Michael Magras

Book critic, film buff, vegetarian. Writings have appeared in The New Yorker, Times Literary Supplement, The Economist, Shelf Awareness, BookPage, Kirkus Reviews, and elsewhere. I'm a huge cinéphile: indie and international films, and comic geniuses such as Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton. Known to sing Stephen Sondheim tunes at the slightest provocation. He/him #Books #Writing #Film #Jazz #Art

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmagrasbooks/
Book reviews: https://michaelmagras.wordpress.com/book-reviews/

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Last Notes

2026-10-16 18:19:44 UTC

Gosh, I was wrong. I thought she'd be fired next Monday. I was off by three days. #Politics #Democracy #Journalism #Law #PressSecretary #Press #KatieZacharia #US #USpol https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/us/politics/katie-zacharia-fired-press-secretary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JFE.SASr.8FaHA4rGkfZT&smid=url-share

2026-09-16 00:16:25 UTC

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I contacted them to ask if they would help me push for greater gun reform in Maine. It took a few tries to get an answer from them. They declined. I hope to be able to revisit my decision to withhold my support.

2026-09-14 00:46:26 UTC

Count me among the left-leaning populists who are fed up with mainstream Democrats. Like, say, the establishment folks who run the Maine Democratic Party. I've sent dozens of messages to ask them to adopt more progressive positions on gun reform, the economy, climate change, and more. Every single person I've contacted has ignored me. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #Maine #Progressive #US #USpol https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/us/democrats-populists.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BFE.LkxC.jfzSS4K3Q6Rt&smid=url-share

2026-09-14 00:16:40 UTC

Lucky Toronto. It'll never happen, but I wouldn't mind if Criterion opened a shop in southern Maine. #Film #Cinema #Movies #Video #Culture #Entertainment #Toronto #Canada #Maine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36vcLJmukj0

2026-09-13 16:37:42 UTC

Today's the day for the general election in Sweden. Fingers crossed that the left-leaning Social Democrats return to power. #Politics #Democracy #Sweden #Government #SocialDemocracy #Scandinavia https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/world/europe/sweden-election-sunday.html?unlocked_article_code=1.A1E.4Bkr.9FnkhgjU0178&smid=url-share

2026-08-12 01:12:07 UTC

I just read that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is getting criticism for having once posted that he'd like to ban fireworks and thinks the (racist) Second Amendment should be replaced with a universal right to health care. Is all of that supposed to make me dislike him? #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #Progressive #Michigan #AbdulElSayed #Senate #Midterms #US #USpol

2026-08-02 15:06:35 UTC

Imagine thinking that any of this is crazy. Now, if only the Democratic Socialists of America would champion gun reform legislation, I just might become a member. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #DSA #DemocraticSocialism #US #USpol #Progressive https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/02/democratic-socialists-america-platform/91092595007/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

2026-08-02 01:24:27 UTC

"I want to say, in all seriousness, that a great deal of harm is being done in the modern world by the belief in the virtuousness of work, and that the road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work."
-- Bertrand Russell, "In Praise of Idleness"
#Work #Philosophy #Leisure #Progressive

2026-07-08 16:38:48 UTC

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I'd phrase it as, "The people who bothered to show up to vote chose him," and one wonders how engaged and informed all of those people really were. As for FFV, I'd have to think about that more. As I understand it, one variation of that is the top-two primary system they have in California. And that almost got them two Republican gubernatorial candidates in the general election.

2026-07-08 16:23:20 UTC

College-educated white male progressive here. I said from the beginning that Graham Platner was toxic masculinity times a thousand, and that I found his "violent edge," to borrow a phrase from this article, nauseating. I strongly suspect that Troy Jackson will be the new nominee, but if I had my way, that opportunity would go to either Nirav Shah or Shenna Bellows. But no one asks me these things. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #Maine #Senate #US #USpol https://newrepublic.com/article/212801/graham-platner-rape-allegations-progressives-working-class-voters

2026-06-27 01:06:48 UTC

Centrist Democrats are nervous, as well they should be. Democratic Socialism is on the rise, and I am 100 percent convinced that it will succeed outside of New York City, as long as DSA candidates continue to explain in the clearest possible terms why their policies are best for working-class voters. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #DemocraticSocialism #DSA #NewYork #NYC #US #USpol https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/us/politics/moderate-democrats-capitalist-socialism.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tVA.orUG.xDf3zC_kK1W1&smid=url-share

2026-05-05 14:00:55 UTC

In a world of Met Gala attendees, be a Zohran Mamdani. #Politics #Democrats #Fashion #MetGala #NewYork #NYC #NewYorkCity #Mamdani https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/style/mamdani-skips-met-gala-fashion-workers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gFA.YvH1.pSrlDsbCC8wU&smid=url-share

2026-04-01 21:46:22 UTC

Good. More of this sort of moral courage, please. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #US #USpol #AOC #DemocraticSocialism https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/us/politics/aoc-congress-israel-military-aid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XlA.EVz2.zpWfd8kYUbiA&smid=url-share

2026-02-24 18:24:46 UTC

Some people have asked us why we would rather live in Britain than in the US. Britain has major problems, too, they say. It sure does. But there's also this:
Gun Ownership Rate per 100 people, according to World Population Review:
United States: 120.5
Britain: 5
#Politics #Democracy #Guns #US #Britain #UK #USpol

2026-02-09 01:08:00 UTC

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Seems clear to me. A right-wing rag and other right-leaning New Yorkers are complaining that snow is still on the ground.

2026-02-08 22:43:16 UTC

The modern Republican party in America, folks: In one of the coldest winters in years, they think it's Zohran Mamdani's fault that the snow hasn't melted. #Politics #Democrats #NewYork #Winter #Snow #NYC #ZohranMamdani #US #USpol
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2025-11-17 00:14:13 UTC

I'm reading a New York Review of Books article about the Internet and the World Wide Web. The article discusses recent books by Tim Berners-Lee and Cory Doctorow. This paragraph caught my eye. Berners-Lee is the "he" at the start of the passage. Hurrah for Mastodon, I say. #Mastodon #Fediverse #Technology #Internet #SocialMedia #OpenSource
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2025-10-14 23:43:30 UTC

"I think for far too long we've tried not to lose, as opposed to figuring out how to win."
-- Zohran Mamdani, speaking about the Democratic party and his bold proposals, in the October 20, 2025, issue of The New Yorker. My, I like him. He's the future. I want to see more politicians like him (and AOC, Michelle Wu, Katie Wilson, Maxwell Frost, etc.).
#Politics #NewYork #NYC #NewYorkCity #DemocraticSocialism #Democracy #Progressive #US #USpol

2025-10-10 23:59:52 UTC

If five and a half minutes of Luca Guadagnino talking about movies doesn't make you fall in love with movies, I don't know what will. What a fun video. I want that Wong Kar-Wai boxed set, by the way. #Film #Movies #Cinema #Culture #Entertainment #Italy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fodK93XWLwg

2025-09-12 22:25:07 UTC

I don't know if anyone is paying attention to the articles I'm posting, but I'm going to post one more, anyway, because The Nation is doing a spectacular job on this issue, as they always do. Unlike certain newspapers of record, they don't refer to hateful, bigoted people as "charismatic." #Politics #Democracy #US #USpol https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charlie-kirk-assassination-maga/

2025-09-02 21:22:28 UTC

Apologies for asking, but why are so many people calling U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner the Maine Mamdani? Zohran Mamdani supports strong gun control measures and has called for a nationwide ban on assault rifles. Platner is a competitive shooter, doesn't say a word about gun control on his website, and ignored me when I asked three times if he supports gun reform. I want Collins to lose, but I'm getting Fetterman vibes. #Politics #Senate #Maine #Election2026 #US #USpol #Guns #GunControl

2025-08-13 20:59:10 UTC

Yes! A million times yes! This passage is from an interview with Zohran Mamdani in the September 2025 issue of The Nation. I've been making a similar point for ages. Somewhere along the line, "efficiency" became associated with the right. It should be identified with the left. There is nothing inherently conservative about efficiency. Mamdani beautiful explains why. #Politics #Economy #Economics #Democrats #Democracy #NewYork #ZohranMamdani #US #USpol
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2025-07-04 16:47:53 UTC

"You've run the world for thousands of years, and now you're feeling disenfranchised?" says Francine Prose in this article. I wasn't one of them, but is it really a mystery why many white males gravitated toward the guy currently in the White House? When you have a chance, look my 18-year-old son in the eye and tell him he's already had his day. #Books #Bookstodon #Tolerance https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/03/arts/straight-white-male-novelists.html?unlocked_article_code=1.T08.2Efl.1U01D1CBd5O9&smid=url-share

2025-06-20 23:47:32 UTC

I recently learned that Bernie Sanders, whom I have long admired, has endorsed Maine's former Senate President Troy Jackson for governor in next year's gubernatorial election. *This* Troy Jackson, the one who sided with Republicans in 2023 to kill a bill that would have banned bump stocks? #Politics #Maine #Guns #Safety #US #USpol https://www.pressherald.com/2023/06/16/maine-senate-rejects-house-backed-bill-to-ban-bump-stocks-other-gun-modifications/

2025-06-10 22:42:28 UTC

These bigots sicken me. And you wonder why we're not religious. #Politics #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Love #LoveIsLove #US #USpol #Bigotry #Religion https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/southern-baptist-obergefell-same-sex-marriage.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N08.Zxn-.ezQoIWV8_QCy&smid=url-share

2025-05-27 18:14:00 UTC

Thoroughly unqualified man announces that the CDC will no longer recommend Covid boosters for healthy children and pregnant women. #Covid #CovidIsNotOver #Health #Medicine #Vaccines #Politics #US #USpol https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/27/rfk-jr-covid-vaccine-kids-pregnant-women

2025-05-02 21:11:49 UTC

"We have not fully funded and leaned into a strategy which says people of color plus progressive whites are the winning coalition," says Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, in this excellent article, adding, "We have not seen that since Barack Obama. And Barack Obama was the proof that it could happen." I've been saying that for ages. Please listen, fellow Dems. And please focus on the working class next time. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #Progressive #US #USpol https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/democratic-turnout-2024-analysis/

2025-04-26 23:45:49 UTC

Does anyone out there know anything about heat pumps? We were thinking of having them installed, but a local contractor in Maine told us it would cost us $38,000 to put in a system. I was under the impression that a system would cost $4,000 to $10,000. Am I wrong to think that $38,000 is way too expensive? #HeatPumps #HeatPump #Home #House #Winter #Maine

2025-04-12 15:47:36 UTC

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Let's be part of Canada again, I say. I've loved our trips to Montréal.

2025-04-11 21:38:02 UTC

Just a thought, but maybe Maine could secede and become part of Canada. I wouldn't mind. I'd welcome it, in fact. We're next-door neighbors, after all. My family and I are invariably mistaken for Canadians when we visit, which pleases us no end. #Politics #Democracy #Canada #Maine #TransRights #LGBTQIA #US #USpol https://www.pressherald.com/2025/04/11/white-house-to-refer-maine-to-justice-dept-over-transgender-athletes-policy/

2025-04-03 14:11:27 UTC

Are we winning yet? #Politics #Economy #Economics #Stocks #StockMarket #Democracy #US #USpol #Tariffs
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2025-03-31 13:44:20 UTC

Golly, I wonder why France can bar a candidate from running for president after a court conviction, but the US couldn't do it. Some countries are more civilized and have a greater sense of decency than others, I guess. #Politics #Democracy #France #US #USA #USpol #MarineLePen https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/31/marine-le-pen-barred-from-running-for-french-presidency-in-2027

2025-03-10 14:13:52 UTC

"In America, health care is a big business. In Canada, it is a right." The person who spoke those words last night? Canadian Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney, a centrist banker. But tell me again that people like Bernie Sanders and AOC who say the same thing are left-wing lunatics. #Politics #Democracy #Health #HealthCare #Canada #Progressive #Democrats #US #USpol

2025-03-05 13:37:38 UTC

Remember when Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert stood and heckled Joe Biden? And when Joe Wilson shouted, "You lie!" at Barack Obama? And all the Democrats did was shush them? Al Green did what needed to be done last night, and Mike Johnson had him thrown out. I say it all the time: Democrats and Republicans are playing two completely different games. Play their game, fellow Democrats, and fight back. #Politics #Democracy #Democrats #AlGreen #US #USpol

2025-02-11 00:05:04 UTC

In the off chance that any CEOs or other corporate executives are listening: I'm keeping an eye on which companies still support DEI initiatives and which companies are cowards that end them. If you're in the latter category, I guarantee you won't get my business. #Business #Economy #DEI #US #USpol #Politics #Democracy

2025-01-29 14:11:07 UTC

I agree with this statement in The Nation. If you claim to be a progressive but didn't vote because, say, you hated the Biden team's policy on Israel and Gaza (I detested it, too), then the current nightmare is as much your fault as anyone else's. #Democracy #Politics #US #USpol
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2025-01-22 19:49:21 UTC

In case you, too, would like to send Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde a handwritten thank-you note for her remarks yesterday, here's the address.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde
Washington National Cathedral
3101 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
#Politics #Democracy #US #USpol

2024-12-24 12:16:08 UTC

The first line of today's New York Times morning newsletter: "When you look back on 2024, who comes to mind?"
That's easy. 77 million voters who are either unbelievably racist or have no problem with other people's racism, which is the same thing. #Politics #Democracy #Election #Election2024 #USpol

2024-11-07 15:09:06 UTC

Exactly. This is what I've been saying. Harris didn't lose because tomatoes are more expensive than they were four years ago. She lost because millions of people who voted for Biden wouldn't vote for a woman of color. (This excerpt is from the NYT.) #Politics #Election2024
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2024-11-06 20:19:26 UTC

Let me make sure I've got this right. She proposed an expansion of the Child Tax Credit to $6,000. She proposed $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers. She proposed expanding Medicare to offer home care services for the elderly. She was part of an administration that presided over the best economy in 50 years. Her opponent, meanwhile, simulated fellatio and said immigrants were eating dogs. But *she's* the one who didn't focus enough on the economy? #Politics #Election2024

2024-10-27 20:59:53 UTC

Guys (and everyone else), please listen to her. It's infuriating that, in 2024, this needs to be said, but she said it beautifully and powerfully. I know she doesn't want it, but I'd have voted for her for President in a heartbeat. She's so good at this. #Politics #Democracy #MichelleObama #Election #Election2024 #VoteBlue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xt9fgCqMfO0

2024-10-20 16:39:38 UTC

I just watched an interview in which a "journalist" interviewed Speaker Mike Johnson, who made one false statement after another about the Republican candidate's administration. As I watched, I kept quietly muttering to the screen what the "journalist" wouldn't say: "That's not true."
Journalism 101, yet again: Your job isn't to report that one person says it's raining while another says it's sunny. Your job is to look out the window and find out the truth. #Journalism #Democracy #VoteBlue

2024-10-17 21:35:23 UTC

It's not my place to tell other people what to do with their money, but if you feel like donating to a race I think is winnable, consider sending some money Colin Allred's way, as I just did. He's running against Ted Cruz in Texas. Allred actually has a chance. And wouldn't you love to get Ted Cruz out of there? #Democracy #Senate #Texas #Election2024 #VoteBlue

2024-09-24 21:20:04 UTC

If we ever get back to Edinburgh, remind me to take in a film at the Scotsman Picturehouse, with its 48 plush red seats and matching footrests. This is gorgeous. #Film #Cinema #Movies #Scotland #Edinburgh
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2024-09-20 19:48:15 UTC

This video is well worth 10 minutes of your time. She's running a brilliant campaign, in part because of moves like this one. And I love that, in the credits, they've listed her as Talent. #Politics #Democrats #Democracy #Kamala #KamalaHarris #VoteBlue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9-cjwpthz4

2024-09-16 23:55:58 UTC

In case you're not already watching, jazz fans, check out this concert by the Joe Farnsworth Quartet. With pianist Emmet Cohen, bassist Matt Dwonszyk, and the amazing young alto saxophonist Sarah Hanahan. #Music #Jazz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2OG6jcYeqg

2024-09-11 02:05:44 UTC

I say it at home all the time. He's easy pickings. Look him square in the eye, throw his words and actions right back at him, and put him in his place. She's doing it beautifully. And just before the break, she said, "You are a disgrace." I've been waiting for someone to do this to him, to his face, for years. #Debate