Includes index.

Introduction -- The fountain pen -- Cause and effect -- Reds, pinks, and goo-goos -- What's in a name -- Pippa passes -- King Kong -- Some (mainly) musical revelations -- Two hangings -- Various discoveries -- Farther along; or, The accident chain -- On the passivity of Jews -- Bruno Bettelheim and the broke-down cowboy: two American stories -- Attention must be paid -- Experts and oligarchs -- Slave lessons -- Belinda Raguesto returns from Switzerland -- Hamlet and Oedipus meet the zombies -- A message from Schpershevski -- Chelm; or, No arrest for the wicked -- Some linguistic curiosities -- The Nazis got your mom -- Demotic, a confession -- Grief and wisdom -- Time travel -- Moby Dick -- Real live -- Rainy day fun for shut-ins: Xmas 2020 -- Give my regrets to Broadway -- Broadway -- Gags -- Humility -- Max the hamster -- Disons le mot -- Art, time, and the madness of the old -- Tug-of-peace -- The awl through the ear -- Goodnight, Irene -- Recessional.

Exposing how oppressive cultural codes--encapsulated in buzzwords such as inclusion, diversity, social justice, appropriation--are constricting the vibrant intellectual life of the world's freest country, a renowned author and playwright examines how politics and cultural attitudes about rebellion have shifted in the U.S. throughout history.