his hairstyle being like a "Jew unicorn" when clearly it should be "Jewnicorn". Never miss an opportunity for a portmanteau, sir. This is the internet.

QUICK LINKS: The underage Vine star sex scandal, or why giving young men power without responsibility is a bad idea. 35 Cosby accusers tell their stories. How NOT to respond when people say your app is racist. The village in Kazahkstan were people keep falling asleep - hysteria or virus? A man with a condition that causes him to feel other people's emotions. A gif of the Aurora Borealis from the International Space Station.

WATCH: Jon Ronson's TED talk on shaming.

CUSS ... of the week comes via the This newsletter, which I highly recommend. "'Definitive oral history' is usually a euphemism for "insomnia cure" but this one's pretty damn good." (It is.)

LISTEN: You might not have tickets for the Cumberhamlet (if you have a spare, CALL ME), but we can all enjoy Binkybonk Candyflap as Rumpole of the Bailey, thanks to Radio 4.

GAWP: Mark Zuckerberg's dog is absurd.

GIF: This is 18th Century for "meh".

PLUG: My friend Gia is putting her hand into the mincer again, by organising a discussion on trigger warnings, safe spaces and No Platform. Tickets here.

... and that's all folks. Feedback and chat to helenlewisbook@gmail.com. See you next week.