Patrick Nathan

Sep 23, 2024 | jessicadefino.substack.com | Jessica Defino |Sable Yong |Patrick Nathan |Emily Kirkpatrick

I’m very excited to announce this newsletter’s first-ever in-person experience: The Hole Debate, part of Substack’s Stacked Debate series. Why holes? We might ask the beauty industry the same question. I predicted the emergence of “butthole beauty” last December; since then, the industry has given us the Bidet Bar (a bar soap for butts), Hole Serum, anal Botox, MyBum wipes, mirrors that attach to the back of your toilet seat, and Butt Stuff hemorrhoid cream.

Aug 17, 2024 | thejester.substack.com | Christian Lorentzen |Patrick Nathan

Words, similarly, without loss of precision, have ceased to specify in the manner of words that deliver one by one those concepts we call “meanings”… as we move through the poem, word by word, we participate as the new structure achieves itself. — Hugh KennerFew forms of communication speak the language of pattern better than music.

Jul 30, 2024 | patricknathan.substack.com | Patrick Nathan |Yasmin Nair |Christian Lorentzen

In this age of marvels, it’s easy to forget that a book is a manufactured product. Printed with soy– or petroleum-based inks and bound with polyvinyl acetate, these objects arrive in retail storefronts with flecks of dust or paper, nicked edges, and a damaged copy or two. A packing list instructs booksellers how to inventory them, as well as when to sell them; later, an invoice confirms the bookseller’s discount. These figures are set and negotiated, generally, by a robust sales force.

Jul 16, 2024 | patricknathan.substack.com | Patrick Nathan |John Ganz

In 1991, the white supremacist intellectual Sam Francis asked readers of the Washington Times “whether the failure of the Reagan experiment means that conventional conservative policies can be implemented in a mass democracy.” One of the early architects of contemporary right-wing populism, Francis provided the intellectual backbone to Pat Buchanan’s bid for the presidency. He was also an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, one of the most influential activist organizations in the world.

Jul 9, 2024 | patricknathan.substack.com | Patrick Nathan

It may have gone out of style for a few decades, but ecocide is back. Yes, we’ve learned to recycle; yes, we’re saving for electric cars and installing solar panels on our roofs; yes, we reuse our bottles and store food in glass whenever we can. It’s hotter these days, but we’ve scaled back the AC. These habits are the fruition of a half-century of warnings, hard work, research, and legislation.