Words For the Wise

Words For the Wise

Home
Notes
Archive
Leaderboard
About
Washington Post publishes names of many of the 18,500 children killed in Gaza.
Experts say the data is reliable and probably an undercount of the true death toll.
 • 
Michael Balter
3
Jayne Mansfield and me.
I met her when I was about ten years old. It was an unforgettable moment, but not for the reasons you might think.
 • 
Michael Balter
"So Long, Mom (I’m off to drop the bomb)"
Tom Lehrer is gone. Many members of younger generations may not even know who he was, but for boomers he was one of the first to challenge Cold War…
 • 
Michael Balter
4
Jews Cry Out: Monday evening at the Israeli Consulate in New York City.
Jews have always been in the forefront of the fight against war crimes and other injustices, no matter who is committing them. This is what Judaic…
 • 
Michael Balter
Israeli leaders say clearly that they are committing genocide in Gaza. We should take them at their word.
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
 • 
Michael Balter
4
Even the right-wing press knows genocide when it sees it. So should we all.
Those who use the Holocaust to throw smoke over a genocide deserve condemnation.
 • 
Michael Balter
On the Revolutionary Road: Our local archaeology chapter takes a field trip to Fort Montgomery on the Hudson.
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
 • 
Michael Balter
Why Zohran Mamdani won -- from people who actually helped make it happen.
Recommended: An episode of Jacobin's podcast "The Dig" that spends two hours talking to DSA organizers about this and other campaigns.
 • 
Michael Balter
1
RIP Brian Fagan, master archaeology writer.
Fagan, who was emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, died on July 1.
 • 
Michael Balter
1
Musical Moment: "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile. Still a song for the times.
When the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
 • 
Michael Balter
1
Blanche Yurka: The actress who learned to knit so she could play Madame Defarge.
From covering dental decay to the history of Hollywood film, your faithful correspondent follows the trail wherever it leads.
 • 
Michael Balter
Musical Moment: “Falling Into You.”
An indication of how great a singer Celine Dion could have been if she had not been so badly managed and not focused her career on singing mostly…
 • 
Michael Balter
1
© 2025 Michael Balter
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture