Katrina was during the Bush presidency
Writer (The Atlantic). Next book: SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT (Knopf). Non-resident fellow (AEI). Senior fellow, visiting prof. of humanities (Hannah Arendt Center, Bard College). Representation (APB; Wylie). Student & Teacher. Instagram: @chattertonwilliams.
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Katrina was during the Bush presidency
Grateful for this authoritative and thorough breakdown of Summer of Our Discontent by David J. Garrow' in the Washington Free Beacon. Unlike so many other "reviews," this one actually and honestly engages with the text of the book and the ideas contained within it: freebeacon.com/culture/amer...
well, but--there was an interlude of Obama. in retrospect, yes it seems miraculous; but there it was. presumably Martin Luther King, Jr. could not have predicted Obama & that era of (relative) optimism. prophets are usually more prescient about doom, for obvious reasons.
I’ve been waiting for Michael Thomas’s second book for almost 20 years. I review it here: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/b...
There’s enough ressentiment on Bluesky to fuel the whole planet, but sadly it’s not a clean energy source
Appreciated this nuanced review: www.nationalreview.com/magazine/202...
My kind of blue sky
Yet you’re commenting
Not possible
Strange way to have a laugh
The venue is worthless
Hardly
I got very lucky then
The way you emphasize “hard science” sounds like you’re insecure
lol
lol typical Bluesky
The fact that you believe everyone in twitter is “a nazi” says everything about you
Because you’re in an echo chamber par excellence
Expect that here
Not possible
Neither do I
🤣
bsky.app/profile/econ...
If that were the case you wouldn’t respond
Until dinner
Enough said
You’d like to believe that’s how it is, makes your life make more sense
Social media beyond maybe IG is not for making friends
When you write off everyone you disagree with as a bigot it must be easy to see things so simplistically
Because you are in a bubble
On the contrary
No
What’s your real name so I can see what you’ve published?
Archetypical Bluesky user/level of debate
I count myself as a liberal, much of the hectoring here is not about liberalism at all
The bar is low, but it’s less intellectually open or serious here
No, no, the inquisitors here are passionate and delusional
There are passionate inquisitors, authoritarians, and just overall small and pathetic people here, so six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. It’s all nomenclature right?
Don’t worry about me!
This is almost all NPCs
It’s actually far, far worse on Bluesky. The nastiness and vitriol here makes X look civilized and high-minded by comparison 🙃. The close-minded scolds on here shouldn’t flatter themselves
@chatterton.bsky.social's Summer Of Our Discontent is a surgical examination of the past decade of our cultural moment. It a clear eyed review of contentious American outrages, a fierceless critique of the political spectrum & it offers ideas for solutions. It is 'The Rebel' of our time.
Latest Monocle Daily. @aloraibi.bsky.social on Gaza, Monocle's @anitariotta.bsky.social, @feap.bsky.social, Chris Cermak and Grace Charlton on today's other stuff, @chatterton.bsky.social on his new book about the summer of 2020, and our wrap-up of what we've learned. monocle.com/radio/shows/...
It’s the strongest endorsement possible of my book, Summer of Our Discontent, that the Wall Street Journal says my criticism of the left is spot on but complains I’m too hard on the right, and the New York Times says my criticism of the right is good but howls that I’m too hard on the left. 🤷🏽♂️
Sloppy, careless, toxic DOGE unfairly targeted an Afghan who was working with the US, and now his family are in Taliban prisons www.propublica.org/article/doge...
Morning coffee spot
“In Summer of Our Discontent Thomas Chatterton Williams, a journalist, explores how partisans of left and right stopped listening to each other and came to regard the other side as morally beyond the pale." www.economist.com/culture/2025...
Thanks @thedailyshow.com for hosting thought-provoking guests like @chatterton.bsky.social Summer of Our Discontent in bookstores now. Shop local; think independently 🤔
@chatterton.bsky.social My print pre-order is still in play but I couldn't resist when I saw it in the Audible store. Great to finish my night duty with you.
Ah, with the UK cover! 🙏🏽
Ma série de six articles dans Le Monde poursuit cette semaine. Ces « Lettres d’Amérique » explorent différents aspects de la vie et de la politique aux États-Unis. L’épisode d’aujourd’hui revient sur l’inoubliable costume beige d’Obama. www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete...
I devoured this book in two rapt sittings. Williams is thoughtful and nuanced, but his prose is clear and to the point. I certainly went a little crazy during 2020 and this book blows that up to the macrocosm. Well done, TCW!
Thank you so much!
I’ve got a lot of love for Bill Maher and @realtimers.bsky.social. There are not a lot of shows where you can speak about books and ideas like this and it’s also just a hell of a good time. Thank you for having me back 🙌🏽
Thank you, Adam—I so appreciate it
summer does something new and needed, and it's clear that it IS needed. Anybody (Yale prof in NYTBR) who accuses you of oversimplifying the issues is way off the mark.
Alpino
Thank you so much
L’IA, mes étudiants et moi: "Le semestre passé constitue la pire expérience de ma vie d’enseignant", par l'écrivain et journaliste @chatterton.bsky.social www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete... "L’omniprésence de l’intelligence artificielle met en péril les fondements mêmes de l’enseignement supérieur"
I want to thank from the bottom of my heart everyone who has gone out and bought a copy of Summer of Our Discontent or spread the word about it. It’s reaching readers on Amazon and beyond, and I am profoundly grateful 🙏🏽
Référence www.lemonde.fr/series-d-ete...
Dans cet article, la démonstration de @chatterton.bsky.social devrait être lue par tout ceux qui enseignent. Car au delà d’arrêter de travailler en utilisant l’IA, le risque le plus important c’est de se laisser dicter par la tech, ce que l’humain doit savoir. C’est un risque démocratique immense.
🙏🏽
Tonight on #RTOvertime: Bill Maher, @chatterton.bsky.social, @mollyjongfast.bsky.social and Walter Kirn talk robot olympics, Mamdani vs. Cuomo, ditching dating apps + more! WATCH: youtu.be/nEkAiqIJp2I
About what? She was great and can speak for herself
🙏🏽
🙏🏽
TONIGHT! @chatterton.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social
"A lament for that lost optimism so many Americans, certainly in my generation that came of age during Obama’s ascent, felt in 2008." @chatterton.bsky.social
"Summer of Our Discontent" by @chatterton.bsky.social makes for very heavy reading: the subject, of course; but also the depth and breadth of thought that went into it and challenges us to think HARD... the many footnotes, though, worth the look e.g. this clip of white activists F-n $#!+ up 4 every1
www.commentary.org/articles/bri...
The mass unrest during the summer of 2020 “certainly did not cause the sacking of the Capitol,” @chatterton.bsky.social argues. “But that winter siege amounted to an outgrowth of the summer revolt—the rotten fruit of imitation.”
🇺🇸This week, TPN members @andrewyang2024.bsky.social and @chatterton.bsky.social sat down and had a deep discussion about race, identity, and political polarization. youtu.be/Ug-MUR4q16w
🙏🏽
You sound reasonable
Finally here! Can’t wait to dive in @chatterton.bsky.social 🙏
Also, shout out for including the pen—I can’t read without one either!
🙏🏽
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SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT is out today from Knopf! I appreciate the love, expect the criticism, and hope this book will reach all the open-minded readers who genuinely care about achieving a healthy and robust multiethnic society once and for all. 🙏🏽
In fact it was! I’m glad you saw that 🙏🏽
The author doth protest too much, considering the overwhelming number of hyperlinks in that article (which force the reader's eye to brake and swerve over the haphazard speed bumps). That said, the article was thoughtful and we need more smart give-and-take.
www.threads.com/@thedailysho...
That was funny and there were a few other good ones in there
I appreciate thoughtful disagreement and any mention of Albert Murray.
When I saw a long piece about my book from Andrea Long Chu was out, I expected a hatchet job. But her essay was a close read in conversation with my other work and the larger cultural context, written with verve and not below the belt (unlike some other pieces).
🙏🏽
Via www.persuasion.community/p/thomas-cha... @chatterton.bsky.social brilliant!
How did 2020 impact what we are seeing today? Now on andrewyang.com/podcast @chatterton.bsky.social of the Atlantic joins to talk his new book “The Summer of our Discontent: the Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse.” penguinrandomhouse.com/books/704632/s…
Tomorrow on andrewyang.com/podcast @chatterton.bsky.social joins to talk his new book about how America became a little bit too certain in our beliefs around 2020 or so.
Appreciate this shout in the NYTBR’s 22 Books Coming in August preview:
The mass unrest during the summer of 2020 “certainly did not cause the sacking of the Capitol,” @chatterton.bsky.social argues. “But that winter siege amounted to an outgrowth of the summer revolt—the rotten fruit of imitation.”
Thank you!
The mass unrest during the summer of 2020 “certainly did not cause the sacking of the Capitol,” @chatterton.bsky.social argues. “But that winter siege amounted to an outgrowth of the summer revolt—the rotten fruit of imitation.”
I have an adapted excerpt of my new book Summer of Our Discontent (out Aug. 5) in @theatlantic.com today. It's about the blindness of "moral clarity" and the push and pull of self-righteous lawlessness between the illiberal left and right: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Really appreciate this early UK review of Summer of Our Discontent in @thetimes.com: “Williams is one of America’s more interesting intellectuals. … This is a clever and compelling book that embraces complexity.” www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Luigi Mangione received more sympathy than the HR lady and the CEO.
And I really don’t think random onlookers should revel in their destruction and all but ensure their employer has to perform a sacrifice.