Autumn weather is finally here. Days in the 80s and nights in the 60s. Early voting has begun in most places. Be a responsible citizen and vote. Lots of birthdays in October, which is the best month of the year (I agree with WCW). Recipes for apple slab pie, apple fritters, pear dumplings, Shaker lemon pie, and German chocolate dump cake. Look at unbiased news sources instead of staying in the echo chamber. October is National Estate Planning Awareness Month. Take care of the future for your dependents and loved ones. RIP, Margaret Hamilton. Support local and national NPR and PBS stations. Check out the Presidential Term Countdown Clock. 823 more days.
Kintsugi 10/19/26
WNBA Finals: Golden State Valkyries v. Atlanta Dream (1-1)
This is a best-of-7 series.
Game 3: 10/21 @ 8:00 p.m. on USA/Peacock/CNBC
Game 4: 10/24 @ 1:00 p.m. on NBC/Peacock
Game 5: 10/26 @ 8:00 p.m. on USA/Peacock/CNBC
Game 6: 10/29 @ 8:00 p.m. on USA/Peacock/CNBC [if necessary]
Game 7: 10/31 @ 8:00 p.m. on USA/Peacock/CNBC [if necessary]
Do your civic duty. Educate yourself on the candidates and issues, then VOTE. The best places to find state-specific voting information are:
If you’re prioritizing heart, gut, and brain health—as many Americans are—one option stands out as a particularly smart choice…and that’s the apple! (more) This is apple dessert season. Get busy.
This summer, the FBI’s annual crime report showed a record decline in U.S. violence, with the national homicide rate falling by 18.1% from 2024 to 2025 and tying the lowest recorded rates in 1955 and 1956. Why? “A survey of nearly 50 crime scholars convened by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice found the strongest support that the top contributing factors to the drop in homicide rates have been community violence intervention programs, the easing of pandemic-related disruptions, and focused deterrence strategies that pair law enforcement with social services,” writes Amanda Watford.
There’s a lot of information out there about voting and candidates. Don’t believe anything you hear. How do you know a source is reputable? Read several sources. Compare the same story across left, center, and right outlets. Use aggregators like Google News to see multiple perspectives. Distinguish news from opinion. Check primary sources (documents, data, official statements) when possible.
Check out information using reputable sources like:
- Ground News (aggregator)
- Unbiased Updates Daily Newsletter
- Associated Press
- AllSides Media Bias Chart
- BBC News
- Reuters
- Google News (aggregator))
- Tangle
- 1440
- C-SPAN
- NewsNation
Kayem Foods Inc., of Chelsea, Massachusetts, is recalling about 1.58 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that may have been stored at unsafe temperatures. The USDA announced the recall on October 17. (more)
Sometimes your blood sugar can get out of whack no matter how hard you try to control it. What can you do? (more)
Republicans paid a senator’s staffer, Tommy, to pose as a young voter and ambush Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed at a town hall in Michigan. Tommy is actually Thomas Teepell, operations director for Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley and the son of a former chief of staff to Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal.
BOOK BREAKS: October 25, 2026
Annette Gordon-Reed joins us on Sunday at 2 pm ET to discuss Jefferson on Race: A Reader
Thomas Jefferson proclaimed that “all men are created equal” and enslaved more than 600 people of African descent. In a new reader, Annette Gordon-Reed has gathered Jefferson’s most revealing writings on African Americans, slavery, and Native Americans, letting readers explore his complex, contradictory thoughts directly.
Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. She is the author of On Juneteenth and The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History.
Losing friends while losing weight is a real thing in these GLP-1 days.
Protests across France turned violent over the weekend, with more than 600 police officers wounded and one protester dying from cardiac arrest.
Today is a good day. I opened my eyes, saw the sun, and realized I could move my body. Great day. WNBA finals are coming. I wanted these 2 team to make the finals, and they did! I despair at our young people’s lack of knowledge of things we used to take for granted that everyone knew: states of the USA, seasons, spelling basic words, you know, everyday things. Subscribe to Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson’s substack. Support local and national NPR and PBS stations. Check out the Presidential Term Countdown Clock. 829 more days.
Wild Cooking Woman 10/13/26
What is the difference between fall and autumn? Autumn sounds better in a song…
