Hey folks. Last month, Excellent Sheep, my book on the pathologies of elite higher education, was published in a tenth-anniversary edition. It includes a new preface that addresses the question, have things gotten better since then? (Answer: no.)
I held off dunning you with the announcement until I had something tangible to offer with it in the form of the podcasts I've done in conjunction with the new edition. There have been five, each different, each with really smart and interesting hosts:
The Unspeakable with the writer Meghan Daum, who is inimitable (I know, because I've tried to imit her);
Lean Out with the heterodox Canadian journalist Tara Henley (ex-CBC);
The Syllabus with Mark Oppenheimer, prolific author on Jewish subjects and all-around good guy;
Uncertain Things with the tagteam of Millennial journalists Adaam James Levin-Areddy and Vanessa M. Quirk;
Bigger Than Me with Aaron Pete, an Indigenous Canadian Gen Z-er.
For those of you who are getting this newsletter for the first time, I generally (though obviously not always) use it for news of new work only. For new podcast and other appearances, you can friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter/X.
To catch up on (most of) the pieces I announced in earlier editions of this newsletter, see the “Recent” column on the Essays & Reviews page of my website. For a selection of past podcast and other appearances, see the Media page of my website.
Thanks for reading.
Bill
I assign your essay on this topic to my large class at Brown University (mostly seniors) and it still really resonates with them. The mindset obviously starts well before college, but by graduation they are largely able to diagnose the problem.