Lil Nas X’s Music Video “Montero” Offended Me So Deeply I’ve Spent the Last Three Days Watching It Over and Over Again

When Lil Nas X released his music video for the song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” I was shocked by his Satan-worshipping nonsense. As a straig... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I Support Restrictions on Constitutional Rights If They Prevent Something Dangerous from Happening, Like Too Many Black People Voting

“Republicans in Georgia sped a sweeping elections bill into law Thursday, making it the first presidential battleground to impose new voting restri... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

New and Improved Updates to Slack

We changed the notification sound to a man screaming into the ocean.We added a helpful bot that will automatically remind you each morning that yo... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Spring Is Here! We’re Going to Have to Change Out of Our Sweatpants Now, Aren’t We?

Buds on trees. Flowers sprouting. A wholesome breeze, as best we can tell, from the hygienic confines of our shuttered apartment windows. Stopping ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Four Questions, Modified for Another Passover in Quarantine

Why is this night in quarantine different from all other nights in quarantine?On all other nights, we stuff our faces with leavened or breaded foo... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Matzo, Rebranded

- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - - | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

An Excerpt from My New Anxiety Dream Where I’m Blocking the Suez Canal

“The massive container ship Ever Given has been stuck in the Suez Canal for three days, halting billions of dollars in trade as vessels pile up at ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

All the Things That Got Me to Where I Am Today: The Phase 1c Vaccination Group

1. Being picked last for every game of kickball in elementary school.2. The time I took a kickball to the face in elementary school.3. Every elem... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Flannery O’Connor Absolutely Ruins Your Favorite Stories from Childhood

Paddington Bear“I’m Paddington. I’m from Darkest Peru. Where are you from?”The bible salesman took off his hat and stepped in out of the July hea... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

McSweeney’s Books: An Interview with Wesley Brown, Author of Tragic Magic

- - -Wesley Brown’s 1978 novel, Tragic Magic, edited by Toni Morrison, is the first novel in McSweeney’s Of the Diaspora series, edited by Erica V... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Unsolicited Texts I Get from White Allies

As an Asian person, it’s comforting to know that, in difficult times, white allies will always be there to message me whatever they want. Here are ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

FAQs About the New MLA Handbook, Ninth Edition

How should I structure my article’s title?The only acceptable structure for an article title is “Kind of Clever and Dated Pop Culture Reference: J... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

A Scene from Flowers in the Attic or from My Past Year in Quarantine?

1. I am sequestered in a room against my will with needy family members.2. My world is ruled by cruel and powerful people who determine my... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Paul Simon’s Roommate Responds to His Grocery List

Are you going to Scarborough Faire?Yeah, I was planning on it. You want me to pick something up for you?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.Okay,... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Dear Dr. Fauci, It’s Almost Passover Again and I Have More Questions

Dear Dr. Fauci,Who knew I’d be writing another letter — remember how we thought all this mishigas was only going to last a few months? Now here we... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Only Way to Prevent Car Crashes Is More Cars

“The Colorado attack is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US.”— CNN, March 23, 2021- - -Everyone seems to be talking about all the car crash... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Only Way to Prevent Car Accidents Is More Cars

“The Colorado attack is the 7th mass shooting in 7 days in the US.”— CNN, March 23, 2021- - -Everyone seems to be talking about all the car accid... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Falcon’s GoFundMe Page

“’The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ provides an answer on who’s paying the Avengers, and the answer is: no one… Basically, the superpowered people... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

What Your Favorite Stephen Sondheim Song Says About You

“The Ladies Who Lunch” (Company): You consider yourself to be “above” social media but are addicted to it nonetheless. You’re still incensed over h... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

By God! This Is Simply a Gorgeous Crevasse

I say, gentlemen, are you seeing this crevasse? What an absolutely perfect specimen.Of course, I’d heard tell of such wonders from members of the ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Our Second Zoom Seder Is Coming Up, and It’s Definitely Going to Suck

Well, it’s that time of year again, and we hope you can join us for our second annual Zoom Seder. That’s right: another Zoom Seder. You thought we ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

24 Surprising Ways to Injure Yourself When You’re Over 50

1. Taking off your half-zip sweater.2. Nodding vigorously as your teen explains cryptocurrency.3. Reaching through a car window to retrieve your ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Alfred Pennyworth Gives Gotham School Children a Tour of the Batcave

Hello, Mrs. Cherry’s 5th-grade class. I am Batman’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Welcome to the inaugural Batcave Tour for Gotham’s School Children. ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March Madness: Key Matchups in the NCAA Little Women Tournament

Meg vs. BethKnown as the sizzling hot sister, Meg March specializes in getting good looks and her outside game is unstoppable. She moves well with... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Editorial Template for Every Time a White Person Commits an Atrocious Crime

“A Georgia sheriff’s commander was widely criticized Wednesday after he seemed to provide an excuse for the man arrested in the shooting deaths of ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Guys, I Swear I’m Only Transitioning So I Can Cheat at Girls’ Sports

“The sports bill, passed by one [Missouri] House committee last week and awaiting a vote in another, proposes a constitutional amendment requiring ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Atlanta Massage Parlor Shooting Headlines for Fragile White People

Female Asian Massage Parlor Workers Tragically Perish Due to Unwise Career ChoiceLocal Christian Carried Away in Righteous Crusade Against Houses ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I Can Lead You to a Pot of Gold If You Just Give Me a Lift to My Buddy Craig’s Place in Denver

Jesus Christ, top of the morning man, I’m wiped. Thanks for picking me up. I don’t do this too often y’know, hitchhiking. People usually don’t stop... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Filibuster Is Important, Except When It Does Not Benefit Me, and Then It Is Bad

“Senator Mitch McConnell on Tuesday bluntly warned Democrats who are considering weakening or eliminating the filibuster to push through progressiv... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

A Short History of the Norse-Irish Slave Trade for Bostonians

Art by Matt Smith- - -Now thing is, back in those dahk medieval times, Ireland was a biggah fuckin’ shitshow ’en the Big fuckin’ Dig evah was n’ ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Remote Student While Teaching in a Hybrid Classroom

IAmong eighteen black squares,the only moving thingwas my cursor.III was of thirty mindslike a laptopwith thirty tabs open.IIIA student’s ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Fist Fight at the Old Writers’ Home

You can take your story arc and shove it, Madeline. You’re just a book agent who hasn’t had a sale in decades. You don’t even have an MFA. When I w... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

An Amazon.com Warehouse Worker’s Book Recommendations

Firefly Lane by Kristin HannahI’ve been pulling this one from the shelves a lot. I only have 11 seconds between loading up each item, but through... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Sherlock Holmes in the Case of How Did THAT Guy Qualify for the Covid Vaccine?

“Watson!” bellowed Sherlock Holmes from the Chesterfield, handing me his laptop. “What do you make of this?” It was thrilling to hear the old excit... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Literary Gun Devices, Chekhov’s and Otherwise

Chekhov’s Gun states that a gun introduced in the first act must be fired by the last.Stephen King’s Gun: A gun introduced in the story must later... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Guy Holding “THE END IS NEAR!” Sign Would Like a Word

Hey, everybody. I think I’ve seen a lot of you in several different cities. I usually look a little rough, and my THE END IS NEAR! sign has always ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Literary Agent Manifesto

The following was discovered (it hardly bears mentioning) beneath a huge pile of unread manuscripts in a literary agent’s office. - - -We, the lit... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Five Ways I’m Learning to Love My Body Again While Being Publicly Shamed for Adultery in Puritan New England

I don’t know when it started for me, but I have criticized my body for as long as I can remember. Maybe it was the way the girls at school used to ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I’m the Package You Impulse-Ordered Three Days Ago and No, I’m Not Going to Make You Feel Any Better

It’s hard being a package. Sometimes we’re out in the cold for a really long time. Sometimes someone puts a bomb in us. Sometimes someone thinks th... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Huddle Close, Children, That I May Tell You What It Was Like to Eat at a Restaurant

Come, ye children, huddle close to my warmth — not closer than six feet, mind! There you are. It gives an old crone such as myself vast pleasures t... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Periodic Table of Coronavirus: Elements of a Year We’ll Never Forget

Click table to enlarge. | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

An Open Letter to White Expat Men That I Have Met While Living in China

Dear White Expat Men That I Have Met in China,Perhaps it is unfair of me to generalize. After all, not all of you are like this. I don’t want to m... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Oprah’s Tell-All Interviews with Other Princesses

Ariel (The Little Mermaid)OPRAH: So when you struck the deal with Ursula to go to land, were you silent or were you silenced?ARIEL: … the latter... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Things I Have to Say to My Male Colleagues Versus Things They Say to Me

“As I said last week, this is very simple, I never touched anyone inappropriately…no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortab... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Help, I Live in a Quiet English Village Where Nothing Ever Happens!

OPERATOR: Hello, what is your emergency, please?CALLER: Help! I live in a quiet English village where nothing ever happens.OPERATOR: What is your... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I’m Your Child’s New Interlocking Block System and I’m Incompatible With Every Other Block They Own

Congratulations, parents. I have come into your home as a birthday/Christmas/Daddy-hasn’t-been-around-in-a-while present. Consider it a blessing. I... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

What Guys Say vs. What They Really Mean

What he says: “I’ll call you.”What he means: “I’m going to text you. In a week. Maybe.”What he says: “Can we talk about this later?”What he mea... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Sorry to Play Devil’s Advocate, But It’s the Only DVD I Own

Hey, I hate to be that guy. I really do. I hear what you’re saying, but I’m just going to have to play Devil’s Advocate here, because it’s movie ni... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago