R&R: Atonement

What I’m reading and watching.

Happy Sunday and welcome back to R&R, my weekly recap and recommendations feature for paid subscribers.

I’m writing this letter from the original Wake Up To Politics world headquarters, my bedroom in St. Louis.

I came back for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, which is set aside for atoning and apologizing for the moral transgressions we’ve committed in the previous year.

Among of the sins we’re supposed to atone for is “dishonesty in our work,” so in that spirit — I apologize for the times I’ve missed the mark in this newsletter in the previous year. There’s nothing a journalist hates more than getting something wrong, and I’m no exception. I’m sorry for any mistakes I’ve made this year: of grammar, of tone, of not seeing the full picture, of not considering a multitude of perspectives, of missing an important story, or, God forbid, of fact. I will try to do better in the year ahead.

I almost didn’t come back for Yom Kippur: we are in the heat of an election year, after all. But Yom Kippur — which involves refraining from food for the whole day — is meant to jolt you out of yourself, and perhaps, anyone connected to politics needs that kind of jolt this time of year. Certainly, in the midst of the campaign, it seems there are many across the political spectrum who could benefit from a dedicated Day of Atonement.

In particular, on that theme of dishonesty, it’s hard not to think about the blizzard of misinformation that accompanied Hurricanes Helene and Milton recently. Combined, these storms killed almost 300 people — and yet, as I wrote about on Wednesday, many media figures (and some lawmakers) on the political right saw fit to use the events as opportunities to promote claims that simply are not true.

One of my recommended reads this Sunday comes from The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel, who had this to say on the phenomenon: