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3 weeks ago | 
wsj.com | Mark Oppenheimer
The rise of identity politics and a growing taste for transgression have eroded the taboo against antisemitism across the political spectrum. Since the advent of what we might call the new antisemitic terror, beginning with the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh in 2018, many Jews have comforted themselves—if one can call it comfort—by believing that antisemites are clustered at just one end of the political spectrum, which meant that the other end is safe.
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2 months ago | 
wsj.com | Mark Oppenheimer
Calling a friend TJ, Curly or Crazy Legs used to be a sign of affection. Not anymore, thanks to fear of giving offense or sounding unprofessional. I have always liked nicknames, because they indicate intimacy. The silly, nonsensical names parents call their babies facilitate bonding, and as children grow, we still express warmth by calling them Timmy rather than Timothy or even Tim, or Suzie rather than just Susan.
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2 months ago | 
wsj.com | Mark Oppenheimer
The novelist won the National Book Award for the sailing tale ‘Spartina,’ but he also wrote engagingly about his love of sports and exercise. In 1991, the summer before senior year, my high school assigned three books for reading.
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Mar 12, 2025 | 
danieloppenheimer.substack.com | Meghan Daum |Mark Oppenheimer |Mana Afsari |William Deresiewicz
My guest on this episode of the podcast is William Deresiewicz, author of a number of books, most notably Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life, and the Substack newsletter Derisivist. Bill and I end up spending a fair amount of time discussing an as-yet-untitled essay of his that’s forthcoming in Salmagundi, and at what I'd say are the two poles of it.
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
businessandamerica.com | Mark Oppenheimer
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Mar 6, 2025 | 
wsj.com | Mark Oppenheimer
But there was clearly a disability. I doubt he could balance a checkbook. In conversation, he didn’t keep up the easy give-and-take that most adults do. He had to think harder. Mostly, he seemed to move at a slower pace. If you asked me if I would have left my children in his care, I would have said no. Not because he would harm them or because he didn’t have good judgment. One simply got the sense that in an emergency, he wouldn’t have moved quickly enough. He would have been overwhelmed.
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Feb 19, 2025 | 
markoppenheimer.substack.com | Mark Oppenheimer |Ira Stoll
The news item here is that Elon Musk is now the father of a thirteenth child by four mothers (I think; it’s hard to verify or keep track). This is bad news for the republic, and I am going to explain why. But first, let’s back up. Last week, I participated in a lively Substack discussion with reporter and editor .
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Feb 17, 2025 | 
ifstudies.org | Mark Oppenheimer
On a recent cold morning, when our family woke up to four inches of freshly fallen snow, a few things were certain about our Sunday. There would be hot chocolate. There would be a viewing of some family-friendly movie in the afternoon, possibly featuring cartoons and most likely featuring musical numbers. And Davey, our six-year-old, would be up early, in his parka, snow pants, hat, and gloves, climbing on top of our cars.
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Feb 1, 2025 | 
biorxiv.org | Mark Oppenheimer |Junyi Tao |Sabita Roy |Shamsudheen Moidunny
AbstractThe development of anxiety during protracted opioid withdrawal heightens the risk of relapse into the cycle of addiction. Understanding the mechanisms driving anxiety during opioid withdrawal could facilitate the development of therapeutics to prevent negative affect and promote continued abstinence. Our lab has previously established the gut microbiome as a driver of various side effects of opioid use, including analgesic tolerance and somatic withdrawal symptoms.
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
arcmag.org | Mark Oppenheimer
Jonathan Rauch’s Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy (Yale University Press, 2024) is both an apology and an apologia. It’s an apology to a dear Christian friend whose beliefs he once scorned, and it’s an apologia, or defense, of the role of Christianity in public life, a position that as a lifelong atheist he finds himself surprised to hold.
