Another thing I drew, read, and listened to:

Drawing

The sailfish is the fastest swimmer of all sea creatures on earth. Because I am not as fast at drawing dots, I am also sharing work from my archive in this newsletter.

Reading

Today, Geert Mak explained at Donner Rotterdam what inspired his new book Wisselwachter (Switchman). He read the letters of journalist Martha Gellhorn (who, among other things, took the initiative to accompany the D-Day invasion) and saw that they were addressed to a certain Harry Hopkins. Hopkins, F.D. Roosevelt's right-hand man, turned out to be a particularly interesting man who played a crucial role in the New Deal, but also in World War II, in contact with both Churchill and Stalin.

Wisselwachter lets you experience the 1930s and 1940s from the White House. I'm currently in the middle of it and can hardly put it down. Because of the many parallels with the present day, but especially because of the remarkable, or courageous, characters such as Eleanor Roosevelt and journalists like William Shirer. It was interesting to hear Mak talk about the book today; be sure to read his interview in NRC.

Listen

Song Exploder is a great podcast in which songs are completely dissected together with the artist. The artists tell and demonstrate how the song came about. Like This is a Photograph by my favorite Kevin Morby:

But don't worry, it's not just difficult indie artists that Ruben likes (MJ Lenderman, Big Thief, Waxahatchee!). There are also episodes with pop artists such as Sabrina Carpenter, or classics such as CSNY's Our House, recorded with Graham Nash.

See you next week! 1