Running Can Cure Your Crippling Anxiety and Depression

Running is great. Running will make you look and feel great. When you are a running runner, you will wake up early every morning to run. You will jump out of bed early and you will throw on your new sweat-wicking technical outfit and you will cruise down your driveway into the de … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

We Are Sending an Obscene Amount of Stuff Home with Your Child on the Last Day of School

TO: All Fifth Grade Parents SUBJECT: Supply return Please be aware that we will be sending home all supplies, workbooks, and items we really should have just thrown away. If your child cannot carry everything home, you can stop by after 4 p.m. on the last day to collect their bel … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Stop Politicizing This Thing That Can Only Be Solved Through Politics

We politicize every kind of tragedy these days, and it disgusts me. Take, for instance, this latest terrible thing that just happened. It’s awful—incomprehensible, even! But why do we need to bring politics into it? Because it’s the only way to make sweeping, long-term change? De … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

We, the Herbivores of Jurassic Park, Have Unionized. Here Are Our Demands

After numerous failed petitions and fruitless lobbying for our own health and safety, we, the herbaceous dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, have unionized. We demand safe living conditions and support systems to improve our survivability and buoy our sanity in the wake of repeated, dead … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Yes, I Would Be Positively Delighted to Throw Away Your Trash

Please, children, hand me your trash. I love trash. The stickier, the better. If you have junk and the bin is too far away, I am your person. I am uniquely qualified within this family to place waste into various receptacles. This is my passion. This is what I live for. Has your … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I Know What’s Best For You All Over the World: The Biting Point

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. The book’s international supplement features sixteen additional works of fiction, nonfiction, and … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Chuck E. Cheese Cheese Frozen Pizza

I haven’t been to a Chuck E. Cheese since my kids ditched the franchise for the mall and Chipotle. I drive past one almost every day and still get a little misty-eyed. I miss the instant-print images of my kids as cheerleaders or hockey players. I miss the excitement of a cup of … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Job Posting for Junior Office Scapegoat

Job Description Our archaic and perpetually mismanaged company is looking to bring in a Junior Office Scapegoat for immediate hire. Consistently operating with innate flaws and a toxic culture, our company has managed to scrape by as a faint industry presence through routines tha … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Proverbs for Introverts

Be slow in choosing plans, but fast in canceling them. Get out while the going is good, or bad, or any kind of vibe, really. Better never than late. To err is human; to “umm” fills the awkward silence. Look before you leap… into small talk. It takes two to tango but one to fake a … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Feeling Wistful as My Daughter Moves on to College Active-Shooter Drills

It’s a little bittersweet when your child graduates from high school active-shooter drills. I know I should be happy she’s moving on to new challenges, adventures, and university-level massacre-prevention measures, but I can’t help but feel a little sad too. Seems like only yeste … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Style Questionnaire for “It’s on Backwards”: The Clothing Subscription Box for Preschoolers

Having your own personal shopper hand-select pieces to fit your life and your unique aesthetic makes it easy to look your best, even with your busy playdate schedule. To get you started, please take a few minutes to complete our style questionnaire. 1. How do you feel about cloth … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

A Very Short Conversation with Jay Hopler

Confronted with a terminal cancer diagnosis, Jay Hopler—author of the National Book Award-finalist The Abridged History of Rainfall—got to work. The result of that undertaking is Still Life, a collection of heartbreaking, spine-stiffening, and darkly mirthful poems. This work is … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I Know What’s Best For You All Over the World: Never Mine Alone

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. The book’s international supplement features sixteen additional works of fiction, nonfiction, and … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I, Tenant, Shall Give You, Landlord, Everything I Possess in Exchange for Not Raising My Rent

I, Sterling Mulbry, the current tenant of Apartment 6, hereby wish to renew the lease of said apartment for another twelve-month period. While it was gracious of you, my landlord, to raise my rent only by 45 percent, an increase of $1,500 per month, I am proposing to keep the ren … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Disney Women at the Fertility Clinic

Nine women sit quietly in the waiting room. Yacht rock plays in the background. A Colombian teen in glasses starts anxiously—and yet rhythmically—tapping her foot. MIRABEL: Listen, I don’t mean to be nosy, but is anyone else here freezing her eggs? My abuela keeps pressuring me, … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

When Will We Wake Up and Get Tough on Book Control?

Holy Christ in blue heaven, something’s got to change when it comes to putting our children in harm’s way, in the one place they should feel safe, all because of our inability to control books. We’ve been patient up to this point, but goddammit, I’ve boiled over like instant whit … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I Am a Carnivorous Kestrel Falcon with Postpartum Depression

Hello. My name is Peggy, and I am the kestrel falcon that you have been researching on your computer for two hours because I live on the roof outside your bedroom. I know I look all majestic as the striped feathers on my chest waft in the breeze, but the truth is, I haven’t felt … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Cthulhu, Life Coach

I have lumbered where you have lumbered, writhed where you have writhed. I was once, too, of bloated corpulence. Mnahn’, I get it. You have all these plans to get your dripping dominion back on track, but then you succumb to all the usual quotidian distractions like rekindling yo … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

The Book of Liberal Genesis

In the beginning, there was a group of friends, and their opinions were without form and void, and at parties they had nothing to say. And the New Yorker said, “Let there be think pieces.” And the friends read the think pieces, and saw that they were good. And immediately accepte … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I Know What’s Best For You All Over the World: A Number

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. The book’s international supplement features sixteen additional works of fiction, nonfiction, and … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Welcome to Our Apartment That Is So Much Nicer Than Yours

Greetings, friend! Welcome to our apartment. As you’ll notice by the abundance of natural light, condo-like finishes, and general lack of humidity, it’s much nicer than yours. Please, make yourself at home. Did you see the doorkeeper on the way in? He saw you. He texted us when y … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Beach Plum La Croix

I think we can all agree the world is ending. As such, I’m choosing to spend my precious remaining time celebrating the rich mosaic of experiences the world has to offer. I’m a longtime La Croix adherent. You could say I’m part of the La Croix hoi polloi. These beverage wizards u … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

This Fictional Universe Is Getting Way Too Diverse

“The ‘Star Wars’ franchise is sticking up for actor Moses Ingram after she revealed she had received hundreds of racist messages and comments on social media.” — CNN, 5/31/22 - - -I just found out that one of the main characters in a new take on a popular sci-fi/fantasy franchise … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Honest Instructions for Your At-Home Bikini Wax

Step 1: Open the box and locate the wax strips, instruction booklet, and post-wax soothing wipes with essential oils. Step 2: Open your pantry and locate your strongest bottle of hard liquor, shot glass, and a half-empty box of stale Thin Mints. Step 3: Take off everything below … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Excerpts from Ina Garten’s Anarchist Cookbook

If you can’t make your own fertilizer for your bombs, store-bought is fine. But pay cash and don’t get it all from the same place. You’ll want to break up the purchase across various fabulous gardening stores throughout the Hamptons to avoid suspicion—even go to Sag Harbor if you … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

In Our Own Time: One Couple’s Fertility Journey: Part VI: The Wait

This is the sixth and final installment of our serial comic by cartoonist Nguyên Khôi Nguyễn, chronicling his and his wife Thảo’s attempts to start a family. You can read earlier entries here. - - - | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

I Know What’s Best For You All Over the World: Anne Boleyn is Pregnant Again

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. The book’s international supplement features sixteen additional works of fiction, nonfiction, and … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Let’s Pretend This Isn’t Another School Shooting

When I say, “Goodbye, have a good day” from our car in front of your school, I don’t really mean that. I mean, instead, “Please survive.” I hope after the shooter climbs the eight-foot-tall chain-link fence and runs across the grass field paratrooper style where you played dodgeb … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

On the Eighth Day, God Was Asked to Come Back to the Office Because Red Flags Were Raised with Certain Elements of His Work

… And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. On the eighth day, a … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Starcourt Mall is Closing

Dear Valued Colleagues, It gives me no pleasure to deliver you this news, but I am sorry to say that, due to a variety of factors, including the continued economic fallout from COVID, the ever-increasing popularity of online shopping, and the lingering devastation from the attack … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Yes, You Caught Me. I’m Trans Because It’s the Trendy New Thing to Legislate Against

“HBO show host and comedian Bill Maher claimed that there was an increase in the number of individuals identifying as LGBT partly because ‘it’s trendy.’” — The Hill, 5/21/22 - - -I guess I couldn’t run forever. I always knew a pseudo-intellectual windbag like you would find me ou … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

We Would Love to Consider You For This Job We Have Already Filled

“For many open positions, employees would interview a ‘diverse’ candidate—the bank’s [Wells Fargo’s] term for a woman or person of color—in keeping with the bank’s yearslong informal policy. But Mr. Bruno noticed that often, the so-called diverse candidate would be interviewed fo … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

We Bled All Winter—Part I

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. This is Part I of We Bled All Winter by Shelly Oria. Parts I,II and III are featured in the anthol … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Oh, You Think You’re a Real Star Wars Fan? Name Three of Its Stars You’ve Bullied Off Social Media

I see you have a Star Wars shirt on, so now you must prove to me, a random man, that you’re a real Star Wars fan. I’m going to need you to name all twelve movies, eight models of X-wing, and three of its actors you have harassed so severely they left social media. What do you mea … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

How to Protect Kids According to Republicans: A Decision Tree

“An 18-year-old gunman on Tuesday fatally shot 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school before he was killed by law enforcement officers.” – CNN, 5/24/22 - - - Click image to enlarge. | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

How to Talk to Your First Grader about School Shootings

1. Ask them if they’ve heard about anything scary at school. (You have to send them back to school.) Sometimes they come home with interesting facts about butterfly migrations or plans to stop people from littering, so their teachers are likely sharing some news and current event … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Places to Avoid While We Continue to Wait for Lawmakers to Enact Meaningful Gun Control Legislation

While we wait for our elected officials to stop dicking around and finally do something to stop the relentless gun violence in this country, Americans should avoid the following high-risk locations: Parking lots Industrial plants Airports Subways Courthouses Police stations Gover … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

A User Manual for Your New Home Alarm System, D.O.G.

Thank you for choosing the Dependable Obedient Guard (D.O.G.) system to keep your home safe. The D.O.G. system is easy to set up and operate. Place your D.O.G. anywhere in your home. The D.O.G. is a mobile system that can respond to potential threats near the front door, the back … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Scarlet Letter

I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, edited by Shelly Oria, is a multigenre anthology with a focus on the crisis of reproductive rights in the United States. Scarlet Letter, by Sarah Gerard, is an essay featured in the book. Preorder the book, and receive … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

An Open Letter to Women’s Magazines Who Promote Body Positivity with Totally Not Photoshopped Images of Naked Celebrities

Dear Women’s Magazines, Congratulations on an excellent job promoting body confidence to women everywhere with your consistent covers featuring naked celebrities who are comfortable enough with their bodies to put their dumpy, veiny, stretch-mark-covered selves on full display. O … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Our Empire Can’t Afford Both Bread and Circuses, So from Here on Out No More Bread, Just Circuses

It’s true that money does not grow on trees; it’s dug out of the gold mines by our conquered enemies. But that is far from the point. Our Empire cannot continue to drain our coffers to provide bread and circuses for our citizens. That is why the High Council has made the prudent … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

An Interview with Shelly Oria

Shelly Oria is the editor of I Know What’s Best for You: Stories on Reproductive Freedom, a multi-genre collection from twenty-eight writers and artists working across genre and disciplines to explore one of the most pressing issues of our time. - - -AMANDA UHLE: When people firs … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

A Modern Art Critical Analysis of Birds’ Nests

Sparrow Nest Scrappy and bold, this nest exemplifies the substantial field of street art-based nests, using found materials and constructed anywhere to avoid authoritative scrutiny. I once saw a masterpiece spilling out of the letter D on a sign for Donuts near my house. Breathta … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

How Oizys, Greek Goddess of Misery, Spends Her Sundays

Living eternally as the daughter of two primordial gods comes with a lot of pressure. Enduring a lifetime of excruciating pain, Oizys continues to search for a Sunday routine that will leave her rested and restored for the week ahead. Oizys, 2,800 years old, is the ancient Greek … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

My Prediction That Political Attacks Against Me Will Escalate Has Nothing to Do With Me Exposing Myself to a Flight Attendant

“A SpaceX flight attendant said Elon Musk exposed himself and propositioned her for sex, documents show. The company paid $250,000 for her silence.” — Business Insider, 5/19/22 - - -Did I expose myself to a flight attendant? I spent good money to make sure you would never find ou … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Diseases All Woodmont Alumni from 1971 to 2021 Should Immediately Be Screened For

It’s a ritual as time-honored among teenagers as prom or drinking too much and crashing your parents’ Corolla into the window of a Mexican restaurant—glossy catalogs from colleges arriving by the dozen each spring. Aside from the faint odor of kiwi bubblegum vape smoke, Woodmont … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Babies Need to Pull Themselves Up by Their Tiny Bootstraps

“Nine Republicans in the House of Representatives have voted against a bill that aims to facilitate the purchase of baby formula for those on low-income federal support programs.” — Newsweek, 5/19/22 - - -There has never been a time in American history when babies have been more … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Two of Us, Partner—So I’ll Just Leave Then. Enjoy the Town!

That’s right. You heard me, varmint. I’ve had my eye on you ever since you first set foot in this here lawless town. You with your slick horse and your rhinestone belt buckle and, what are those, live tarantulas in the heels of your boot? That’s a pretty big show you’re making ou … | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago