The Nazis were evil, but this Disney film is insane
It's impossible to understand what it was like to live through World War II unless you were there, so casting judgment on the time or the decisions made is always precarious.The…
Ask a Teacher: Do You Teach to the Test?
My latest appearance on Slate's Ask a teacher podcast asks, "Do you teach to the test?"
I weep for this woman. Her husband is so sweet. And also a monster.
I've never felt that I was a bad or disappointing husband, and my wife has never implied as much. But if that were ever the case, I would show her this…
Bad decision by this teacher, but not for the reasons you might suspect.
From TIME magazine:Students at Skyview High School in Billings, Montana, might get out of their world history finals this year — if they can somehow get Taylor Swift to call…
The world lost an elementary school custodian yesterday, and a better man than most.
I lost a friend yesterday.John was a custodian at my school. We both started working at Wolcott Elementary School 17 years ago. More than a custodian, John was an important person in…
Want to be funny? Want to make people laugh? Tell a story. In the right sort of venue. With the right number of people.
One of the most surprising things about storytelling, at least for me, is how often and easily storytelling audiences laugh. I remember telling my first story at a Moth StorySLAM back…
My position on gossip is potentially divisive and possibly offensive, except that I guess it’s not. Huzzah!
Recently I was sitting with friends, chatting and eating, when one of them said to me, "You'll want to either block your ears or leave the room for a minute."Since I…
My minimalist hero and my possible desire to radically reduce my wardrobe
Leo Widrich is my new hero. He is an advocate and practitioner of "one-bag living." In an effort to simplify and de-clutter his life, almost everything he owns fits inside…
Listen to me talk about storytelling and teaching instead of reading my words
Last week I made appearances on two Slate podcasts. In my fifth installment on The Gist, I continue the process of coaching Frank Kennedy as he prepares a story that he…
I wore jeans to a $25,000 a table gala and something surprising happened, as it often does when I am under-dressed.
Last week I had the honor of performing at The Moth Ball, where I performed on the same stage as the great Louis CK. I also had the pleasure of…
