vox--2020-08-15--What America can learn from the fall of the Roman republic

If you were a Roman citizen around , say , 200 BC , you probably would have assumed Rome was going to last forever .
At the time , Rome was the greatest republic in human history , and its institutions had proven resilient through invasions and all kinds of disasters .
But the foundations of Rome started to weaken less than a century later , and by 27 BC the republic had collapsed entirely .
The story of Rome ’ s fall is both complicated and relatively straightforward : The state became too big and chaotic ; the influence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ institutions ; and social and economic inequalities became so large that citizens lost faith in the system altogether and gradually fell into the arms of tyrants and demagogues .
If all of that sounds familiar , well , that ’ s because the parallels to our current political moment are striking .
Edward Watts , a historian at the University of California San Diego , published a 2018 book titled Mortal Republic that carefully lays out what went wrong in ancient Rome — and how the lessons of its decline might help save @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I spoke to Watts about those lessons and why he thinks the American republic , along with several others , are in danger of going the way of ancient Rome .
This conversation took place in January 2019 , long before the coronavirus pandemic or the recent social unrest following George Floyd ’ s murder , but the broader questions he raised remain as relevant today as they were when we initially spoke .
A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows .
Why write a book about Rome ’ s decline @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history , the main questions from students were always about comparing the end of the Roman empire with the state of the American empire , and this was usually tied to the Iraq War .
In the past 10 years , those sorts of questions have died down .
Now students are interested in Rome as a republic , and whether the American republic is collapsing in the same way .
They see lots of parallels there , especially in how the two systems are structured .
Tell me about some of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most relevant .
First , we have to remember that the US is a representative democracy .
We tend to drop the representative part when we ’ re talking about what political system we live under , but that ’ s actually quite important .
This is not a direct democracy , and Rome was not a direct democracy either .
What you have in both cases is a system where people are chosen by the voters to make decisions , and then there ’ s a period of time when they make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re held accountable for how those decisions turned out .
But the representatives are making the choices — and people have noticed that that works fine until those representatives either stop making principled decisions or become paralyzed by the vicissitudes of popular opinion .
Both of those things started to happen when Rome began to decline , and both of those things are happening in the US right now .
“ But it ’ s up to Americans , just like it was up to voters in Rome , to defend our institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fail ; it failed because Romans foolishly believed Rome would last forever .
What could they have done differently , and when could they have done it ?
They could ’ ve recognized what their system was designed to do , which was produce compromise and consensus .
Ultimately , it ’ s better to make no decision than to make a bad decision .
What the Romans failed to appreciate was that their processes were slow and deliberative for very good reasons : that ’ s how representative systems avoid disaster , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to work out compromises .
For 300 years , this system worked quite well in Rome , but for the past century or so of its existence these tools of deliberation were used not to facilitate compromise but to obstruct and punish political enemies and basically prevent anything from happening .
That destroyed the goodwill within the system and really poisoned it in the minds of the voters .
Shortly after Donald Trump ’ s election , I wrote about Plato ’ s warning about the decline of democracy .
Basically , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too much freedom leads to disorder and citizens choose the stability of autocracy over the chaos of democracy .
This is what happened in Rome .
Do you believe the same thing is happening right now ?
I think that we ’ re in the early stages of a process that could lead to that .
The point at which Romans were willing to make that trade occurred after almost 150 years of political dysfunction , but it also occurred after a generation of really brutal civil war .
And the process that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the inability and unwillingness of the people vested in the upper , successful parts of the Roman state to address that economic inequality .
But as people ’ s needs were not being addressed for decades , the tensions heightened to the point where violence started breaking out .
And once violence starts to break out , it ’ s very difficult for a republic to regain control of itself .
It ’ s easy to see how the US and other established republics could be in the beginning states of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think we ’ re there quite yet , but there are reasons for genuine concern .
The inequality problem is maybe the most striking for me .
What you saw in Rome , and what you see quite clearly today , is the wealthy undermining the very system that made them wealthy , and a total failure to see how ruinous that is in the long term .
Yeah , it ’ s a real problem today , and it was a real problem in Rome .
There ’ s a pivotal period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the 2nd century BC , in which there ’ s an economic revolution that displaces a lot of people who had belonged to a hereditary aristocracy and moves them off the top economic rungs of the state .
At the same time , it ’ s creating economic conditions that prompt people in the middle to basically become very frustrated that their economic prospects are not increasing either .
And what ends up happening is the people who win from this economic revolution try to preserve their gains through just about any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gross political obstructionism , the rigging of elections , and a total unwillingness to compromise .
This kickstarts a death spiral that ultimately undoes the Roman system from within — and we ’ d do well to learn from it .
Because the story of Rome shows that once you reach that breaking point , that point of no return , you can not unwind the clock .
Why couldn ’ t the Roman system respond to these disastrous trends quickly enough ?
What short-circuited in their process ?
There are signs that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this new economic reality between 140 and 130 BC .
There are efforts to reform the electoral process so that it ’ s harder to buy votes and rig elections .
But the reforms only go halfway because they ’ re undermined by entrenched interests , and so the decline just continues apace .
You spend a lot of time mapping the decline of norms and political customs in Rome .
Was this the result of Roman politicians elevating their own self-interest over the good of the republic , or was it something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think the erosion of norms really starts when Roman politicians convince themselves that their personal ambitions and the good of the republic are one and the same .
In other words , they started acting in their own self-interest but deluded themselves into thinking that it was really for the betterment of Rome .
The other thing you see is that Roman politicians , much like American politicians today , started to believe that all they needed was 51 percent of the people to support them , and that the other 49 percent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not how the Roman system was supposed to work , and it ’ s not how the US system is supposed to work .
Representative democracies are designed to cool down the passions of a pure democracy and find representatives who can think more long-term and craft policies that solve problems in ways that also have broad support .
“ The story of Rome shows that once you reach that breaking point , that point of no return , you can not unwind the clock ” The thing that worries me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in public institutions , something that occurred in Rome and in many ways signaled the beginning of the end .
It ’ s hard to look at the American political landscape and not see something similar afoot .
I think that ’ s definitely a way to read the political moment in the United States right now , where people who need things from the system and from the government are not getting them , whether it ’ s healthcare or job training or economic opportunities or infrastructure .
You see this in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply got too big and lacked the infrastructure to support its population .
What the Roman story shows is that in a republic that ’ s old , where people have a lot of faith in that republican system , people like Donald Trump pop up every generation or so when things reach a tipping point .
You have these cycles where the system reboots , and people are shocked by what happened , and they step back and allow things to fall back into some sort of normal rhythm before they get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the cycle that is perhaps most scary .
If the decline of a republic is something that doesn ’ t take five years , but instead takes 50 years , or 70 years , or 120 years , Trump is likely not the last of these kinds of figures .
The title of your book is a reminder that all political systems are finite and will , eventually , die .
Rome lasted centuries before it ultimately imploded .
How worried are you about the trajectory of the American republic ?
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still believe our decline is reversible .
I trust that enough people recognize that it ’ s better to have a dysfunctional republic than to have nothing at all .
And in Rome , you do have these moments of retrenchment , where people step back and say this is quite bad , this is too much , we have to pull back .
But it ’ s up to Americans , just like it was up to voters in Rome , to defend our institutions and to punish people who are misusing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it strong to instead undermine it .
No one else will do it on their behalf .
So I think it ’ s by no means a foregone conclusion .
History doesn ’ t work that way .
And there have been moments where the US looked to be in grave trouble and managed to bounce back .
But we have to be really vigilant and defend the integrity of the republic , and defend the integrity of our system , and punish those who abuse our institutions and violate our norms .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1 , 2019 .

If you were a Roman citizen around, say, 200 BC, you probably would have assumed Rome was going to last forever.
At the time, Rome was the greatest republic in human history, and its institutions had proven resilient through invasions and all kinds of disasters. But the foundations of Rome started to weaken less than a century later, and by 27 BC the republic had collapsed entirely.
The story of Rome’s fall is both complicated and relatively straightforward: The state became too big and chaotic; the influence of money and private interests corrupted public institutions; and social and economic inequalities became so large that citizens lost faith in the system altogether and gradually fell into the arms of tyrants and demagogues.
If all of that sounds familiar, well, that’s because the parallels to our current political moment are striking. Edward Watts, a historian at the University of California San Diego, published a 2018 book titled Mortal Republic that carefully lays out what went wrong in ancient Rome — and how the lessons of its decline might help save fledgling republics like the United States today.
I spoke to Watts about those lessons and why he thinks the American republic, along with several others, is in danger of going the way of ancient Rome. This conversation took place in January 2019, long before the coronavirus pandemic or the recent social unrest following George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police, but the broader questions he raised remain as relevant today as they were when we initially spoke.
A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.
Sean Illing
Why write a book about Rome’s decline now?
Edward Watts
When I started teaching Roman history, the main questions from students were always about comparing the end of the Roman empire with the state of the American empire, and this was usually tied to the Iraq War.
In the past 10 years, those sorts of questions have died down. Now students are interested in Rome as a republic, and whether the American republic is collapsing in the same way. They see lots of parallels there, especially in how the two systems are structured.
Sean Illing
Tell me about some of those parallels, the ones you think are most relevant.
Edward Watts
First, we have to remember that the US is a representative democracy. We tend to drop the representative part when we’re talking about what political system we live under, but that’s actually quite important. This is not a direct democracy, and Rome was not a direct democracy either.
What you have in both cases is a system where people are chosen by the voters to make decisions, and then there’s a period of time when they make those decisions, and then they’re held accountable for how those decisions turned out.
But the representatives are making the choices — and people have noticed that that works fine until those representatives either stop making principled decisions or become paralyzed by the vicissitudes of popular opinion.
Both of those things started to happen when Rome began to decline, and both of those things are happening in the US right now.
“It’s up to Americans, just like it was up to voters in Rome, to defend our institutions”
Sean Illing
Rome didn’t have to fail; it failed because Romans foolishly believed Rome would last forever. What could they have done differently, and when could they have done it?
Edward Watts
They could’ve recognized what their system was designed to do, which was produce compromise and consensus. Ultimately, it’s better to make no decision than to make a bad decision. What the Romans failed to appreciate was that their processes were slow and deliberative for very good reasons: That’s how representative systems avoid disaster, how you get people to the table to work out compromises.
For 300 years, this system worked quite well in Rome, but for the past century or so of its existence, these tools of deliberation were used not to facilitate compromise but to obstruct and punish political enemies and basically prevent anything from happening. That destroyed the goodwill within the system and really poisoned it in the minds of the voters.
Sean Illing
Well, that sounds familiar!
Edward Watts
Indeed.
Sean Illing
Shortly after Donald Trump’s election, I wrote about Plato’s warning about the decline of democracy. Basically, he believed that democracies fall into tyranny when too much freedom leads to disorder and citizens choose the stability of autocracy over the chaos of democracy.
This is what happened in Rome. Do you believe the same thing is happening right now?
Edward Watts
I think that we’re in the early stages of a process that could lead to that. The point at which Romans were willing to make that trade occurred after almost 150 years of political dysfunction, but it also occurred after a generation of really brutal civil war.
And the process that started that was one of economic inequality and the inability and unwillingness of the people vested in the upper, successful parts of the Roman state to address that economic inequality.
But as people’s needs were not being addressed for decades, the tensions heightened to the point where violence started breaking out. And once violence starts to break out, it’s very difficult for a republic to regain control of itself.
It’s easy to see how the US and other established republics could be in the beginning states of a similar process. I don’t think we’re there quite yet, but there are reasons for genuine concern.
Sean Illing
The inequality problem is maybe the most striking for me. What you saw in Rome, and what you see quite clearly today, is the wealthy undermining the very system that made them wealthy, and a total failure to see how ruinous that is in the long term.
Edward Watts
Yeah, it’s a real problem today, and it was a real problem in Rome. There’s a pivotal period in Rome, around the middle part of the second century BC, in which there’s an economic revolution that displaces a lot of people who had belonged to a hereditary aristocracy and moves them off the top economic rungs of the state.
At the same time, it’s creating economic conditions that prompt people in the middle to basically become very frustrated that their economic prospects are not increasing either. And what ends up happening is the people who win from this economic revolution try to preserve their gains through just about any means they can, and that includes gross political obstructionism, the rigging of elections, and a total unwillingness to compromise.
This kick-starts a death spiral that ultimately undoes the Roman system from within — and we’d do well to learn from it. Because the story of Rome shows that once you reach that breaking point, that point of no return, you cannot unwind the clock.
Sean Illing
Why couldn’t the Roman system respond to these disastrous trends quickly enough? What short-circuited in their process?
Edward Watts
There are signs that the system was trying to respond to this new economic reality between 140 and 130 BC. There are efforts to reform the electoral process so that it’s harder to buy votes and rig elections. But the reforms only go halfway because they’re undermined by entrenched interests, and so the decline just continues apace.
Sean Illing
You spend a lot of time mapping the decline of norms and political customs in Rome. Was this the result of Roman politicians elevating their own self-interest over the good of the republic, or was it something deeper happening in the culture?
Edward Watts
I think the erosion of norms really starts when Roman politicians convince themselves that their personal ambitions and the good of the republic are one and the same. In other words, they started acting in their own self-interest but deluded themselves into thinking that it was really for the betterment of Rome.
The other thing you see is that Roman politicians, much like American politicians today, started to believe that all they needed was 51 percent of the people to support them, and that the other 49 percent didn’t matter. But that’s not how the Roman system was supposed to work, and it’s not how the US system is supposed to work.
Representative democracies are designed to cool down the passions of a pure democracy and find representatives who can think more long-term and craft policies that solve problems in ways that also have broad support.
“The story of Rome shows that once you reach that breaking point, that point of no return, you cannot unwind the clock”
Sean Illing
The thing that worries me the most is the loss of faith in public institutions, something that occurred in Rome and in many ways signaled the beginning of the end. It’s hard to look at the American political landscape and not see something similar afoot.
Edward Watts
I think that’s definitely a way to read the political moment in the United States right now, where people who need things from the system and from the government are not getting them, whether it’s health care or job training or economic opportunities or infrastructure. You see this in the late Roman Republic, too — it simply got too big and lacked the infrastructure to support its population.
What the Roman story shows is that in a republic that’s old, where people have a lot of faith in that republican system, people like Donald Trump pop up every generation or so when things reach a tipping point. You have these cycles where the system reboots, and people are shocked by what happened, and they step back and allow things to fall back into some sort of normal rhythm before they get frustrated again.
And I think this is the cycle that is perhaps most scary. If the decline of a republic is something that doesn’t take five years, but instead takes 50 years, or 70 years, or 120 years, Trump is likely not the last of these kinds of figures.
Sean Illing
The title of your book is a reminder that all political systems are finite and will, eventually, die. Rome lasted centuries before it ultimately imploded. How worried are you about the trajectory of the American republic?
Edward Watts
I’m extremely worried. But I still believe our decline is reversible. I trust that enough people recognize that it’s better to have a dysfunctional republic than to have nothing at all. And in Rome, you do have these moments of retrenchment, where people step back and say this is quite bad, this is too much, we have to pull back.
But it’s up to Americans, just like it was up to voters in Rome, to defend our institutions and to punish people who are misusing the tools that are supposed to make it strong to instead undermine it. No one else will do it on their behalf.
So I think it’s by no means a foregone conclusion. History doesn’t work that way. And there have been moments where the US looked to be in grave trouble and managed to bounce back. But we have to be really vigilant and defend the integrity of the republic, and defend the integrity of our system, and punish those who abuse our institutions and violate our norms.
This article was originally published on January 1, 2019.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-15--In HBO’s Lovecraft Country, cosmic horrors pale next to the reality of racism

In the second episode of Lovecraft Country , HBO ’ s engrossing new pulp horror series , one character , George ( Courtney B. Vance ) , keeps thinking about a book .
The book in question is the 1903 horror fantasy The House on the Borderland , and its plot is eerily similar to George ’ s present situation : He ’ s a Black man trapped in a strange mansion along with his friends , presented with various temptations and hallucinogenic visions — including dancing with a woman he knows to be a figment of his imagination .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end ?
” his ghostly date asks of the story .
“ Yes , ” he responds — but only because the giant house they 're in collapses .
There ’ s an obvious metaphor in the scene about the work Lovecraft Country is trying to do .
The show ’ s story closely follows Matt Ruff ’ s 2016 novel of the same name , about a Black community in Chicago that becomes entangled with an ominous occult society , all while fighting Jim Crow racism on a scale both everyday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was an attempt to grapple with the legacy of H.P .
Lovecraft ’ s writing , which is both towering in its influence and teeming with racism .
As crafted by showrunner Misha Green , the story , therefore , is both a homage and a repudiation .
It ’ s a homage in that it gleefully plays with many of the horror tropes its namesake popularized : terrifying otherworldly monsters , esoteric cults , scary American mansions housing obscure spellbooks and dark secrets .
And it ’ s a repudiation in that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tropes and perhaps free them from Lovecraft ’ s territorial grasp as a loud , vehement , unabashed white supremacist .
It ’ s helpful to think of Lovecraft Country , then , as akin to a game of Jenga : Its aim isn ’ t to collapse the house that genre built , but rather to slide a new layer of storytelling on top of century-old bones to find out if the entire structure can still hold .
For the most part , it holds very well .
Lovecraft Country ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be .
Our story opens as a troubled Korean war veteran named Atticus , a.k.a .
Tic ( Jonathan Majors ) , searches for his father Montrose ( Michael K. Williams ) .
Though there ’ s no love lost between Tic and his dad , after Montrose goes missing in the New England wilds that his family calls “ Lovecraft country , ” Atticus , his uncle George ( Vance ) and his pal Letitia ( Jurnee Smollett ) set out on a road trip to search for him .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they ’ re confronting monsters in America ’ s backwoods and small towns .
Only some of those monsters are inhuman .
On another TV show , this basic plot might last for a full season , culminating in the group locating Montrose and a dramatic confrontation in a giant creepy mansion .
But Lovecraft Country gives you the feeling it ’ s got no time to waste on such dramatics , so instead the story unfolds very rapidly , largely dealing with the aftermath of that road trip .
The group ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has left them entangled in the vague plots of a young witch , Christina ( Abbey Lee , whose vibe is very Rory Gilmore meets The Craft ) , and her creepy pal William ( Jordan Patrick Smith , whose vibe is very Draco Malfoy meets Skarsgård ) .
Soon , George ’ s wife Hippolyta ( Aunjanue Ellis ) , her daughter Diana ( Jada Harris ) , and Lettie ’ s sister Ruby ( Wunmi Mosaku ) are all also becoming ensnared in the labyrinthine plots of the cult and its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with much bigger immediate threats like racist neighbors , job discrimination , and violent cops .
Lovecraft Country upfronts the realities of Jim Crow racism for its families .
George actually edits a fictional version of a Green Book guide for Black travelers which Hippolyta hopes to join him in writing for one day , and they argue about how to tour the country safely while avoiding sundown towns and racist police .
The series reminds us again and again that Black Americans have always had to rely on each other for information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world that was built to ostracize them .
These are depictions usually reserved for the segregated South in ’ 50s- and ’ 60s-era storytelling ; though Lovecraft Country is set within that period , most of it takes place in Chicago and Massachusetts , where racist division was very much alive and well but much harder to navigate because it was so often unseen .
It ’ s rare to see the North ’ s racism get such a harsh excavation , but it ’ s an effective use of literal racism as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more overt legalized racism , the story ’ s Black characters have to constantly feel their way through every situation : Any town could be a sundown town , any cop could be a white supremacist , and situations that feel stable could become unstable at any moment .
It all adds to Lovecraft Country ’ s permeating layer of dread .
Because Lovecraft Country is airing at a moment when its themes of police brutality and systemic injustice are unfortunately more relevant than they ’ ve been in years , the hype @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the type usually reserved for prestige TV .
But while its aims are similar to those of Watchmen , Lovecraft Country is deliberately pulpy .
Through the five episodes that HBO has made available for review , the show gambols between various pulp genres like supernatural fantasy à la Lovecraft and Weird Tales , comic books with superpowered heroes and villains , and high tomb-raiding antics out of Edwardian adventure series ( think Allan Quatermain or Prisoner of Zenda ) .
Lovecraft Country isn ’ t just coming for Lovecraft ; rather , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pop literature for Black geeks who never got to be the heroes of those narratives .
The show is also repudiating the pompous dramatics of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines , something something existential cosmic terror .
Lovecraft , however , remains the central topic of deconstruction .
If Lovecraft is obsessed with the omnipresent specters of other races , foreign tongues , and madness , then Lovecraft Country shifts those fears into the point of view of mid-century Black America .
Lovecraft ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pervasive threat of whiteness .
His terrifying , impenetrable languages become the changing rules and constant hurdles of systemic racism .
The strain of avoiding madness becomes the stress of trusting one ’ s own judgment and experience when reality bends to fit the preferred narrative of white society .
Perhaps most crucially , the characters themselves shift , too .
Lovecraft ’ s heroes were always men , usually erudite and educated , who nevertheless stood in terror of confronting the vast cosmic indifference of the universe and realizing they weren ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The plots of his stories always revolved around their unfolding of the mysteries they found themselves in , and often being driven mad because of it .
None of these concerns apply to our heroes .
As Black men and women , they ’ re under no illusion that the universe was built for them .
They ’ re much more concerned with basic survival .
But their self-awareness also gives them an edge that few of Lovecraft ’ s characters traditionally possess : They know what kind of story they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instantly adapt to the bizarre nature of the supernatural elements around them .
Atticus and George are huge fans of weird fiction and horror ; they know exactly who and what Lovecraft is and what his stories are about .
George ’ s daughter Diana likewise is a budding superhero artist and writer of comic book sci-fi .
They and their families , however reluctantly , know that to survive tropes , you have to subvert them .
That allows them to one-up and outwit the dangers that lie in wait for them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of racist cults , Indiana Jones-style booby traps , or lying cops .
They ’ re tricksters in the truest mythological sense : Their ability to turn the villains ’ traps against those villains reveals the traps ’ shaky construction .
The show finds its strongest moments when it layers realism atop metaphorical racism to induce a mounting , increasingly surreal two-fold horror .
It ’ s weaker in terms of connecting those moments back to its overarching plot .
But that weakness also feels intentional and refreshing — as if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines , something something sorcery , something something existential cosmic terror .
Instead , Lovecraft Country allows itself to be more interested in small stuff , like filming an entire scene mostly underwater because it ’ s really cool , or devoting an entire episode to routing the racists next door because that ’ s vital to the main characters ’ everyday realities .
It ’ s not quite a pastiche or an anthology show , but it has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ epic drama .
And that irreverence is especially valuable in the way it helps the show present in-your-face , omnipresent racism as part of the real landscape of America .
Lovecraft Country boasts clever , engaging storytelling , but it has less to do with the genres it ’ s playing with than one might hope .
There are literal references galore to the weird fiction writers Lovecraft drew inspiration from and influenced in turn — but although I recognize there ’ s still plenty of room for supernatural expansion in future episodes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the story was a bit broader .
One of the biggest absurdities of Lovecraft is that for all he stood in dread of cosmic terror , the most frightening thing he could imagine emanating from that cosmos was basically a really big squid .
By the same token , it ’ s more than a little disappointing that Lovecraft Country — at least so far — hasn ’ t done more to expand its imagination about what lurks in the beyond .
In its early going , the story remains very faithful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the encroaching horrors scale up nicely from episode to episode .
But the show seems wary of getting too lost in its fantasies , at the risk of downplaying the fact that everyday life for its characters is rarely a daydream .
Particularly odd is Lovecraft Country ’ s squick about sex and sexuality , which is almost always shown as brutal and unpleasant , if not outright rape , a form of rough power play and violence .
On a show where families and community are generally shown as the only safe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s a discordant note .
For the most part , however , Lovecraft Country stays honest and engrossing , the kind of show you trust to iron out its own kinks .
And it ’ s more important , ultimately , that the show never lets its indulgence in fantasy overbalance its keen look at racism in America .
The show shrewdly leans into a blunt emphasis on the latter that might have felt over-the-top and hamfisted a decade ago .
No matter what , Lovecraft Country ’ s opening episodes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a constant reminder that America was always Lovecraft ’ s country , and many of its citizens are just trying to survive it .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as little as $ 3 .

In the second episode of Lovecraft Country, HBO’s engrossing new pulp horror series, one character, George (Courtney B. Vance), keeps thinking about a book.
The book in question is the 1903 horror fantasy The House on the Borderland, and its plot is eerily similar to George’s present situation: He’s a Black man trapped in a strange mansion along with his friends, presented with various temptations and hallucinogenic visions — including dancing with a woman he knows to be a figment of his imagination. “Do the lovers stay together at the end?” his ghostly date asks of the story. “Yes,” he responds — but only because the giant house they're in collapses.
There’s an obvious metaphor in the scene about the work Lovecraft Country is trying to do. The show’s story closely follows Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel of the same name, about a Black community in Chicago that becomes entangled with an ominous occult society, all while fighting Jim Crow racism on a scale both everyday and cosmic. Ruff’s novel was an attempt to grapple with the legacy of H.P. Lovecraft’s writing, which is both towering in its influence and teeming with racism. As crafted by showrunner Misha Green, the story, therefore, is both a homage and a repudiation.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark
It’s a homage in that it gleefully plays with many of the horror tropes its namesake popularized: terrifying otherworldly monsters, esoteric cults, scary American mansions housing obscure spellbooks and dark secrets.
And it’s a repudiation in that it also attempts to wrestle with those tropes and perhaps free them from Lovecraft’s territorial grasp as a loud, vehement, unabashed white supremacist.
It’s helpful to think of Lovecraft Country, then, as akin to a game of Jenga: Its aim isn’t to collapse the house that genre built, but rather to slide a new layer of storytelling on top of century-old bones to find out if the entire structure can still hold. For the most part, it holds very well.
Lovecraft Country’s characters are mythological tricksters. They have to be.
Our story opens as a troubled Korean war veteran named Atticus, a.k.a. Tic (Jonathan Majors), searches for his father Montrose (Michael K. Williams). Though there’s no love lost between Tic and his dad, after Montrose goes missing in the New England wilds that his family calls “Lovecraft country,” Atticus, his uncle George (Vance) and his pal Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) set out on a road trip to search for him. But their plans quickly spiral, and soon they’re confronting monsters in America’s backwoods and small towns. Only some of those monsters are inhuman.
On another TV show, this basic plot might last for a full season, culminating in the group locating Montrose and a dramatic confrontation in a giant creepy mansion. But Lovecraft Country gives you the feeling it’s got no time to waste on such dramatics, so instead the story unfolds very rapidly, largely dealing with the aftermath of that road trip.
The group’s brush with a white supremacist cult has left them entangled in the vague plots of a young witch, Christina (Abbey Lee, whose vibe is very Rory Gilmore meets The Craft), and her creepy pal William (Jordan Patrick Smith, whose vibe is very Draco Malfoy meets Skarsgård). Soon, George’s wife Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis), her daughter Diana (Jada Harris), and Lettie’s sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) are all also becoming ensnared in the labyrinthine plots of the cult and its enemies — all while having to deal with much bigger immediate threats like racist neighbors, job discrimination, and violent cops.
Lovecraft Country upfronts the realities of Jim Crow racism for its families. George actually edits a fictional version of a Green Book guide for Black travelers which Hippolyta hopes to join him in writing for one day, and they argue about how to tour the country safely while avoiding sundown towns and racist police. The series reminds us again and again that Black Americans have always had to rely on each other for information, help, and protection in a world that was built to ostracize them.
These are depictions usually reserved for the segregated South in ’50s- and ’60s-era storytelling; though Lovecraft Country is set within that period, most of it takes place in Chicago and Massachusetts, where racist division was very much alive and well but much harder to navigate because it was so often unseen. It’s rare to see the North’s racism get such a harsh excavation, but it’s an effective use of literal racism as horror. Without the South’s more overt legalized racism, the story’s Black characters have to constantly feel their way through every situation: Any town could be a sundown town, any cop could be a white supremacist, and situations that feel stable could become unstable at any moment. It all adds to Lovecraft Country’s permeating layer of dread.
Because Lovecraft Country is airing at a moment when its themes of police brutality and systemic injustice are unfortunately more relevant than they’ve been in years, the hype that has built up around it is the type usually reserved for prestige TV. But while its aims are similar to those of Watchmen, Lovecraft Country is deliberately pulpy. Through the five episodes that HBO has made available for review, the show gambols between various pulp genres like supernatural fantasy à la Lovecraft and Weird Tales, comic books with superpowered heroes and villains, and high tomb-raiding antics out of Edwardian adventure series (think Allan Quatermain or Prisoner of Zenda). Lovecraft Country isn’t just coming for Lovecraft; rather, it’s reclaiming a century of pop literature for Black geeks who never got to be the heroes of those narratives.
The show is also repudiating the pompous dramatics of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines, something something existential cosmic terror.
Lovecraft, however, remains the central topic of deconstruction. If Lovecraft is obsessed with the omnipresent specters of other races, foreign tongues, and madness, then Lovecraft Country shifts those fears into the point of view of mid-century Black America. Lovecraft’s constant dread of The Other becomes the pervasive threat of whiteness. His terrifying, impenetrable languages become the changing rules and constant hurdles of systemic racism. The strain of avoiding madness becomes the stress of trusting one’s own judgment and experience when reality bends to fit the preferred narrative of white society.
Perhaps most crucially, the characters themselves shift, too. Lovecraft’s heroes were always men, usually erudite and educated, who nevertheless stood in terror of confronting the vast cosmic indifference of the universe and realizing they weren’t at the center of it. The plots of his stories always revolved around their unfolding of the mysteries they found themselves in, and often being driven mad because of it.
None of these concerns apply to our heroes. As Black men and women, they’re under no illusion that the universe was built for them. They’re much more concerned with basic survival. But their self-awareness also gives them an edge that few of Lovecraft’s characters traditionally possess: They know what kind of story they’re in.
Lovecraft Country’s protagonists instantly adapt to the bizarre nature of the supernatural elements around them. Atticus and George are huge fans of weird fiction and horror; they know exactly who and what Lovecraft is and what his stories are about. George’s daughter Diana likewise is a budding superhero artist and writer of comic book sci-fi. They and their families, however reluctantly, know that to survive tropes, you have to subvert them. That allows them to one-up and outwit the dangers that lie in wait for them, whether those dangers come in the form of racist cults, Indiana Jones-style booby traps, or lying cops. They’re tricksters in the truest mythological sense: Their ability to turn the villains’ traps against those villains reveals the traps’ shaky construction.
Lovecraft Country isn’t perfect, but it’s perfectly enjoyable
The show finds its strongest moments when it layers realism atop metaphorical racism to induce a mounting, increasingly surreal two-fold horror. It’s weaker in terms of connecting those moments back to its overarching plot. But that weakness also feels intentional and refreshing — as if the show is also repudiating the pompous dramatics of its silly cult full of white people trying to something something pure bloodlines, something something sorcery, something something existential cosmic terror.
Instead, Lovecraft Country allows itself to be more interested in small stuff, like filming an entire scene mostly underwater because it’s really cool, or devoting an entire episode to routing the racists next door because that’s vital to the main characters’ everyday realities. It’s not quite a pastiche or an anthology show, but it has a similar irreverence for the sanctity of an epic drama. And that irreverence is especially valuable in the way it helps the show present in-your-face, omnipresent racism as part of the real landscape of America.
Lovecraft Country boasts clever, engaging storytelling, but it has less to do with the genres it’s playing with than one might hope. There are literal references galore to the weird fiction writers Lovecraft drew inspiration from and influenced in turn — but although I recognize there’s still plenty of room for supernatural expansion in future episodes, I found myself wishing the vision of the story was a bit broader. One of the biggest absurdities of Lovecraft is that for all he stood in dread of cosmic terror, the most frightening thing he could imagine emanating from that cosmos was basically a really big squid. By the same token, it’s more than a little disappointing that Lovecraft Country — at least so far — hasn’t done more to expand its imagination about what lurks in the beyond.
In its early going, the story remains very faithful to Ruff’s novel, and the encroaching horrors scale up nicely from episode to episode. But the show seems wary of getting too lost in its fantasies, at the risk of downplaying the fact that everyday life for its characters is rarely a daydream.
Particularly odd is Lovecraft Country’s squick about sex and sexuality, which is almost always shown as brutal and unpleasant, if not outright rape, a form of rough power play and violence. On a show where families and community are generally shown as the only safe and intimate harbor, however troubled, it’s a discordant note.
For the most part, however, Lovecraft Country stays honest and engrossing, the kind of show you trust to iron out its own kinks. And it’s more important, ultimately, that the show never lets its indulgence in fantasy overbalance its keen look at racism in America. The show shrewdly leans into a blunt emphasis on the latter that might have felt over-the-top and hamfisted a decade ago.
No matter what, Lovecraft Country’s opening episodes provide an overdue, much-needed perspective shift — a constant reminder that America was always Lovecraft’s country, and many of its citizens are just trying to survive it.
Lovecraft Country debuts Sunday, August 16, at 9 pm on HBO.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-15--Obama accuses Trump of trying to “kneecap” the Postal Service

Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump in an interview released on Friday , accusing him of attempting to “ kneecap ” the US Postal Service to prevent people from voting .
Obama ’ s remarks represented an unusually sharp intervention in contemporary politics for the former president , whose post-presidency has often been taciturn and politically understated .
“ What we ’ ve seen , in a way that is unique to modern political history , is a president who is explicit in trying to discourage people from voting , ” Obama said on Cadence13 ’ s Campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former campaign manager David Plouffe .
“ What we ’ ve never seen before is a president say , ‘ I ’ m going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to [ discourage ] voting and I will be explicit about the reason I ’ m doing it.
’ ” “ That ’ s sort of unheard of , right ?
” he added .
“ And we also have not had an election in the midst of a pandemic that is still deadly and killing a lot of people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the long-term side effects of contracting the illness.
” Obama ’ s comments were a response to Trump ’ s admission on Thursday that he opposes providing additional funding for the Postal Service — which is under huge financial strain due to the coronavirus pandemic , and unprepared for a massive influx of mail-in ballots — because he doesn ’ t want everyone to be able to vote by mail .
In an interview with Fox Business Network ’ s Maria Bartiromo , Trump said he rejected the Democrats ’ proposal for emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus relief bill because it would help prevent “ universal mail-in voting.
” Trump has persistently attempted to delegitimize the reliability of mail-in voting , describing it as acutely vulnerable to fraud without presenting evidence and despite the consensus among voting rights experts that it ’ s secure when funded properly .
Democrats “ want three-and-a-half billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent , that ’ s election money , basically ... [ And ] they want 25 billion dollars — billion — for the Post Office , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots , ” Trump continued .
“ By the way , those are just two items , but if they don ’ t get those two items , that means you can ’ t have universal mail-in voting.
” Obama , by contrast , praised Democratic leaders for their funding proposals for states to conduct elections and for emergency funds for the Postal Service as a sign that they “ want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people.
” In the HEROES Act passed by House Democrats in May , the bill allocated $ 3.6 billion for grants to states for contingency planning for November ’ s elections , to be used to help make in-person voting sites safer and help prepare for widespread use of mail-in ballots .
It also provides $ 25 billion in emergency funds for the Postal Service .
And it contains reforms such as no-excuse absentee ballots and 15 days of early voting that would help ensure states make it as easy to vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing where you are so scared of people voting , that you are now willing to undermine what is part of the basic infrastructure of American life ?
” Obama queried on the podcast .
The Postal Service is in bad , bad shape Experts say the Postal Service is in dire financial shape , already struggling with serious delays , and that new cost-cutting policies are likely to exacerbate the problem further .
The US Postal Service warned 46 states and Washington , DC , in July that tens of millions of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mail-in ballots might not be processed speedily enough for November ’ s elections — even if voters follow all their state ’ s election rules .
The agency told six states and DC that a narrow set of their voters could experience delayed ballots , according to the Washington Post .
But for the remaining 40 states , the warning is far more serious : They were told that “ long-standing deadlines for requesting , returning or counting ballots were ‘ incongruous ’ with mail service and that voters who send ballots in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the Post reports .
That heightened warning applies to 186 million potential voters who are spread across blue states , red states , and battleground states like Pennsylvania , Michigan , and Wisconsin .
The Postal Service ’ s warnings to states were planned before Trump appointed Louis DeJoy to head the agency in May .
But DeJoy reportedly has overseen a range of cost-cutting measures that experts say will amplify its problems with delivery times .
The agency is for example , decommissioning 671 mail-sorting machines ( 10 percent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American Postal Workers Union has said could slow down the processing of election mail .
Those machines can sort over 20 million pieces of paper mail per hour .
Experts on voting behavior have said that before the pandemic an estimated 25 percent of voters would ’ ve been expected to cast their ballots by mail , but they now estimate that 60 percent or more will attempt to vote by mail because the pandemic is discouraging in-person voting .
Obama ’ s remarks come as Democratic lawmakers have condemned the Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Postal Service .
“ Postal service sabotage = voting suppression .
No need to connect the dots , ” tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal ( D-CT ) on Friday .
“ This bare knuckled scheme openly mocks our democracy & all Americans .
”

Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump in an interview released on Friday, accusing him of attempting to “kneecap” the US Postal Service to prevent people from voting.
Obama’s remarks represented an unusually sharp intervention in contemporary politics for the former president, whose post-presidency has often been taciturn and politically understated.
“What we’ve seen, in a way that is unique to modern political history, is a president who is explicit in trying to discourage people from voting,” Obama said on Cadence13’s Campaign HQ podcast in a discussion with his former campaign manager David Plouffe. “What we’ve never seen before is a president say, ‘I’m going to try to actively kneecap the Postal Service to [discourage] voting and I will be explicit about the reason I’m doing it.’”
“That’s sort of unheard of, right?” he added. “And we also have not had an election in the midst of a pandemic that is still deadly and killing a lot of people, and we still don’t know the long-term side effects of contracting the illness.”
Obama’s comments were a response to Trump’s admission on Thursday that he opposes providing additional funding for the Postal Service — which is under huge financial strain due to the coronavirus pandemic and unprepared for a massive influx of mail-in ballots — because he doesn’t want everyone to be able to vote by mail.
In an interview with Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo, Trump said he rejected the Democrats’ proposal for emergency funding for elections in negotiations for a coronavirus relief bill because it would help prevent “universal mail-in voting.”
Trump has persistently attempted to delegitimize the reliability of mail-in voting, describing it as acutely vulnerable to fraud without presenting evidence and despite the consensus among voting rights experts that it’s secure when funded properly.
Democrats “want three-and-a-half billion dollars for something that will turn out to be fraudulent, that’s election money, basically ... [And] they want 25 billion dollars — billion — for the Post Office,” Trump said.
“Now they need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Trump continued. “By the way, those are just two items, but if they don’t get those two items, that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”
Obama, by contrast, praised Democratic leaders for their funding proposals for states to conduct elections and for emergency funds for the Postal Service as a sign that they “want to do what’s right by the American people.”
In the HEROES Act passed by House Democrats in May, the bill allocated $3.6 billion for grants to states for contingency planning for November’s elections, to be used to help make in-person voting sites safer and help prepare for widespread use of mail-in ballots. It also provides $25 billion in emergency funds for the Postal Service. And it contains reforms such as no-excuse absentee ballots and 15 days of early voting that would help ensure states make it as easy as possible to vote.
“What are Republicans doing where you are so scared of people voting that you are now willing to undermine what is part of the basic infrastructure of American life?” Obama queried on the podcast.
The Postal Service is in bad, bad shape
Experts say the Postal Service is in dire financial shape, already struggling with serious delays, and that new cost-cutting policies are likely to exacerbate the problem further.
The US Postal Service warned 46 states and Washington, DC, in July that tens of millions of voters could effectively be disenfranchised because their mail-in ballots might not be processed speedily enough for November’s elections — even if voters follow all their state’s election rules.
The agency told six states and DC that a narrow set of their voters could experience delayed ballots, according to the Washington Post. But for the remaining 40 states, the warning is far more serious: They were told that “long-standing deadlines for requesting, returning or counting ballots were ‘incongruous’ with mail service and that voters who send ballots in close to those deadlines may become disenfranchised,” the Post reports.
That heightened warning applies to 186 million potential voters who are spread across blue states, red states, and battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The Postal Service’s warnings to states were planned before Trump appointed Louis DeJoy to head the agency in May. But DeJoy reportedly has overseen a range of cost-cutting measures that experts say will amplify its problems with delivery times.
The agency is, for example, decommissioning 671 mail-sorting machines (10 percent of inventory), a move which the American Postal Workers Union has said could slow down the processing of election mail. Those machines can sort over 20 million pieces of paper mail per hour.
Experts on voting behavior have said that, before the pandemic, an estimated 25 percent of voters would’ve been expected to cast their ballots by mail, but they now estimate that 60 percent or more will attempt to vote by mail because the pandemic is discouraging in-person voting.
Obama’s remarks come as Democratic lawmakers have condemned the Trump administration’s handling of the Postal Service.
“Postal service sabotage = voting suppression. No need to connect the dots,” tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Friday. “This bare knuckled scheme openly mocks our democracy & all Americans.”
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-15--California’s heat wave caused rolling blackouts for millions

Soaring temperatures in California spurred an overwhelming surge in electricity use that the state ’ s grid operator had to cut off power to up to four million people Friday evening .
California Independent System Operator , the body that runs the electric grid for most of the state , initially asked customers to reduce electricity use between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. by doing things like turning off lights and raising their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher .
But after power reserves fell below a critical threshold , the grid operator then shifted to a “ Stage 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interruptions ” across the state starting around 6:30 pm .
The blackouts underscore how vulnerable the state ’ s electric grids are to being overwhelmed precisely when people lean on them most for safety and comfort in extreme weather .
Most of the West Coast was under heat alerts on Friday , the first day of an extraordinary heat wave that is expected to continue through the middle of next week and push parts of California into the triple digits .
The states ’ s utilities began to cut off customers , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notice , for brief outages .
The state ’ s biggest utility , PG & E said that the outages occurred for 60 to 90 minutes on a rotating basis in its Northern and Central California territory , according to Bloomberg News .
The blackouts were the largest in the state since “ public safety power shutoffs ” in the state last fall , when dry , windy weather conditions prompted PG & E to cut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of people for several days at a time .
Vox ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which put vulnerable populations at risk and caused chaos for vital services like hospitals and law enforcement , as “ absolutely bonkers.
” The weather isn ’ t getting better for a while Meteorologists say California — and much of the rest of the country — is in for a rough time with the heatwave that kicked off on Friday .
“ A very intense and prolonged heatwave now appears likely for a large portion of California over the next 7-10 days , and this event will likely have wide-ranging impacts from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demand perspectives , ” wrote Daniel Swain , a climate scientists at the the University of California , Los Angeles on Friday .
“ I suspect this event will probably end up being one of the most significant widespread California extreme heat events in the past decade , if not longer.
” Parts of Arizona , California and Nevada are expected to reach highs of 110 to 125 degrees during a heat wave expected to last through Wednesday of next week .
“ The longevity of the heat is more concerning than the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meteorologist Trevor Boucher told NBC News .
In 2001 , California experienced a series of rolling blackouts , in part because of electricity shortages — but also in part because of “ unscrupulous energy traders from companies like Enron ‘ gaming ’ a badly-flawed grid system and deliberately withholding electricity from California to extort higher prices , ” according to the Sacramento Bee .
Grid operators say they ’ re prepared for future outages , but the likelihood of them over the weekend is smaller because demand shrinks outside of the workday .

Soaring temperatures in California spurred such an overwhelming surge in electricity use that the state’s grid operator had to cut off power to up to 4 million people Friday evening.
California Independent System Operator, the body that runs the electric grid for most of the state, initially asked customers to reduce electricity use between 3 pm and 10 pm by doing things like turning off lights and raising their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher.
But after power reserves fell below a critical threshold, the grid operator shifted to a “Stage 3” emergency and triggered “load interruptions” across the state starting around 6:30 pm.
The blackouts underscore how vulnerable the state’s electric grids are to being overwhelmed precisely when people lean on them most for safety and comfort in extreme weather.
Most of the West Coast was under heat alerts on Friday, the first day of an extraordinary heat wave that is expected to continue through the middle of next week and push parts of California into the triple digits.
The state’s utilities began to cut off customers, at least some of the time without advance notice, for brief outages. The state’s biggest utility, PG&E said that the outages occurred for 60 to 90 minutes on a rotating basis in its northern and central California territory, according to Bloomberg News.
The blackouts were the largest in the state since “public safety power shutoffs” in the state last fall, when dry, windy weather conditions prompted PG&E to cut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of people for several days at a time. Vox’s David Roberts described the poorly organized blackouts, which put vulnerable populations at risk and caused chaos for vital services like hospitals and law enforcement, as “absolutely bonkers.”
The weather isn’t getting better for a while
Meteorologists say California — and much of the rest of the country — is in for a rough time with the heatwave that kicked off on Friday.
“A very intense and prolonged heatwave now appears likely for a large portion of California over the next 7-10 days, and this event will likely have wide-ranging impacts from human health, wildfire, and electricity demand perspectives,” wrote Daniel Swain, a climate scientists at the University of California Los Angeles on Friday. “I suspect this event will probably end up being one of the most significant widespread California extreme heat events in the past decade, if not longer.”
Parts of Arizona, California, and Nevada are expected to reach highs of 110 to 125 degrees during a heat wave expected to last through Wednesday of next week.
“The longevity of the heat is more concerning than the record-breaking temperatures,” National Weather Service meteorologist Trevor Boucher told NBC News.
In 2001, California experienced a series of rolling blackouts, in part because of electricity shortages — but also in part because of “unscrupulous energy traders from companies like Enron ‘gaming’ a badly-flawed grid system and deliberately withholding electricity from California to extort higher prices,” according to the Sacramento Bee.
Grid operators say they’re prepared for future outages, but the likelihood of them over the weekend is smaller because demand shrinks outside of the workday.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-15--Why boredom can be good for you

Why boredom can be good for you

It ’ s been a long summer on the Island of Explained , and we haven ’ t been able to do a lot of our usual go-to summer activities .
The pools are closed , Camp Chrysalis shut down , and we ’ re getting very , very tired of talking to our friends over screens .
So while we ’ ve been doing our best to fight off the blahs , we ’ ve got to admit that we ’ re pretty darn bored .
That ’ s why , in the third of four summer episodes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s explainer podcast series for kids , we decided to fight boredom by actually learning about it .
In this episode , we chart a course for the Emotion Ocean , where we find waves of boredom can actually conjure some pretty scary stuff .
Lucky for us , we meet Dr. Erin Westgate , a psychologist who actually studies boredom .
She explains why being bored isn ’ t such a bad thing and helps us understand what we can do to entertain ourselves again .
Listen to the episode with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or just because — and then come back here to download our episode discussion guide and some laugh-out-loud activities that build on what we learned in the episode .
Thanks to early childhood education specialists Rachel Giannini and Saleem Hue Penny for developing our learning materials !
Listen to more Today , Explained to Kids episodes : Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

It’s been a long summer on the Island of Explained, and we haven’t been able to do a lot of our usual go-to summer activities. The pools are closed, Camp Chrysalis shut down, and we’re getting very, very tired of talking to our friends over screens. So while we’ve been doing our best to fight off the blahs, we’ve got to admit that we’re pretty darn bored.
That’s why, in the third of four summer episodes of Today, Explained to Kids, Vox’s explainer podcast series for kids, we decided to fight boredom by actually learning about it. In this episode, we chart a course for the Emotion Ocean, where we find waves of boredom can actually conjure some pretty scary stuff. Lucky for us, we meet Dr. Erin Westgate, a psychologist who actually studies boredom. She explains why being bored isn’t such a bad thing and helps us understand what we can do to entertain ourselves again.
Listen to the episode with the young people in your life — or just because — and then come back here to download our episode discussion guide and some laugh-out-loud activities that build on what we learned in the episode.
Thanks to early childhood education specialists Rachel Giannini and Saleem Hue Penny for developing our learning materials!
Listen to more Today, Explained to Kids episodes:
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-15--The Postal Service says tens of millions of mail-in ballots are at risk of not being counted

The US Postal Service warned 46 states and Washington , DC , in July that tens of millions of voters could effectively be disenfranchised because their mail-in ballots might not be processed speedily enough for November ’ s elections — even if voters follow all their state ’ s election rules .
The Postal Service ’ s notice , first reported on by the Washington Post on Friday , is the latest warning that sweeping cost-cutting measures and organizational overhauls at the agency , combined with increased demand for absentee voting during the pandemic , are undermining the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election .
Some states could be receiving 10 times their normal amount of absentee ballots in November ’ s elections .
The letter was sent before a round of cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery nationwide and could make delays in sending and receiving ballots even worse .
“ What Trump is doing to the USPS — right in front of our eyes — is as serious a threat to our democracy as anything any president has ever done , ” tweeted Steve Vladeck , a law professor at the University of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m not overreacting ; this is a five-alarm fire.
” Thomas J. Marshall , general counsel and executive vice president of the Postal Service , issued the notices at the end of July , according to records obtained by the Post .
The agency told six states and DC that a narrow set of their voters could experience delayed ballots .
But for the remaining 40 states , the warning is far more serious : They were told that “ long-standing deadlines for requesting , returning or counting ballots were ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters who send ballots in close to those deadlines may become disenfranchised , ” the Post reports .
That heightened warning applies to 186 million potential voters who are spread across blue states , red states , and battleground states like Pennsylvania , Michigan , and Wisconsin .
After the notices were issued , a few states moved deadlines to require voters to request or cast ballots earlier to provide ample time for counting .
But it ’ s too late for many states to adjust deadlines , according to the Post .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to inform voters that their mail-in ballots should be sent out at least a week before Election Day to ensure that they ’ re counted .
Experts on voting behavior have said that before the pandemic an estimated 25 percent of voters would ’ ve been expected to cast their ballots by mail , but they now estimate that 60 percent or more will attempt to vote by mail because the pandemic is discouraging in-person voting .
New York City saw a 17-fold surge in mail-in ballots during its primaries in June , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and left the results for a congressional race unclear for over a month .
The Postal Service is under siege Trump opposes $ 25 billion emergency funds allocated for the Postal Service in the coronavirus relief bill passed by House Democrats in May ; he has also rejected the Democrats ’ proposal to provide $ 3.6 billion for grants to states for contingency planning for the elections , which would fund additional equipment , supplies , and staffing needed to assist with voting safety during the pandemic .
The Postal Services warnings to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DeJoy to head the agency in May .
But DeJoy reportedly has overseen a range of cost-cutting measures that experts say will amplify its problems with delivery times .
The Postal Service is , for example , decommissioning 671 mail-sorting machines ( 10 percent of inventory ) , a move which the American Postal Workers Union has said could slow down the processing of election mail .
Those machines can sort over 20 million pieces of paper mail per hour .
DeJoy has also reassigned 23 postal executives , consolidating power within the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company , XPO Logistics , a Postal Service contractor , has created even more controversy around the Postal Service ’ s cost-cutting , and shocked ethics experts .
“ The idea that you can be a postmaster general and hold tens of millions in stocks in a postal service contractor is pretty shocking , ” Walter Shaub , the former director of the Office of Government Ethics , told CNN about the revelation this week .
“ It could be that he ’ s planning on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t understand the delay .
He has managed to divest a lot of other things .
And if he wasn ’ t prepared to sell that off , he shouldn ’ t have taken the job.
” CNN reported on Saturday that the internal watchdog at the Postal Service is reviewing his compliance with federal ethics rules and some of DeJoy ’ s new policies , such as his decision to reduce overtime for postal workers and slowing some mail delivery .
And a bipartisan group of secretaries of state — officials who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state level — said DeJoy failed to reply to a request to meet this week to seek clarity on the implications of postal service cutbacks .
The Postal Service has had financial challenges for years , and as Recode ’ s Adam Clark Estes has explained , the pandemic has dealt a huge additional blow to the agency ’ s finances : Top Democrats and legal experts have sounded alarms about the postal service ’ s warnings to states about their inability to handle mail-in ballots , and the refusal by the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the Postal Service as Election Day approaches .
Joyce Alene , a professor at the University of Alabama , referred to the postal service ’ s quandary as a “ manufactured crisis , ” describing it as “ unabashed voter suppression ” by the Trump administration .
“ Postal service sabotage = voting suppression .
No need to connect the dots , ” tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal ( D-CT ) .
“ This bare knuckled scheme openly mocks our democracy & all Americans.
” Experts have also pointed out that election crises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t being undercounted but are just severely delayed .
Lawrence Douglas , a law professor at Amherst College , has argued that Trump has signaled that he could exploit delays in mail-in ballots by deeming them fraudulent and claiming without evidence that their likely Democratic skew is proof of foul play .

The US Postal Service warned 46 states and Washington, DC, in July that tens of millions of voters could effectively be disenfranchised because their mail-in ballots might not be processed speedily enough for November’s elections — even if voters follow all their state’s election rules.
The Postal Service’s notice, first reported on by the Washington Post on Friday, is the latest warning that sweeping cost-cutting measures and organizational overhauls at the agency, combined with increased demand for absentee voting during the pandemic, are undermining the United States’s capacity to conduct a fair election. Some states could be receiving 10 times their normal amount of absentee ballots in November’s elections.
The letter was sent before a round of cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery nationwide and could make delays in sending and receiving ballots even worse.
“What Trump is doing to the USPS — right in front of our eyes — is as serious a threat to our democracy as anything any president has ever done,” tweeted Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, about the news. “I’m not overreacting; this is a five-alarm fire.”
Thomas J. Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president of the Postal Service, issued the notices at the end of July, according to records obtained by the Post.
The agency told six states and DC that a narrow set of their voters could experience delayed ballots. But for the remaining 40 states, the warning is far more serious: They were told that “long-standing deadlines for requesting, returning or counting ballots were ‘incongruous’ with mail service and that voters who send ballots in close to those deadlines may become disenfranchised,” the Post reports.
That heightened warning applies to 186 million potential voters who are spread across blue states, red states, and battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
After the notices were issued, a few states moved deadlines to require voters to request or cast ballots earlier to provide ample time for counting. But it’s too late for many states to adjust deadlines, according to the Post.
The Postal Service letters counsel 31 states to inform voters that their mail-in ballots should be sent out at least a week before Election Day to ensure that they’re counted.
Experts on voting behavior have said that before the pandemic an estimated 25 percent of voters would’ve been expected to cast their ballots by mail, but they now estimate that 60 percent or more will attempt to vote by mail because the pandemic is discouraging in-person voting.
New York City saw a 17-fold surge in mail-in ballots during its primaries in June, a spike that overwhelmed the mail system and left the results for a congressional race unclear for over a month.
The Postal Service is under siege
Trump opposes $25 billion emergency funds allocated for the Postal Service in the coronavirus relief bill passed by House Democrats in May; he has also rejected the Democrats’ proposal to provide $3.6 billion for grants to states for contingency planning for the elections, which would fund additional equipment, supplies, and staffing needed to assist with voting safety during the pandemic.
The Postal Services warnings to states were planned before Trump appointed Louis DeJoy to head the agency in May. But DeJoy reportedly has overseen a range of cost-cutting measures that experts say will amplify its problems with delivery times.
The Postal Service is, for example, decommissioning 671 mail-sorting machines (10 percent of inventory), a move which the American Postal Workers Union has said could slow down the processing of election mail. Those machines can sort over 20 million pieces of paper mail per hour.
DeJoy has also reassigned 23 postal executives, consolidating power within the agency.
Recent reports that DeJoy still has a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company, XPO Logistics, a Postal Service contractor, has created even more controversy around the Postal Service’s cost-cutting, and shocked ethics experts.
“The idea that you can be a postmaster general and hold tens of millions in stocks in a postal service contractor is pretty shocking,” Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, told CNN about the revelation this week. “It could be that he’s planning on selling it, but I don’t understand the delay. He has managed to divest a lot of other things. And if he wasn’t prepared to sell that off, he shouldn’t have taken the job.”
CNN reported on Saturday that the internal watchdog at the Postal Service is reviewing his compliance with federal ethics rules and some of DeJoy’s new policies, such as his decision to reduce overtime for postal workers and slowing some mail delivery.
And a bipartisan group of secretaries of state — officials who are responsible for administering elections at the state level — said DeJoy failed to reply to a request to meet this week to seek clarity on the implications of postal service cutbacks.
The Postal Service has had financial challenges for years, and as Recode’s Adam Clark Estes has explained, the pandemic has dealt a huge additional blow to the agency’s finances:
Starting in March, the volume of first-class mail began to plummet (though a surge in package delivery has helped make up for that lost revenue). Meanwhile, tens of thousands of postal workers got sick or began quarantining, leading to a labor shortage and the need for more overtime hours. The Postal Service also spent hundreds of millions of dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and on retrofitting post offices with more plexiglass and more space for social distancing.
Top Democrats and legal experts have sounded alarms about the postal service’s warnings to states about their inability to handle mail-in ballots, and the refusal by the Trump administration and Republicans to inject additional funds into the Postal Service as Election Day approaches.
Joyce Alene, a professor at the University of Alabama, referred to the postal service’s quandary as a “manufactured crisis,” describing it as “unabashed voter suppression” by the Trump administration.
“Postal service sabotage = voting suppression. No need to connect the dots,” tweeted Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). “This bare knuckled scheme openly mocks our democracy & all Americans.”
Experts have also pointed out that election crises can emerge even if mail-in ballots aren’t being undercounted but are just severely delayed.
Lawrence Douglas, a law professor at Amherst College, has argued that Trump has signaled that he could exploit delays in mail-in ballots by deeming them fraudulent and claiming without evidence that their likely Democratic skew is proof of foul play.