Justin’s Newsletter: November 2023
Vol. 3, Issue 11
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving—onward to the holidays!
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What’s Up With Me
I’m a finalist for another Los Angeles Press Club journalism award! My Pasadena Star-News story about Jerry Stahl’s latest book, Nein, Nein, Nein: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust, is nominated in the Book Critic category of the 16th National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. The awards ceremony is this Sunday in Downtown LA. Wish me luck!
Watch the latest episode of “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman,” featuring Lena Kennedy, political fundraiser, community organizer, and sister of the late Pasadena City Councilmember John J. Kennedy. We talked about her national political roles (she’s worked with heavy hitters like President Obama), the importance of Sister Cities relationships, local issues we all should care about, her brother’s lasting legacy in Pasadena, and much more. Watch the full episode here.
I was interviewed by Alta Journal at their issue launch party at Diesel Bookstore. One of my favorite authors ever and a friend, Jonathan Lethem (above), was part of a panel discussion. Check out his new book, Brooklyn Crime Novel.
Around Town
Stories to Keep an Eye On
International: I think Rolling Stone put it rather succinctly: “Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies.” Not that he didn’t make some important contributions, especially to our understanding of how China thinks (read his book On China), but talk about zero lack of self-awareness or self-reflection or remorse for the suffering he caused, especially related to the Vietnam War.
National: Rest in peace, Rosalynn Carter. Quite unlike Kissinger, I’ve never heard a bad word uttered about Rosalynn by anybody of any political persuasion. Essentially polar opposite personalities from the same era of U.S. history.
California: Anyone else looking forward to the Gavin Newsom vs. Ron DeSantis debate on Fox News tonight? No? Well, I’m still going to enjoy it. This is all we get since Elon Musk chickened out of cage-wrestling Mark Zuckerberg.
Local: The Human Rights Campaign released its annual Municipal Equality Index rankings, a nationwide evaluation of how inclusive 506 cities’ laws, policies, and services are of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. Pasadena’s score is 91 (compared to 87 last year). Keep up the good work!
Great Reads
Here are some recommendations for interesting books I’ve read recently:
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism—Rachel Maddow
Maddow’s work outside of her TV show is really worth checking out, for those on the entire range of the political spectrum. Check out her podcast and book Bagman about the corruption and downfall of Nixon’s Vice President Spiro Agnew, her podcast “Deja News” about how seemingly unprecedented political events today actually have precursors in our history which offer us lessons for dealing with these issues today, and her podcast “Ultra” about the far right elements in the United States before, during, and after World War II, which led to this book, an even deeper exploration of the scarier and far more prevalent rise of fascism in this country than most people were even aware of.
The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism—Steve Kornacki
If you’re a political nerd like me, you probably already love Steve Kornacki (even if you’re from the other side of the aisle). MSNBC’s elections guru is a political numbers genius who knows elections inside and out across this country, with detailed knowledge of just about every county and its voting history and likely future trends. His analysis during election season is always must-see TV. And his first book, about the shifting political landscape between the Democratic and Republican parties in the 1980s and the fight between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, is a thoroughly fascinating read, even for those who lived through and think they know the story. It’s the story of how we got into this giant divisive mess we find ourselves in now in the first place.
Spotlight on My Past Stories
I’ve highlighted my first Pasadena Weekly story about author Jerry Stahl in this newsletter before, but since my latest story about him (in Pasadena Star-News) has been nominated again for an LA Press Club award, check out my other PW story about him from 2013, shortly after his novella Bad Sex on Speed and his HBO film “Hemingway and Gellhorn” came out.
And read all of my journalism here.