Recent articles
July 16, 2026
Yes, David Ellison's Merger is Bad, But a Netflix Takeover of Warner Bros Isn't Much Better
The future of Warner Bros is again up in the air.
freddiedeboer.substack.com
July 13, 2026
The Bear Fell a Little Too Deeply In Love with Itself
The lasting image of the now-completed FX series The Bear, for me, will always be the fourth season spectacle of the entire cast sitting under the world’s largest banquet table.
freddiedeboer.substack.com
July 10, 2026
Subscriber Writing, July 2026
Hello folks!
freddiedeboer.substack.com
July 8, 2026
Let's Avoid the Language-Policing Fingertrap In the Future, OK?
the more you forbid transgression, the more they want to transgress
freddiedeboer.substack.com
July 6, 2026
Do the YIMBYs Want to Do Politics or Not?
with his YIMBY cap on, Matt Yglesias acts just like the DSA types he abhors
freddiedeboer.substack.com
July 1, 2026
Call for Subscriber Writing, July 2026
It’s that time again!
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 29, 2026
Fat Acceptance : Ozempic :: Heteropessimism : The Right Guy
we're only human
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 24, 2026
Recovered Memories Aren't Real
non-falsifiability and life-altering accusations are a bad match
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 22, 2026
Toy Story 2 is the Best Toy Story Because It's Actually For Children
and Toy Story 3 was critically acclaimed because it was made for critics
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 17, 2026
Google Made a Sad Boomer Mark Out of Me and There's Nothing I Can Do About It
I hate writing this so much
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 15, 2026
Like All Good Things, Sports Are Owned by the Rich Now
the Knicks have brought joy to a city that's being eaten by the worst people alive
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 10, 2026
The Watch's Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald in... True Detective Season One
a loving teleplay parody
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 8, 2026
There's No Such Thing as "The Trades"
broadening the potential professional pathways for young workers = great, conflating a bunch of disparate jobs with very different conditions = not great
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 5, 2026
Of Course This is a Coordinated Ratfucking of Graham Platner
let's be adults here, please
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 3, 2026
You Can and Should Blame Young People When They Act Like Lazy Cheaters, Actually
fear of "old man yells at cloud" has become a culture-devouring virus
freddiedeboer.substack.com
June 1, 2026
LLMs Were Mostly (But Not Entirely) Useless at Extra-Textual Tasks Involved in the Composition of My Next Novel
"Claude, get me a contract with a healthy advance but not one so large that the book will surely fail to earn out, causing deep emotional pain and professional doom"
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 29, 2026
Why Pose Thought Experiments About Fake Versions of History?
it's true: if you misrepresent people's behavior, it's easier to defend that behavior
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 26, 2026
Raj Chetty's Just-So Stories
don't ever say I don't take reader requests
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 21, 2026
LLMs and the Library Card Fallacy
the LLM tutor story is the Khan Academy story is the MOOCs story
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 19, 2026
One More Time: The Average American K-12 Student is Doing Fine Relative to the International Baseline
and problems relative to the historical baseline are happening around the world
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 18, 2026
You Can't Defend a Policy By Getting Angry at the Suggestion That It's Benefitted People
progressive diversity programs are caught in a hellish hall of mirrors
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 13, 2026
Subscriber Writing, May 2026
Hello folks!
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 11, 2026
The Vicious, Potentially Fatal Anti-Public School Propaganda Cycle
The New York Times discusses the enrollment crisis that’s hitting American public schools.
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 7, 2026
It's Time For Some People to Let Me Go
set it free, guys, set it free
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 6, 2026
Call for Subscriber Writing, May 2026
NEW SUBMISSION FORM AND NEW LINK, PLEASE READ
freddiedeboer.substack.com
May 4, 2026
Please Stop Making Reductive Claims About Economic Hardship and Mental Health
it doesn't help poor people and it doesn't help the mentally ill
freddiedeboer.substack.com
April 30, 2026
The Consensus Draft Board Debate is Sports Culture War at Its Worst
the loud and uniformed vs the overconfident and aggravating
freddiedeboer.substack.com
April 28, 2026
On Shoplifting as Radical Praxis
by request from many readers
freddiedeboer.substack.com
April 23, 2026
We Are (Still) Living in the Long Boring
the "bits are easy, atoms are hard" barrier has not been breached
freddiedeboer.substack.com
April 18, 2026
The School Reformer "Accountability Era" Narrative Simply Does Not Add Up
neither history nor international data supports their theories of decline
freddiedeboer.substack.com