This week at Cog # 14
Ghost forests, high school principals, books and… pigeons
I buy books year round, but I especially love choosing one or two to put on my Christmas list each December. This year I told my husband to get me Cameron Crowe’s memoir, “Uncool,” then I cheated (on the book, not him) and got it on audiobook, early. It’s about Crowe’s years as a music journalist for Rolling Stone when he was a teenager — 16! — in San Diego. Crowe reads it, and it’s charming to hear him recount those early days with humility and humor, as well as a sense of awe that it all actually happened. (He shares moments that inspired his film “Almost Famous” – which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2000.)
It has me thinking about how time tends to feel kind of porous around the holidays. We watch movies and listen to music that has been with us since childhood. I got a record player for my birthday this year, and last week I went on EBay and found a Sesame Street Christmas album my mom played when I was a kid. Instead of opening a playlist and connecting to the bluetooth speaker like we usually do as we decorate the tree, this year my kids can drop the needle and hear Big Bird and the gang, just like I did. There’s a little bit of awe in that, too. —SS
This week’s stories
What ghost forests tell us about ecological belonging
Between now and the end of the century, climate change will trigger a cascade of rapid, irreversible environmental changes that will make it impossible for people to establish a sense of place, writes Frederick Hewett.
What my high school principal taught me about being young — and growing up
Recently, for reasons both generational and chronological, I find myself looking back at people who have helped shape my life, writes David Tanklefsky. Some of them know their impact, but not all.
In 2025, I got by with a little help from these books
I find even the “hard” books, the ones that reflect our world, are bearable because great novels also work in the beautiful things that make us human, writes Hannah Harlow, co-owner of independent bookstore The Bookshop of Beverly Farms.
Is the humble pigeon a mascot for our time?
All of a sudden, my social media feed has been taken over by pigeons, writes Tove Danovich. It was enough to make me look more closely at these birds and what I found delighted me.
Bonus content
‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’ will always have my heart
It’s because the film doesn’t shy away from the dark places life inevitably takes us that it remains resoundingly joyful, writes Sara Shukla. (From 2023)
The Pink Pony Express is coming
As we compile our annual Cog playlist, we’re thinking about Cog contributor Chris Ritter, who traveled to Kansas City back in October. He wrote (and photographed!) a beautiful piece for Condé Nast Traveler about Chapel Roan’s homecoming concerts — it’s about so much more than music.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
The first week in December is Cookie Week at the New York Times, and we want to make every single recipe they featured. Someone please invite us to a cookie exchange — we promise to listen to this podcast before we bake.