The Improvement Association

A good poem when we don't have words.

It's election week. One adorable imaginary world has me thinking.

Kristin Kobes Du Mez is the writer and historian behind the best selling deep dive into how Evangelical American men have been formed to wield power. This last week, she released her short documentary with Emmy award-winning Carl Byker called FOR OUR DAUGHTERS. It's a concise reminder to think about whether the men who have failed to run a church should run a country. This podcast mentions abuse.

Thoughts on a 2023 film by Chloe Domont on the lies we tell ourselves and each in modern dating.

A former US president questioned a presidential candidate's Blackness at the National Association of Black Journalists. Alex responds with a reflection in this episode.

It's been a stressful week and everyone is tired. Here's an uplifting, funny recommendation from This American Life about some people who witnessed some things go very, very wrong in the best way possible.

A novel I find helpful when everything feels like it is on fire. A short reflection on how it ends, and what it could be telling us about the work we must begin.

This is a weekend recommendation from me to you, from producers I love. It's about a lie that took root and shook up an entire community. I hope it makes you think about the facts and fictions that we allow to guide us.

A brief thought on the normalcy of violence as an American answer and how the status quo does not trend to change unless we decide to change and reflect on our inheritance. A shortlist of thinkers who can help us overcome this. This content contains adult themes on gun violence and terrorism.

Sherri Papini and the case that captivated the nation in 2016 has a new documentary. I watched it and have some thoughts. Is what happened really all that out there? Or does this story rely on dynamics that existed long before a car pulled up and whisked the perfect wife away?