30-Second Read

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Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View. Long, deep discussions about technology’s impact on business and society. Spotify Apple

Death, Sex & Money addresses the three topics we’re most uncomfortable talking about. Spotify Apple

Decoder Ring explores cultural questions, objects or habits to figure out what they mean and why they matter. From Slate magazine. Spotify Apple

History Extra Podcast. Produced by BBC History Magazine. Interviews with historians. Multiple episodes each week. Spotify Apple

History Unplugged. Produced by historian Scott Rank with more than 400 episodes. Spotify Apple

The Next Big Idea. About books and ideas in the social sciences. Spotify Apple

Hard Fork. Smart, witty, informative conversation and interviews about tech. Spotify Apple

Bees in the nursery

Bees in the nursery

By Jeff Gauger on November 5, 2024

My bee hotel sat empty for months. Now it has fewer vacancies.

Dots of light

Dots of light

By Thomas Gunning on November 1, 2024

I communed with other voters

I communed with other voters

By Jeff Gauger on October 29, 2024

Not a damn, damp turd

Not a damn, damp turd

By Jeff Gauger on October 17, 2024

Frying solo

Frying solo

By Thomas Gunning on October 13, 2024

Alien communication

Alien communication

By Thomas Gunning on October 1, 2024

Into darkness

Into darkness

By Thomas Gunning on September 24, 2024

I plan to make plans

I plan to make plans

By Jeff Gauger on September 18, 2024

AITA if I read this essay?

AITA if I read this essay?

By Jeff Gauger on September 14, 2024

Wasted and well-spent Saturdays

Wasted and well-spent Saturdays

By Jeff Gauger on September 11, 2024

A dying dilemma

A dying dilemma

By Wayne Parker on September 8, 2024

Free to think

Free to think

By Dave Gauger on September 3, 2024

The New Commandments

The New Commandments

By Jeff Gauger on July 10, 2024

More craft than art: “11 tips to improve your writing,” from 30-Second Read. With both text and video.

Your first editor: “How to Edit Your Own Writing,” by Harry Guinness for The New York Times.

The best writing advice I ever got and a few pieces of my own: Pithy and spot-on tips from long-time scribbler Daniel Finney at his website, The Paragraph Stacker.

Word nerd delight: Jeremy Butterfield’s deep, rich, smart blog about grammar, word use, word histories, confusing words, more. Loads of fun word arcana.

Ellen is at the Grammar Table: Twitter account devoted to grammar questions and philosophy. Daily quizzes.

How to fix bad sentences: Confused by dangling modifiers? Stumped by passive voice? Author June Casagrande offers precise advice.

Role model: “What I learned about writing from reading Greta Thunberg’s speech to the U.N.,” by Roy Peter Clark for the Poynter Institute.

Writing tips: From Lexico.com, the Oxford Dictionary web site, for writing letters, speeches, job applications, more.

The hardest part of writing . . .: Advice for starting, delivered in cartoons by Grant Snider in The New York Times.

Priceless lessons: A sixth-grade English teacher offered advice about writing and life that Catherine Rampell remembers still. Practical and inspirational.

Apostrophe Protection Society. It’s for real, and it’s both serious and fun. Based in the United Kingdom.