Your Mid-Week Experiment

Everyone should go see "American Fiction" now

Welcome to the always free, reader-supported mid-week edition of The Experiment where we share great things to read, cook, listen to, and watch. If you’d like to support my work, buy my Alamo book, buy some Experiment merch, drop some coins in the PayPal fountain, or become a paid subscriber. But even if you don’t, this bugga free.

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This week we’ve got four articles, a speech, a recipe, a terrific movie, and a comedy special. Oh my god I’m so excited for you. Let’s get to it:

Hey, remember how we all worried that the pandemic was going to kill stand up comedy? Well, the pandemic shoved everyone onto TikTok, and then guess what happened? (Washington Post)

Speaking of funny, ladies and gentlemen, may I present the best political speech in American history? (Noah S. Sweat – The Whiskey Speech)

Mike Birbiglia’s podcast Working It Out is a balm, and his conversation with Jim Gaffigan was particularly good.

I dig the observation that Jan. 6 revisionism isn’t even convincing a majority of Republicans, but if this is so, then a majority of Republicans hold Trump responsible for an illegal insurrection to overturn the 2020 elections and are still supporting him in 2024! (Aaron Blake)

That said, the fact that one in four Americans now believe that the FBI instigated the Jan. 6 insurrection makes me sick to my stomach. (Washington Post)

Let’s cleanse the palate, shall we?

This is the most hilariously self-deluded quote about Trump from an anti-abortion activist I’ve ever seen: “Is he the most pro-life person? No. But he keeps his deals.” (Washington Post)

I didn’t get the sauce exactly right, but Marry Me Chicken was flavorful and juicy. Thumbs up. (Little Sunny Kitchen)

Y’all, American Fiction is as good as its best reviews.

Several laugh-out-loud moments in Gary Gulman’s latest special.

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Buy the book Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick banned from the Bullock Texas History Museum: Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of the American Myth by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and myself is out from Penguin Random House. The New York Times bestseller is 44% off and the same price as a paperback now!