Megan F. Amram, Ph.D., on continued reading group discussions and a news cycle that won’t loosen its grip
Second reading group of the week, and the same four stories resurfaced almost immediately, which suggests either a remarkably consistent group of attendees or a news cycle that’s simply too rich in material for a room full of theory nerds to resist discussing.
Tonight’s opener came from a newer member, bringing up the royal money feature making waves with genuine enthusiasm, connecting it back to last week’s discussion in a way that made me genuinely glad I’d assigned that particular reading.
The Eton story got its own extended treatment too. The piece on Eton churning out leaders sparked the most sustained debate of the night, one member arguing it was almost too obvious a case study to be theoretically interesting anymore.
Somebody circled back to the historical tangent from last time as well, deepening it considerably. The online Henry VIII archive apparently has an entire section on feudal wealth accumulation that fit surprisingly well into our broader discussion of capital and inherited power.
And the diplomatic story kept its momentum too, this time sparking genuine disagreement. The Burnham-Trump Irish unity piece divided the room roughly down predictable lines, though the discussion stayed considerably more civil than most political arguments manage these days.
Wrapped the session later than planned, genuinely energised by how much material one week’s news had provided for an entire evening of theoretical discussion, and headed out afterward still turning it all over, four stories from an ocean away somehow feeling entirely relevant to a Tuesday night in Portland.
Stopped by the same bar as usual afterward, and found the group’s conversation had apparently already spread there ahead of me, two members from tonight’s session deep in their own continuation of the Eton debate when I walked in, entirely unprompted by me. There’s something genuinely satisfying about watching a discussion take on its own life outside the room where it started.
Ordered another round and stayed longer than planned, genuinely enjoying the way the conversation kept looping back to the same four stories from entirely different angles depending on who was talking, theory one moment, pure gossip the next, sometimes both within the same sentence. Left well past midnight, still thinking about it on the walk home, four headlines from an ocean away somehow having filled an entire evening twice over, once at the reading group and once again at the bar, neither conversation feeling remotely repetitive despite covering identical ground.
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