David A. Graham
@dgraham.bsky.social
Journalist, nouvelle-lettrist, and unionist at The Atlantic. Rubber City -> Bull City. [email protected]
NYT bestseller THE PROJECT out now: https://smarturl.it/GHz99R
NYT bestseller THE PROJECT out now: https://smarturl.it/GHz99R
It’s useful for people of my generation to be reminded that this wasn’t that long ago. Ruby Bridges isn’t just still alive—she’s only 71, not ancient!
65 years ago on Nov. 14, little Ruby Bridges was escorted into an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. Norman Rockwell, renowned for blissful depictions of Americana, did this remarkable painting for Look magazine. Printed as a double page, over-size spread, it's his masterpiece.
November 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
It’s useful for people of my generation to be reminded that this wasn’t that long ago. Ruby Bridges isn’t just still alive—she’s only 71, not ancient!
The Atlantic has been writing about abundance since 1937
November 13, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The Atlantic has been writing about abundance since 1937
Where would he have gotten such an idea?! www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
November 13, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Where would he have gotten such an idea?! www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Finally, a new revenue model for media www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/u...
Kansas County Agrees to Pay $3 Million Over Police Raid of Newspaper
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Finally, a new revenue model for media www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/u...
Reposted by David A. Graham
BACKBEATS is out today!
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
![PRAISE FOR
BACKBEATS
"[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives."
-BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space
and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History
"A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along."
-IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
"An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing."
-BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar
"Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together."
—BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles:
The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography
"Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit."
-PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/bafkreifwmo4y4cy7rnpvycg35dhm654zd4bze7fuuul2ndyrt2zmpqzurm@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
BACKBEATS is out today!
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
"If you owe the bank a hundred dollars, that's your problem. If you owe the bank a hundred million dollars, that's the bank's problem" but give it force of law
November 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM
"If you owe the bank a hundred dollars, that's your problem. If you owe the bank a hundred million dollars, that's the bank's problem" but give it force of law
Pianists and piano trios: I mostly them boring. Kris Davis and this band with Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake: Fire.
Try to see them in person, but failing that, watch this: www.npr.org/2025/11/11/g...
Try to see them in person, but failing that, watch this: www.npr.org/2025/11/11/g...
Kris Davis Trio: Tiny Desk Concert
Breathless and expansive, Kris Davis' layered music is a mosaic of emotional expression.
www.npr.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Pianists and piano trios: I mostly them boring. Kris Davis and this band with Robert Hurst and Johnathan Blake: Fire.
Try to see them in person, but failing that, watch this: www.npr.org/2025/11/11/g...
Try to see them in person, but failing that, watch this: www.npr.org/2025/11/11/g...
How did this go for Democrats during the Biden years? abcnews.go.com/Politics/tru...
Trump downplays economic woes as partisan spin, saying, 'Costs are way down'
President Donald Trump continued to insist the economy is strong and even insisted polls showing Americans are feeling economic pain are "fake."
abcnews.go.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:28 PM
How did this go for Democrats during the Biden years? abcnews.go.com/Politics/tru...
Reposted by David A. Graham
To understand the future of the Donald Trump opposition, look to the Democrats’ decision to reopen the government, not to last week’s elections, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily:
The Shutdown Vote Was the Real Test for Democrats
The decision to reopen the government revealed how the party plans to contend with the challenges posed by Trump.
bit.ly
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 AM
To understand the future of the Donald Trump opposition, look to the Democrats’ decision to reopen the government, not to last week’s elections, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily:
"A boat ran into it"
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 AM
"A boat ran into it"
This seems OK if your entire wedding playlist is "Rumpshaker" and "Baker Street" www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...
Saxophones Are Taking Over Weddings (and Dividing Guests)
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:36 PM
This seems OK if your entire wedding playlist is "Rumpshaker" and "Baker Street" www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/s...
BARILLA WARFARE www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Italian Pasta Is Poised to Disappear From American Grocery Shelves
The Trump administration is set to impose duties of 107% on Italian pasta imports, among most punitive of the tariffs it has levied.
www.wsj.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
BARILLA WARFARE www.wsj.com/world/europe...
Talking Project 2025 on Spectrum News NC: spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-...
State Democratic leader recaps week of national wins for her party
We talk to N.C. Democratic Party leader Anderson Clayton and David A. Graham, author of "The Project: How Project 2025 is Reshaping America."
spectrumlocalnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:27 AM
Talking Project 2025 on Spectrum News NC: spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-...
Reposted by David A. Graham
We’re joined by @dgraham.bsky.social discussing his article at The Atlantic “Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms is Already Under Way” and Trump’s call to kill the filibuster announcing, “If we do it, we will.. never lose a general election.” soundcloud.com/user-8304426...
Trump's Announces That
Background Briefing goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard elsewhere in American media. Background Briefing features international and national news, ex
soundcloud.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:17 PM
We’re joined by @dgraham.bsky.social discussing his article at The Atlantic “Donald Trump’s Plan to Subvert the Midterms is Already Under Way” and Trump’s call to kill the filibuster announcing, “If we do it, we will.. never lose a general election.” soundcloud.com/user-8304426...
I initially read this as “Led Zeppelin,” and I suppose “darkest Mordor” is kind of the vibe here
Lee Zeldin announces on Fox that there will be "severe" layoffs at the EPA if the shutdown continues
November 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
I initially read this as “Led Zeppelin,” and I suppose “darkest Mordor” is kind of the vibe here
[email protected] speaks the truth: Seven Reasons Listicles Didn’t Suck, Actually (And One Of Them May Surprise You) talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/seven...
Seven Reasons Listicles Didn’t Suck, Actually (And One Of Them May Surprise You)
“The human animal differs from the lesser primates in his passion for...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:25 PM
[email protected] speaks the truth: Seven Reasons Listicles Didn’t Suck, Actually (And One Of Them May Surprise You) talkingpointsmemo.com/tpm-25/seven...
Would be truly remarkable if any of them were still around
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Would be truly remarkable if any of them were still around
Post 👏 your 👏 album 👏 credits 👏 and 👏 personnel 👏 on 👏 Bandcamp 👏
(I mean you, Anti-, though not only you)
(I mean you, Anti-, though not only you)
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Post 👏 your 👏 album 👏 credits 👏 and 👏 personnel 👏 on 👏 Bandcamp 👏
(I mean you, Anti-, though not only you)
(I mean you, Anti-, though not only you)
"Last Monkey on the Loose" is a decent album title apnews.com/article/miss...
Last monkey on the loose after Mississippi highway crash is captured after being spotted by resident
Authorities have captured the last monkey that escaped after a highway crash in Mississippi. The state Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks said Thursday that a resident near the crash site re...
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 PM
"Last Monkey on the Loose" is a decent album title apnews.com/article/miss...
Reposted by David A. Graham
The drop in gun violence in DC following the Federal deployment starting in mid-August has more or less completely subsided.
November 7, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The drop in gun violence in DC following the Federal deployment starting in mid-August has more or less completely subsided.
Reposted by David A. Graham
Unprecedented corruption - not just monetizing the presidency by selling branded products, but selling those products directly to government employees and having the Department of Homeland Security promote them to the media
November 7, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Unprecedented corruption - not just monetizing the presidency by selling branded products, but selling those products directly to government employees and having the Department of Homeland Security promote them to the media
I've seen the Democratic and Republican parties both declared dead more than once, and I'm still not *that* old
"claims of a fundamental realignment of American politics have been highly exaggerated"
this happens ***every single time*** someone proclaims a realignment
this happens ***every single time*** someone proclaims a realignment
Dem gains in this week's elections erased the inroads Trump made with non-white, young, and low-income voters in 2024. In fact, the R-to-D shift from 24 to 25 is double Trump's gains from 20-24. Claims of a GOP political realignment have been highly exaggerated
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trumps-win...
www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trumps-win...
November 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
I've seen the Democratic and Republican parties both declared dead more than once, and I'm still not *that* old
Reposted by David A. Graham
I had to make a foray into fashion writing because I could not stop thinking about the fashion diapers all the celebs are wearing!!!
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
The Pantsless Trend Reaches Its Logical Conclusion
Celebrities have embraced a new sort of garment: the fashion diaper.
www.theatlantic.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I had to make a foray into fashion writing because I could not stop thinking about the fashion diapers all the celebs are wearing!!!
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...