You Are Here – Details, episodes & analysis

The miracle of Notre Dame, the tragedy of the Great Barrier Reef, and what human hands do in between.

"A Miracle: Notre-Dame’s Astonishing Rebirth From the Ashes," by Michael Kimmelman.

Since Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking speech in the Senate a few weeks ago, we’ve witnessed a series of actions all centered around a different but just as fundamental part of the job of a member of Congress; one that usually happens far away from Washington.

Birtherism is back. As usual, it has little basis in law, reality, or common sense.

You can check out the written version of this podcast at youarehere.substack.com.

A quintessential American poem to defy the sickening signs from the Republican National Convention.

"The New Colossus", by Emma Lazarus:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The first presidential debate laid bare the limits of age, and Congress is older than ever. Should candidates face age limits?

Click here if you'd prefer to read the text version of this post.

An essay about the Rhode Island neighborhood Taylor Swift and I both love.

This podcast features audio versions of each of my posts, read by me, Charlie Hunt. If you liked what you heard and aren’t yet subscribed to my Substack newsletter — which is also called You Are Here — I hope you’ll consider doing so by going to youarehere.substack.com. New posts at least every two weeks; subscriptions are free for everyone.

As I recently promised, I’ll be expanding the different types of posts and content I’ll be offering here, and today is a big step in that direction. It’s a lovely, wide-ranging conversation I recently had with my dear friend, Analía Gómez Vidal. Analía is a career coach, researcher, facilitator, and founder of AGV Services LLC, where she works with international students to help them navigate the legal, occupational, and personal hurdles and opportunities of working and learning in other countries.

Like me, Analía seems to be thinking constantly about the power and importance of place, and we talk about how that intersects with her work. We also get into the first of what I’m guessing is many conversations she and I are bound to have about poetry, for which we both share a passion.

You can watch the full conversation here on Substack if that’s your thing, or, as always, you can listen to it in You Are Here’s regular podcast feed (Apple Podcasts/Spotify). Enjoy (that’s an order)!

A Place Poem about the boisterous beauty of sunflowers, and my finally-successful attempts to grow them (and myself).

My Place Picks featured in the text version of this post:

* The Foreign Landers - “Sunny Side of the Mountain” (Apple/Spotify)

* The Wailin’ Jennys - “Wildflowers” (Apple/Spotify)

* Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

* Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging by Jessica J. Lee

* The Conversation - “In a closely divided Congress, aging lawmakers are a problem for Democrats.”

* Spokane Spokesman-Review - “Would Idahoans send an independent to the Senate? Todd Achilles kicks off campaign in North Idaho to find out.”

* City Cast Boise - “Ballot Initiative Targets Grocery Tax, Boise Rents Spike, and River Jamboree.”

In the midst of a federal occupation, residents of Washington, DC is live in a kind of political limbo. Where do they go from here?

Tap or click here for the written version of this post, or go to youarehere.substack.com for more.

Calvin & Hobbes has a lot — too much — to teach us about the two-party race to the bottom.