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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Robert Putnam: The Man Who Counted What America Lost
- W. Bradford Wilcox: The Sociologist Who Tells America to Get Married
- Peter Moskos: The Cop Who Talks to People
- Julius Krein
- Ryan Burge: The Numbers Man in the Empty Church
- Emily Oster: The Economist in the Delivery Room
- The Most Ridiculous Story Ever Told
- Tanner Greer
- Economist Tyler Cowen
- Richard Reeves: A Life in Institutions
- Jake Adelstein: The Reporter Who Became His Story
- Jim Goad (1961-2026)
- Moira Greyland
- Robert Oscar Lopez: The Inconvenient Witness
- Two Ledgers: Decoding the Gurus and the Price of Talk
- The Pervert’s Progress: Costin Vlad Alamariu and the Making of Bronze Age Pervert
- Curtis Yarvin: A Life Against Democracy
- Mark Helprin: Against the Current
- Mark Brandt: The Man Who Asked Who Else Is Prejudiced
- John T. Jost: The Psychologist of Acquiescence
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Category Archives: Addiction
Never Married Orthodox Jew – You’ve Got An Intimacy Disorder
If you’re an Orthodox Jew and you’re not married by age 28, barring some hideous deformity, you are 98% likely to have an intimacy disorder (usually expressed in men through porn addiction and in women through the acquisition of pets).
The Case Against Masturbation
More than two months ago, I gave up masturbation. (About 16 years ago, I gave up promiscuity and about two years ago, I gave up porn and any kind of visual aid to masturbation.) In 1990-1991, I gave it up … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction, Personal, Sex
Tagged erotic thoughts, fantasy land, hot woman, masturbate, sobriety, time on my hands
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Luke Ford Shabbaton At Westwood Jewish Center – Shabbos Lunch Speech
* Define good * Christian vs Jewish views * At 22, I noticed older people were kinder than younger people * Psychological/addiction obstacles to goodness * Belief in God and a transcendent moral code * A set of daily practices … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction, Personal
Tagged belief in god, divine savior, habitual reactions, jewish views, luke ford, shabbat dinner
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12 Steps – Spirituality In Place Of Reality?
Joe emails: It seems to me that hanging out at 12 step meetings is of diminishing returns for the rational mind. I suppose the first few times you go, you get some rush thinking, wow, it is not just me … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction, Torah
Tagged criminal acts, drug addict, evil doers, physical weakness, possession of child pornography, step meetings
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Spirituality Vs Religion
I notice that a lot of people these days describe themselves as spiritual rather than religious. I’ve always been suspicious of spirituality. I’ve always had contempt for most people who talk about it. Spirituality has usually struck me as cheap … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction, Personal
Tagged cheap grace, external demands, intellectual demands, orthodox jew, orthodox judaism, time demands
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Filling That Big Hole Inside
From TheFix: Find me a woman who hasn’t been 13th stepped—successfully or unsuccessfully—and I’ll show you a post-menopausal nun or a tragic case of facial acne. Old-timers have been seducing newcomers ever since Bill Wilson started the tradition in the … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction
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Sexual Predators At AA Meetings
I’ve noticed that many addicts, be it to alcohol or drugs or porn, can get sober through 12-step meetings but turn quickly into sexual predators when given half a chance. There’s no good thing that can’t be perverted. Not Orthodox … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Addiction
Tagged aa meetings, orthodox judaism, sexual predators, smoking cigarettes, step meetings, trench coats
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Shais Taub – The Recovery Rabbi
Rabbi Shais Taub tells TheFix: Addicts have the existential pain many of us do, but they feel it more acutely. Normal people have the luxury of being able to live in a state of spiritual laxity and get away with … Continue reading
Under-Earners Anonymous
A lot of people call me a f***-up. One woman I dated called me a chronic under-achiever. I’ve never earned more than $50,000 in a year. From TheFix: For those eye-rolling readers ready to dismiss compulsive under-earning as yet another … Continue reading
Posted in Addiction
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