Joy Castro

“A stunning work of the imagination—a brilliant evocation of the way war, exile, and freedom defined the Cuban nation from the start, and how the wounds of the early republic haunt us still.…A spectacular achievement.” —Ana Menéndez bookshop.org/p/books/one-br…

“In a culture that resists and even disdains aging, we commit to a quiet, radical reorientation: We regard the aging body with tenderness.” –Zeenat Potia tricycle.org/article/weavin…

If we made the green energy transition this war would be unthinkable and these authoritarians wouldn’t be in power — not in the US, not in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia, not in Russia. Hydrocarbons are killing our freedom and just plain killing us.

‘The Secret Reading Club of Kabul’ Follows Young Afghan Women, Inspired by Anne Frank, Defying the Taliban: “They Want to Be Heard and Seen” hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-n…

The Navajo Nation commission's report detailed harsh discipline, language barriers, discriminatory hiring practices and more. “It’s our kids, our students, who are suffering the consequences of entrenched racism,” the commission chair said. propublica.org/article/gallup…

The stamps celebrate the lowrider car artistry and culture “that is rooted in the working-class Mexican American/Chicano communities throughout the American Southwest." nbcnews.com/news/us-news/l…

And see, I told you, as soon as you name someone you forget someone else! Another scholar who's work was indispensable to me, was Brett Rushforth. See his book "Bonds of Alliance": uncpress.org/9781469613864/…

To name any scholars is to omit others, but you should also read books by Ned Blackhawk, Brian DeLay, Pekka Hämäiläinen (I would be shocked if I got those umlauts right!), & Tiya Miles. Also--anyone who sees this--I would be grateful if you would add your faves to this list.

My essay for The @NewYorker on @NatBoundUnbound and Indigenous slavery generally is in some ways a deep dive, but in other ways it barely scratches the surface. The field has a rich past, and also lots of new work. If you want to learn more, see: newyorker.com/books/page-tur…

you age gracefully when you meditate, because meditation increases telomere length (the protective ends of chromosomes). when telomere length increases, your cells handle stress better, immune system stays younger, making you have that youthful aura in your face and energy

I wish every woman knew the value of bad girls. They check the edge so you don't have to. Bad girls save us all

I recommend not hating anything or anyone.

“Every story matters. My father’s story matters. We are all worthy of telling our stories and having them heard. We all need to be seen and honored in the same way that we all need to breathe.”

Writing (in my coffee-stained notebook) in one of the loveliest settings I know: Wannsee. With thanks to the American Academy for the hospitality. I was *so* productive here in fall 2019: wrote ‘Flight Risk,’ started ‘One Brilliant Flame,’ & got the idea for my new novel. 🙏🏼✍🏼🤩

@CoachDanGo Running in beautiful Berlin. ☺️💗

Anyone else getting a workout in on Valentine’s Day?

@EricMarkowitz Thank you. The same thing is happening in #highered—especially public higher ed—where executive administrators cut faculty & departments (while investing in AI). I’ll be interested to see which academic institutions outlast this moment in any intellectually recognizable form.

Many of you have read the now-viral essay "Something Big is Happening" by @mattshumer_ . This is my response.

“They are stories we tell ourselves about the purpose of a company, stories written by people whose time horizon ends at the next earnings call and whose moral imagination, if it exists, resides somewhere in the P&L statement.” Substitute ‘university’ for ‘company’… #highered

‘Hangar rojo’ (‘The Red Hangar’) is a masterpiece: visually stunning, breathtakingly taut, gorgeously acted, & urgently relevant. At its premiere yesterday, the packed theater began clapping the moment the credits rolled. See it. berlinale.de/en/2026/progra…

@AdamLaneSmith Can you say more about this, please?

Some people want to be unhappy. Trying to change them will make you unhappy.

“Perhaps that is what the role of an artist relies on – giving a foretaste of something that could exist, and thus causing it to become imaginable. And being imagined is the first stage of existence.” —Olga Tokarczuk