Please, the Only Way I Can Parallel Park Is If You Constantly Stare at Me

Yes, you there with the inquisitive look. I have performance issues, you see. One that requires undivided attention from random strangers walking b... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

An Interview with Emerson Whitney, Author of Heaven

Emerson Whitney’s Heaven was recently named a finalist for the Believer Book Awards. In celebration of this and Heaven’s one-year anniversary, we c... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

An Excerpt From Emerson Whitney’s Heaven

- - -I used to watch Mom on TV, would pull the videos out of the back of the cupboard while I was home sick as a teenager, they were in green VHS ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

The Current Real Estate Market Scoffs at Your Competitive Offer

First off, congratulations on your decision to put an offer in on your dream house. With record-low interest rates and the ability to work from hom... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

The Completely Normal, Totally Reasonable Unwritten Rules of Baseball

“We were taught from day one to respect the game, respect the competition, respect the opponent… You don’t swing 3-0 when you’re up by that big a l... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

An Open Letter to Sleep: We Need to Talk

Dear Sleep,We’ve been together for a while now, and I am tired of doing all the heavy lifting in our relationship. I feel like you’ve been phoning... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Caring For Your Geriatric Millennial

“If you are close to 40 years old, you are no longer a kid. Now the buzzword is ‘geriatric millennial.’ This definition, which has sparked controve... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

35 Things You Never Knew About Peter Gabriel’s So Album

1. The original working title of So was Jo as Peter Gabriel intended to make an album devoted to Facts of Life’s Jo Polniaczek.2. Peter wanted t... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

If Billionaires Are “Immoral” and “Shouldn’t Exist,” Then Why Do I Want to Be One So Bad?

It’s a tale as old as time. Democrats propose some pie-in-the-sky bill that involves a ton of government spending, and then, when you ask them how ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Beaver of Fine Arts: This Week’s Pop Quiz: Your Enne-dam Personality Type

Beaver of Fine Arts: This Week's Pop Quiz: Your Enne-dam Personality Type | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 2 years ago

Sorry I’ve Been So Weird During This Alligator Attack

Jen, I am so sorry. It has been too long since we’ve gotten to catch up! I’ve been dropping the ball as a friend lately. But I guess that’s just wh... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Our Frat Boy Handmaiden Supreme Court Is Ready to Rule on Women’s Right to Choose

“The Supreme Court said on Monday it will hear a challenge to a Mississippi law barring almost all abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, setting u... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

My Boss Kevin Waves Frantically As I Stray from This Zoom Call’s Agenda

Maybe this work Zoom call isn’t the time for what I’m about to do here, but our boss Kevin has shared his screen to display a prompt that literally... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Bruce Springsteen Is Reflective, Mindful, and on Fire

Hey little girl. Pardon. Young lady? Hello, young lady. Is your daddy home? I mean, your father? I mean, is there an adult home?Or are you, in fa... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

My Increasingly Desperate Attempts to Recreate the Theater Experience During the Pandemic

Shouted “5! 6! 7! 8!” in the grocery store, just to see if anyone would break into a little soft-shoe.Made the other five members of my household ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Introducing Kaybl: The New Service That Bundles Your Favorite Content for One Flat Monthly Fee!

Let’s face it: streaming is broken. Content constantly disappears from your favorite platforms, new services pop up every day, and each streamer co... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

A B-List Celebrity’s Rider or a Toddler’s Food Demands?

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@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I’m Not Emotionally Available Enough to Be in a Relationship Right Now Because I Have a Lot Going on with My Thesis and I Was Raised by Jaguars in the Peruvian Amazon

It’s not that I don’t care about you. It’s just that I’m really busy writing my thesis. Also, if you were to come to me crying, I would perceive yo... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Important New Findings on American Stress-Cheese Consumption During the Pandemic

(Mobile readers: rotate screen to landscape for better view of charts.)- - -“Over a third of consumers (36%) say their consumption of cheese has i... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

A/B testing “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

Hi guys. LOVING the poem here in Analytics and sorry for the delay on the review. Just a couple of suggestions to amp up engagement and SEO. As you... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Who Wore It Better: A Professionally Styled Model, or Me?

Model in a baseball cap: Chic, easy-breezy, sporty yet feminine.Me in a baseball cap: Garth from Wayne’s World.- - -Model in overalls: Sun-dapple... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Teachable Moments with the Anti-Vaxxer Family

StrangersMOM: So if a strange man says I asked him to pick you up after school, what do you do, Henry?TODDLER: Ask him what my name is. If he get... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Field Roast Vegan Fruffalo Wings

Wings are my vice. I love ripping meat off the bone with my teeth. Is there a poem yet about the refreshing feeling of wet naps after wing night? T... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Welcome to the Tortured Artists Writers’ Residency

Welcome to Tortured Artists, a writing residency where you’ll be forced to endure the profession you claim to love for more than 30 minutes at a ti... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Palestine and Israel: A Western Media Glossary

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@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Excerpts from McSweeney’s Quarterly: Peony

Illustration by Arne Bellstorf.- - -This piece originally appeared in McSweeney’s 63. To read more from this issue, subscribe by July 15. - - -T... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I’m Skipping the Second Dose of the COVID Vaccine Because I’m an Insufferable Centrist

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@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Bow Down to Me, Pathetic Mortals, For I Have a Loud Engine

It has arrived, oh feeble ones, the time for my automobile to barrel through your vicinity and announce my prowess—my vital and irrefutable masculi... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Philly Is Your Friend from College Who Will Always Be Three Credits Shy of Graduating

Philadelphia is her government name. You can call her “Philly,” if you’re family.Philly knows how to say water. Don’t tell her how to use her u’s... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Thin Blue Line Flag: The Artist’s FAQ

First off, I just want to say that I’ve been blown away by the positive response to my flag. I hadn’t made a lot of flags before, but the feedback ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Hey, Girl. It’s Me, the Ball Pit. Can We Talk?

“A beloved childhood experience, or a petri dish of germs? Public ball pits will reopen in August.” — Headline from the Boston Globe, 5/5/21- - -H... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Ten Hot Beverages That Are Your Best Friends Now

1. Morning CoffeeLike all true friends, Morning Coffee brings out your best. This warm, invigorating companion is always there for you, even when ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Human Teeth Development Meeting Notes

Design— Round 1 spacing was excessive. Definitely need more than three teeth.— Dave to minimize the spacing, throw a couple more teeth in there. ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

An Interactive Guide to Ambiguous Grammar

Depending on whom you ask, the use of the active voice over the passive is arguably the most fundamental writer’s maxim, thought to lend we... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

My Mother’s Day Gift to Myself Is This Dissociative Episode in Costco

I’m so sorry, sir — did I just crush your foot? I don’t know how that happened. I’m not even sure how I got here, to be honest. Today is Mother’s D... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Gregor Samsa’s DIY Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

A CardTake that 1099 you got from your 9th side hustle you took just to make rent, and fold it in half. Then fold it again. Don’t worry, you don’t... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

We Need a New York City Mayor Who Will Take Mom to the Cloisters When She Visits

Another New York City mayoral race is upon us, and there’s a wide variety of candidates from all kinds of backgrounds and ideologies vying for thei... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I’m the Judge Who Approved the Custody Arrangement in The Parent Trap, But in My Defense, I Didn’t Think They Would Go to the Same Camp

Years ago, I presided over a complex international divorce and custody arrangement, resulting in an unconventional legal ruling in which each of th... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Community Theatre Dress Rehearsal of The Crucible, or Perimenopause?

1. “It’s really hot up here. Hotter than I expected.”2. “Whoa, you need to take it down a few notches, hon. This isn’t Medea.”3. “I have... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Of All Your Teaching Skills, Passion Is the Most Important

Dear Prospective Teacher,Are you passionate? I mean, REALLY passionate? Are you so passionate it hurts?Because here’s the thing: People rant abou... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Updated Privacy Policy From Your Children

This privacy policy describes the processing of information collected by, provided to, or snooped on by your children. This policy describes the wa... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

How Being a Teacher During a Pandemic is Similar to Being a Steward on the Titanic

1. The whole ship is going down. I mean the entire freaking ship.2. You think to yourself, “I’m pretty sure we were assured in some paperwork some... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Thanks For Coming Over For Dinner. I’ve Never Cooked Before and I’m Going to Ruin Your Life

I’m sorry. Why the hell did I just say that? I’m nervous. Blah. Come on in.Don’t worry about taking off your shoes. I’ve never worn shoes inside m... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Sure, Velociraptor Repellent Is 95% Effective Against Velociraptor Attacks, But Do We Really Need to Wear It to Visit Jurassic Park?

“More than half of adults in the United States have been inoculated with at least one dose of a vaccine. But daily vaccination rates are slipping, ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Scenes Deleted from Star Wars Because the Stormtroopers Came Off As Too Relatable

INT. DEATH STAR – CORRIDOR[As CHEWBACCA and HAN SOLO evade capture, STORMTROOPER 1 and STORMTROOPER 2 stand and chat.]STORMTROOPER 1: Lisa starte... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

The Empire Should Continue Working Remotely Post-Pandemic

Dear Lord Vader,You have said in recent weeks that everyone in the Empire must soon return to work in person. I’m afraid I have to disagree. Stayi... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

I Am Thrilled That My Career Day Exhibit on Shaft Hardening at My Son’s Middle School Was So Popular

TO: Tim Cavanaugh, P.E., VP of Structural EngineeringRE: Volunteering at the STEM Career Day at my son’s middle schoolHi Tim,STEM Career Day a... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago

Five Things Only Morse Code Fans Will Understand

(Click codes for translations.)- - -1.Starting off with a classic. Every Morse code fan worth their salt knows this inside joke!2. Getting a ... | Continue reading


@mcsweeneys.net | 3 years ago