Contamination of wildlife with Pfas, which can increase risk of cancer, a growing problem in US
Day: November 27, 2025
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A Tribute to Turkeys
Thanksgiving is an astonishingly traditional holiday. In a world where everything seems to be changing, Thanksgiving feels almost unchanged from my own childhood to the present. Turkey and pumpkin pie are still the main event, the cornucopia the standard decoration. We stream the classic movies and songs instead of checking the TV Guide, but they’re the same movies and songs. Turkey Trots have been held across America for decades, enabling exercise addicts to get their endorphin fix before the rest of the world even wakes up at a massive downtown party. They’re bigger than ever nowadays, and still plenty of fun. (Yes, I am One of Those People. And quite likely my fellow addicts will be the first to read this article, so have a great race, friends!)
There may be a few small novelties. Sometimes people get a little crazy and try cooking their turkey in some new way (Sous vide! Smoker! Deep fryer!). Gratitude Journals are more of a thing now, at least in my little world of religiously conservative women, though I don’t personally keep one. For the unfamiliar: you record one thing you’re grateful for on each day in November. I’m told one is simply supposed to write “the first thing that pops into your head.” Though I fully support others’ efforts to chronicle their gratitude, I can’t get past the “overthinking” problem. One day I’m writing “Jesus” and the next “coffee” and that just feels wrong. So no journaling for me, but I do try to make November into a seasonal occasion for reflecting on the theme of gratitude.
Perhaps that sounds treacly, but I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor. I normally put the point like this. The modern world is constantly finding ways to make us feel small, but in a mean, resentful, and grasping way. Gratitude makes us feel small in a good way. And that in turn helps us to be “bigger” people, in the most important ways. It seems especially fitting that our season of gratitude falls in November, an unassuming month when the world is mostly brown, the weather chilly, and the school year trundling along with no end in sight. It’s aggressively ordinary, just everyday life uncut. That can be dreary. But with gratitude on the brain, we may find ourselves noticing that everyday life can also be quite wonderful at times, and surprisingly strange.
Indeed, if we can bring ourselves to look at old traditions with fresh eyes, we may reflect that Thanksgiving is in some ways quite an odd holiday. It’s about gratitude, American history, and turkeys. Would those data points make any sense to us, if we hadn’t grown up tracing our hands on paper plates and preparing yam dishes in celebration of unsmiling Puritans?
Thanksgiving has a story, of course, which can help to connect the dots. But it’s an odd story. Religious zealots come to an untrammeled North America seeking their “city on a hill,” and nearly starve to death in their fresh-off-the-boat incompetence, only to be rescued by magnanimous pagans who happen to live nearby. In my own childhood at least, the pilgrims were always presented positively by our elders as “people who wanted to worship God in their own way,” making Thanksgiving into a celebration of both devotion and religious freedom. Because the First Thanksgiving has normally been told as a kind of national origin story, it’s reasonable to see pilgrims as the presumptive protagonists whose determination and sacrifice have been honored over the years. Their coming was a watershed event. And their deep religious conviction can reasonably be viewed as seminal for America’s identity as a Christian nation.
It’s not quite that straightforward, though. The most magnanimous-looking character in the Thanksgiving story was not European. Tisquantum, better known today as “Squanto,” was native-born, had an unclear relationship to Christianity, and almost certainly wasn’t looking to build any cities on hills. Respectful pluralism is therefore another recognizable element of the Thanksgiving story. Finally, we might note that the white people were the immigrants in this case, and we celebrate them in that role. (I have memories of pretending to be seasick in a grade school pageant as we recounted the pilgrims’ difficult journey to the New World. We definitely weren’t running from that component of the story.)
Whatever else we think of that rose-tinted historical revisionism, the decision to celebrate the benevolence of Squanto and the Wampanoag doesn’t exactly project Western arrogance and determination to dominate.
The First Thanksgiving story is not a lament for colonialist oppression, but neither is it Christian Nationalist triumphalism. If the story has a core, it’s “finding ways to live together and appreciate one another despite deep differences.” And that’s not just modern progressive gobbledygook. Although Thanksgiving was in a sense “based on a true story,” it was famously promulgated by Abraham Lincoln, who was hoping to recover some sense of unity and common purpose in a nation deeply fractured by war. The value of friendship, harmony, and cooperation are very intentional themes.
Sometimes the storybook unfolding of those themes can be quite irksome to detractors, perhaps especially cynical anti-colonialists, who point out that Tisquantum was a tribeless vagabond and former slave whose chosen name meant “Wrath of God,” and that relations between Puritans and Wampanoag (the primary participating tribe) were actually quite fraught. The feast in question may have represented a fortuitous-but-fleeting moment in that relationship, not a defining or history-changing event. By some accounts, the Wampanoag were not even invited to that first harvest feast. They heard the pilgrims firing off a celebratory salute, misunderstood the purpose, and came ready for a fight. Realizing on their arrival that it was really more of a party, they slipped away and came back with their own contribution of venison, preserving the tense-but-still-peaceful relations they had established with the Europeans. Perhaps the meal was more a diplomatic salvage mission than a celebration of deep human bonds.
What if it was, though? Thanksgiving is unquestionably a celebration, not only of a historical event, but of a tradition and story that were intentionally woven into American lore for civic purposes. But isn’t that always an element of culture? Whatever else we think of that rose-tinted historical revisionism, the decision to celebrate the benevolence of Squanto and the Wampanoag (in the mid-nineteenth century, no less!) doesn’t exactly project Western arrogance and determination to dominate. Rather, Lincoln was inviting Americans to reflect on how much we all owe to the sacrifice and generosity of others. The pilgrims were indebted to Squanto and the Wampanoag. We in turn owe much to the pilgrims, to other illustrious forbears, and (Lincoln would happily say) to the God who created us all.
If we take the world as we find it, we often find that it’s quite strange. The storylines rarely run along the courses that we’ve plotted for ourselves. Projects that we begin with the highest confidence often spiral towards disaster. Then, sometimes, they may unexpectedly be salvaged, even by people we formerly regarded as enemies or barbarians. Neither people, nor things, nor the courses of human events follow expected pathways, and yet somehow, if we’re honest with ourselves, we usually have enough and probably better than we deserve. Be grateful.
Americans aren’t exactly exuding gratitude nowadays. Our public square is ablaze with resentment and angst; nearly everyone seems dissatisfied with the straw they’ve drawn in life. And sure, people have problems. Sometimes those merit attention. But if we pull our lens back a bit, considering our general situation in either historical or global context, can we really persuade ourselves that modern-day Americans have things particularly rough? Sure, the pilgrims could give thanks, but they only had to worry about starvation, bitter winters, native tribes less friendly than the Wampanoag, crops they didn’t know how to grow, animals they didn’t know how to hunt, impatient creditors in London wanting their ROI, and plagues that killed about half the colony in the first year alone. They had so much religious freedom! And very affordable housing!
What if we spent eleven months of the year working out solutions to present problems, and one month reflecting gratefully on what we already have? Is that just too Pollyannaish? The head-in-the-sand suggestion of a complacent post-colonialist? Even if it is, take a second to consider. Our political world would undoubtedly be healthier if we think a little less about what we want, and a little more about what we value, appreciate, and wish to preserve.
What do I most want to preserve in this world? I think about it as I run along the paths of my Minnesota neighborhood (preparing to trot), passing a surprising number of turkeys along the way, especially in the fall. They’re funny-looking things, really, neither handsome nor majestic, and certainly not fast. What an odd totem for gratitude.
Reality is odd, however. It regularly defies our expectations. Would we want it any other way? If Americans could recapture that delight in the world’s strangeness, the clean feeling of being properly small, then perhaps we would remember what it means to be a great nation.
The post A Tribute to Turkeys first appeared on Audio Posts – audio-posts.com.
A notable college football coach who sued his former employer will receive his full buyout. Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.
The post LSU confirms Kelly was fired ‘without cause’ and is owed his full $54 million buyout first appeared on Audio Posts – audio-posts.com.
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Hacer capturas de pantalla o grabar la pantalla en dispositivos Android Puedes hacer una foto (captura de pantalla) o grabar un vídeo de la pantalla de tu teléfono. Una vez que hayas hecho la captura o el vídeo, podrás verlos, editarlos y compartirlos. Importante: Algunos de estos pasos solo funcionan en Android 11 y versiones posteriores.
Getty Images; Rebecca Zisser/BI
- Being well-liked is an asset at work. When cutbacks become routine, it can make a difference.
- That’s especially true in industries like tech, where layoffs and AI-driven change have made likability extra valuable.
- Likability matters most in roles requiring collaboration, but technical skills remain essential.
Survival for some tech workers could come down to something more than code quality or shipping speed: likability.
There is an increased focus in the industry on pleasing the boss as well as “upper upper management,” said Soubhik Dawn, who has worked in tech for nearly two decades.
Of course, being well-liked is important if you want to get ahead in any career, but it’s become an especially relevant topic in tech as layoffs and AI transform the industry.
“There is a little bit of showmanship that is going on. That’s what I’m hearing from my circle,” said Dawn, founder of Upplai, which uses AI to help job seekers with résumés and cover letters.
Competence still matters, yet at a time when some tech companies are demanding more of workers, being well-liked can be the thing that keeps you in your job.
‘The most important skill’
Being likable is a “more important skill than computer programming, or system design, or algorithms,” said another tech worker who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity because his employer doesn’t permit staffers to speak to the press.
Getting along well, especially with the higher-ups, has become “the most important skill to survive,” he said.
It’s a lesson that’s taken him a little while to learn, he said. He once tried to take on too many tasks to try to please his boss and skip-level managers. That led to him falling behind. Instead, he said that he should have spent more time cultivating relationships with those in management.
Dawn, from Upplai, said he had seen likability at work take several forms. Over the years, he’s watched as some colleagues seemed to prioritize hanging out with VPs or senior VPs and offered to add a bit of polish to a slide deck or run errands.
Those workers, Dawn said, could then go on to complete some small project and “get recognition like crazy.”
In some cases, becoming likable in the eyes of the boss comes from simply getting a lot done or doing what you say you’ll do — and flagging any issues before they balloon into bigger problems.
“That kind of leads to likability,” Dawn said. “Likability is more like dependability.”
Warmth before competence
In the workplace and elsewhere, we often judge people first on warmth — which includes traits like trustworthiness — and only afterward on competence or skill, said Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist and former professor at Harvard Business School.
In moments of uncertainty, warmth dominates, she told Business Insider. Cuddy has researched perceptions of warmth versus competence in the workplace for more than two decades.
“What people are calling likability right now is actually a proxy for trustworthiness, and trust is historically low,” she said.
Cuddy said that when people feel uncertain, they start to read each other differently. When trust is low, people tend to rely heavily on trust cues as the most effective way to assess someone, she said.
So, while being capable is still important, if your colleagues don’t like you, it can hold you back. Your competence can even become a threat if you’re not trustworthy, Cuddy said.
She said that the desire for trust is why “likability suddenly sounds more important than the technical skill.”
It’s less about whether your colleague wants to have a beer with you after work, Cuddy said. “It’s about feeling safe,” she said.
“Trust is the conduit of influence,” Cuddy said. “You could have a million great ideas, but if you don’t have a medium through which those ideas can travel, it doesn’t matter.”
Likability matters more in some roles
Still, pure likability has its limits, said Tom Chi, who has worked at Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, and who is a founding partner of At One Ventures, a Silicon Valley VC firm.
That’s because, for many roles, there are “real, quantitative performance metrics” — things like how many lines of code someone has checked in, he said.
“It’s actually relatively straightforward to tell whether you’re adding a lot to the team,” Chi said.
The tech world has plenty of examples of the “brilliant jerk” — that talented colleague who rubs others the wrong way, but gets away with it because of their skills or smarts.
“That’s a deep part of tech culture,” he said.
Where likability might play a more significant role, Chi said, is in roles such as product management or design, which center on coordinating with colleagues, building consensus, or working with customers. In those cases, he said, likability and friendliness tend to matter more, he said. Because amiable traits are ultimately demonstrations of competence.
“That’s what merit looks like in that type of role,” he said.
At the same time, Chi said, workers who focus too much on being likable are at risk.
“If one wanted to prioritize that over developing merit, then I think you’re in for a bad ride,” he said.
That hasn’t deterred the anonymous coder.
“Does everyone like you?” he said. “That’s how you survive in Big Tech right now.”
Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at tparadis@businessinsider.com or Signal at tparadis.70. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post Being likable can matter more than being good at your job first appeared on Brooklyn NY – bklyn-ny.com.
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Halligan, Bondi, and Other Turkeys
For his latest periodic deep dive on the Department of Justice, Harry talks to DOJ veterans Paul Fishman and Amy Jeffress as well as reporter Anna Bower to assess an institution that looks to be coming apart at the seams. The panel digs into the political and legal flashpoints facing the Department, including its response to the embarrassing dismissals of the prosecutions against James Comey and Letitia James, the revival of possible contempt sanctions against the department, and the prospect that Pam Bondi may act as Trump’s firewall for the Epstein files.
Mentioned in this episode:
Anna’s reporting: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/contributors/abower
Judge Currie’s ruling: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342/gov.uscourts.vaed.583342.140.0_2.pdf
Harry’s Substack on the ruling: https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/after-the-shipwreck
Harry’s conversation with Emily Bazelon about her reporting on the department: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PDKeMe1mXU&pp=0gcJCRUKAYcqIYzv
Harry’s conversation with Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis about their book on the department: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klVToztR8u0
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The post Halligan, Bondi, and Other Turkeys first appeared on Audio Posts – audio-posts.com.
