They Say / I Blog

A place at the grill: Emily Dreyfuss on fake meat

“Vegan hot dog” isn’t an oxymoron, and it doesn't attempt to replicate the taste of an all-beef frank. What it does, according to Wired staff writer Emily Dreyfuss, is offer a “comprehensible” product that can participate in protein-centered social events such as backyard barbeques. Dreyfuss explains her ideas in this July 2018 essay.

Dreyfuss, "In defense of the vegan hot dog"

 

A focused, relaxing ride: Arielle Pardes on the “slow web”

Experts, authorities, and ordinary people in all walks of life have observed (and complained) that our gadgets have taken over our lives and attention spans. And, as always, there’s an app for that (dozens of them, actually), and many people offer those tech-based solutions. Others say quitting cold turkey is the only remedy. Arielle Pardes, senior associate editor at Wired, proposes a different approach in her July 2018 essay in the magazine.

Pardes,  “In the age of despair, find comfort on the ‘slow web’”

In the public interest: Jonathan Gottschall on the social benefits of fiction

Who doesn’t love a good story? Nobody, probably. But in addition to their entertainment value, stories serve an important social function. In this April 2012 Boston Globe essay, literary scholar Jonathan Gottschall presents evidence from the emerging science of the story to argue that “most fiction, even the trashy stuff, appears to be in the public interest.”

Gottschall, “Why fiction is good for you”