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1 week ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
Hi all - I'm working from my laptop while sitting through a flight delay. Apparently this is happening across the country today, but maybe that's just a wild rumor. Plane travel on busy holiday weekends is a whole thing, eh? [BTW, this was originally published on my Patreon, so consider this a little taste of what we do over there.
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2 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
This one’s for the librarians, researchers, archivists, academics, nerds, and every staff member from the maintenance folks to the administrators at our cultural institutions where knowledge is kept.
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3 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa |Parker Molloy |Rebecca Schoenkopf
I am obsessed with my home state of New Jersey, and as I explain in this TikTok from last night, I fear we Jerseyans shall only grow more obnoxious in our boisterous pride. Senator Booker really inflamed the ol’ Jersey pride in a massive way. We are already such an impassioned people. I’ve seen Jersey folks ask where the milk is at in Krauszer’s, QuickChek and Wawa with the same emotional intensity Senator Booker gave you last night.
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3 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
When I research now, I tend to listen to the audiobook (if available) and also purchase a hard copy of the book. I have found that each method of ingesting the material yields different nuance, and to have both tools at my disposal allows for a fuller understanding of the material. The result is that I think about books a lot, since they provide part of my income and also much of my entertainment, too.
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3 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa |Michael Black
Let me tell you what it’s like to be researching and writing a historical biography of President Abraham Lincoln right now (more info on that here) when the sitting president, vice president, and their allies have threatened to wreck the shit out of the Smithsonian and other cultural institutions that feature prominently in my research plan: not boring!Your subscription helps support my work.
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4 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
Recently, I got to to narrate a condensed version of my animated New York Times Magazine essay on agoraphobia (here’s a gift link) as an Instagram reel (here’s a link to the reel.) There’s also a print version out there from a couple Sundays ago. I’m looking out at Lake Michigan as I type this. It’s early. Life feel very big and very quiet all at once. Today, I got up at sunrise to write, and because my cat wakes me up at that time anyway. Maybe I just ought to give into that habit.
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4 weeks ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
Greetings. I took a bunch of new photos for author/publicity type reasons with Elise Holowicki, and I wanted to share them here because why not? Plus, a couple comedy recommendations below, too. I did my own hair and makeup, which was fun. Also, I think Elise captured a time and a place, specifically Chicago on the Spring Equinox in 2025, that I love. Please subscribe for occasional profundity and also a lot of random fun shit.
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1 month ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
Hi, everyone. I do hope there is a sufficient amount of green in the image above, so that I am not personally ejected from the city of Chicago for being insufficiently festive. Look at Polly’s eyes! WE ARE IRISH EVERY DAY. Saratonin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Behold, a goth-Valentine’s Day-St. Patrick’s Day mashup.
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1 month ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa
Anxiety, you persistent, wacky scamp. Oh, how many times have we sat together, or flipped around in bed all night in a very non-sexy way? You are a terrible bedfellow and a worse coworker. As for parties, I really don’t get your technique. I can’t imagine why you insist on accompanying me all the way up to the front door of a public event and then ditching me as soon as I enter! Why do you do that? I guess I’m not complaining about your taking a hike, but why did you need to show up at all?
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1 month ago | 
sarajbenincasa.substack.com | Sara Benincasa |Robyn Pennacchia |Susie Bright
I’m drinking water and Aldi “iced coffee,” which is definitely cold brew even if they don’t call it that. Oatmeal is on the menu, as are banana-egg-almond flour pancakes. This is the wild and seductive life I lead. I am aware I am risking being a pain in the ass by attempting to squeeze most of a month’s worth of posts into the final two days of February, and I thank you for your patience. This SHAN’T be the norm moving forward.
