Alan Mairson

I'm a freelance journalist; former staff writer & editor @ National Geographic magazine; Red Sox fan; & (after-hours) producer of

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

It no longer makes democracy an object of reverence, or a front-cover concern because… well, stories about Thomas Jefferson won’t open the door to do business in Russia and Saudi Arabia and China. 13/

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@KarenRylander @DavidAFrench Which way?

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@mroth78 @CommishAACU @aacu I keep asking you, Michael, about Wesleyan's distribution and graduation requirements, but I never hear back from you. So I wrote this: https://t.co/MUqIzt4ctE ... Am I overlooking something important?

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@mroth78 @CommishAACU @aacu Does Wesleyan have any formal academic distribution requirements?

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@tomkennedy "Read"??!! You mean "words"??!!😂
You're talking like someone from the 7th floor, Tom & we live in an 8th-floor world now. Pictures. Emotion. Appearances. We fill cabinet positions w/people who *look* the part.
No one reads anymore. What's happened to you? 😊
(Hope all is well.)

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@mroth78 @wesleyan_u @ctzns_schlrs @aacu @Wes_engage Dear President Roth,
You should reread Michael Sandel's "Tyranny of Merit."
His diagnosis of what's ails higher education is far more accurate than your own.
Sincerely,
Alan Mairson
Wesleyan '81

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@jayrosen_nyu @froomkin You’re right, it’s not. ☺️

I’ve long been fascinated by what happens when a journalist’s worldview no longer coheres. It happened to Jon Stewart… to Elizabeth Kolbert… to you, evidently… to many others… and to me.
Stewart & Kolbert audio here:
https://t.co/c1jbVmRgxu

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JeffSharlet P.S. This seems relevant here. You might find it interesting: https://t.co/ilT8w5tt7r

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JeffSharlet re "My interests are elsewhere." When I read that I almost fell out of my chair. I've been reading you for many years, and your main focus has been on the Christian Right. If that's not Jewish adjacent, I'm not sure what is. ... Thanks again for all your great work.

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JeffSharlet P.S. “I believe what I believe” doesn’t sound like the curious & inquisitive Jeff Sharlet I’ve enjoyed reading all these years.

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JeffSharlet I am.

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JamesFallows Forgive me if this has already been said: Aren't the Democrats and Republicans trying to fill two different positions? Dems: Chief executive of the federal government. Repub: Chief arsonist tasked with burning down the "administrative state." Why demand the same job skills?

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@JeffSharlet Trump may be defeated. But Trumpism will live on.

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

@yhazony Which one of the 613 mitzvot says: “Rally Christendom from its slumber?”

[Alan Mairson @AlanMairson]

When reporters become storytellers, this is the natural result: