I first met many of my relatives in a tunnel underneath Lincoln Center Theater. They had been watching the matinee of Comedy of Errors and recognized me, a long lost cousin, on stage. After the final bow, I got out of costume and headed out the tunnel only to find a mob of strangers blocking my way. A small women stepped out of the crowd and said, “We’re your cousins,” to which I said, … Read More

Last winter I heard historian Heather Cox Richardson say, “We are living in effervescent times.” My first thought was “WTF!” but now I’m quite sure she was right. A couple of decades in the future, a Heather Cox Richardson protégé might write an article like this about our effervescent times: “By Thanksgiving 2025, after a blistering 10 months of attacking democratic norms, the MAGA movement was finished. It didn’t look that way at the … Read More

I’m turning most of this post over to my cousin Karen K. Bradley (karenkbradley.ca) writing from her home in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia. “Yesterday a candidate for the Peoples Party—a right wing group— came by to get signatures to be on the ballot here. I signed. He is a nice guy. We talked about growing stuff, alternative medicine, and ultimately, he said, “We have to work on all this together.” A week ago, I … Read More

It took billions of dollars and dozens of years to dig a huge political trench through America. And right now, all of us – left, right and center – are getting hurt by the folks who dug it. In the coming weeks and months, the conversations you have with folks who voted differently, and the actions you take with your political allies, will help determine what kind of country we live in. Here are … Read More

Here are three things that helped me in January and might help you in February (2025). 1. Focus on love, not hate. Spend over 50% of your reading and listening time with the caregivers, the community builders, the humanitarians. This isn’t easy since most news outlets try to send you into a tailspin and then keep you doomscrolling. But switching your focus is a huge boost for your mental health and it helps you … Read More

Today, you can finally order your copy of An International Circus Affair: How a Nanjing Acrobat in San Francisco Changed American Circus Forever as either an e-book or a paperback! We’ve moved the official launch up to Saturday, October 19th 3:30pm at Club Fugazi (I sent out a later date in the last newsletter). Everything about the book is right here, including my interview with Dan Holman on the Drop Everything podcast .   … Read More

First, I am thrilled to tell you that my latest book is coming out this month! An International Circus Affair: How a Nanjing Acrobat in San Francisco Changed American Circus Forever is my first foray into non-fiction, and my first book with the publisher Modern Vaudeville Press. You can find all kinds of info, including pre-ordering the e-book, at www.modernvaudevillepress.com/nanjing Secondly, I want to crow about a completely unexpected Citizen Joy success right before … Read More

In less than one week, voters in three countries – England, Iran and France – elected more progressive leaders. Let’s take a moment to thank these 30 million voters and then ask ourselves what we can learn from them. For example, let’s start talking about the rights we enjoy, and want to expand, about what our government does that makes our lives good, and what a better future might look like. This is the … Read More