Reading. Watching. Listening.

January 26

Hi All,

This week, has been beyond discouraging. I keep thinking of Bishop Budde’s idea of mercy and also of empathy. This administration has neither. And as someone with both, watching the people in charge wield such evil power is just exhausting.

A few days ago, a friend posted an amazing clip from the show The Fall. Click HERE to watch the clip- the acting and writing are amazing. But the caption on the post is what really spoke to me.

It reads:

In this scene from The Fall, Stella Gibson's quiet yet cutting observation (quoting the great Margaret Atwood) shines a light on how differently fear is experienced between the sexes. For men, it's ridicule. For women, it's violence. It's a simple truth, but it cuts deep, reminding us how power and vulnerability are shaped by the systems we live in.

And yet it’s not just about fear. It’s about stepping out of your own experience and realising how different the world can feel for someone else. It’s not always easy to do, but it’s necessary. Think about it. A man in a room full of women might feel awkward. A woman in a room full of men might feel unsafe. Same space, completely different realities.

And there it is. “It’s about stepping out of your own experience and realising how different the world can feel for someone else.” Why is this administration incapable of doing this? And what are we to do about it?

For now I have no answers other than to continue reading and learning so I’ll share what I read, watched and listened to below. And as always, I’d love to hear the same from you.

xo,

Stacey

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Reading:

• Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (print)

• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak (audio)

Listening:

• The Ezra Klein Show (So That’s What ‘Make America Great Again’ Means)

• Pantsuit Politics (Inauguration Day & How to (Not Just) Survive the Trump Administration)

• From the Front Porch (Into the Backlist: History of Wolves)

• Fiction Matters (Best Backlist Books of 2024 with Eunice Kim)

• The Popcast (Things That Should Be Banned instead of TikTok)

Watching:

• September 5 (in the theatre)

• Madame Secretary (Netflix)

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