Benjamin Torbert
@throatybeard.bsky.social
Associate Professor of English, UMSL
Freelance classical music writer for StL Post-Dispatch, KDHX and OperaWire
Idiosyncratic views not the responsibility of any employer
Freelance classical music writer for StL Post-Dispatch, KDHX and OperaWire
Idiosyncratic views not the responsibility of any employer
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
I can't help but think of Heather Heyer, the woman killed in Charlottesville during the first term.
What was then an act of white supremacist vigilante violence by a radicalized right winger has now escalated to official acts carried out by the state
What was then an act of white supremacist vigilante violence by a radicalized right winger has now escalated to official acts carried out by the state
January 7, 2026 at 10:43 PM
I can't help but think of Heather Heyer, the woman killed in Charlottesville during the first term.
What was then an act of white supremacist vigilante violence by a radicalized right winger has now escalated to official acts carried out by the state
What was then an act of white supremacist vigilante violence by a radicalized right winger has now escalated to official acts carried out by the state
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
“It's to a point of unsustainability.” www.npr.org/2025/11/13/n...
Why home insurance is unaffordable, even in places without wildfires or hurricanes
Some of the country's highest home insurance prices are in the central U.S., a region generally considered to be protected from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes.
www.npr.org
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 PM
“It's to a point of unsustainability.” www.npr.org/2025/11/13/n...
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
THE BROOD (1979) — 4:15 am ET — 1h 31m
(TCM Special Theme: Trans Images on Film)
Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle; directed by David Cronenberg
An estranged husband uncovers unsettling consequences of his wife's radical therapy.
#TCM #TCMParty
(TCM Special Theme: Trans Images on Film)
Oliver Reed, Samantha Eggar, Art Hindle; directed by David Cronenberg
An estranged husband uncovers unsettling consequences of his wife's radical therapy.
#TCM #TCMParty
Trans Images on Film
November 17 & 24 | 11 Films
www.tcm.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Can’t believe the whole country has to suffer through the return of Dickensian childhood diseases because the worst, most ignorant attention-demanders decided other people’s expertise makes them feel bad
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
Chapel Bill has lost the shark.
October 4, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Chapel Bill has lost the shark.
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺
June 3, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Cuts have consequences, illustrated. As seen on TV 📺
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
With a mighty blow, the Wanamaker Organ marks the end of the Center City Macy’s era www.inquirer.com/arts/wanamak...
With a mighty blow, the Wanamaker Organ marks the end of the Center City Macy’s era
The enormous instrument — 28,750 pipes, 287 tons and snaked throughout the building — isn’t going anywhere. But Macy’s is, closing its showpiece store at 13th and Market Streets for good Sunday.
www.inquirer.com
March 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
With a mighty blow, the Wanamaker Organ marks the end of the Center City Macy’s era www.inquirer.com/arts/wanamak...
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
"Rawdog" is the 2024 American Dialect Society word of the year. Read the full press release. #WOTY2024 #ADS2025 #LSA2025 americandialect.org/2024-word-of...
2024 Word of the Year Is “Rawdog” - American Dialect Society
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown–Jan. 10—The American Dialect Society, in its 35th annual words-of-the-year vote, selected rawdog as the Word of the Year for 2024. More than three hundred attendees took...
americandialect.org
January 11, 2025 at 5:23 AM
"Rawdog" is the 2024 American Dialect Society word of the year. Read the full press release. #WOTY2024 #ADS2025 #LSA2025 americandialect.org/2024-word-of...
Reposted by Benjamin Torbert
New bookstore alert: Leviathan Bookstore has a home (the former Zee Bee Market spot on South Grand) and a grand opening date (March 1). Exciting! www.stlmag.com/culture/Lite...
January 6, 2025 at 1:54 PM
New bookstore alert: Leviathan Bookstore has a home (the former Zee Bee Market spot on South Grand) and a grand opening date (March 1). Exciting! www.stlmag.com/culture/Lite...