What if the Unemployment Rate Were 90%

The Moment Before

Winter Gardening in Zone 10

I Am What I Am

My Predictions for 2026

Christmas's Four Themes, Nuanced

What Was Santa Thinking? A fictional short-short story

The Upsides and Downsides of Giving

The Two Drips: A fictional short-short story

Where Freedom Ends and Responsibility Begins

An Atheist's Search for Meaning at Christmas

Opposites Plan a Party: A sorta fictional short-short story

What I Care About. What Do You?

Christmas Eve at the Slaughterhouse: A fictional short-short story

The Year-End Bonus: A fictional short-short story

Be a Martyr?

Love in the Cafe?: A fictional short-short story

How I Became The Grinch: A fictional short-short story

"I Don't Want to Watch the Ball Drop:" A fictional short-short story

The Happy Couple Throws a Holiday Party: Maybe not that far from real

Career Lessons from Rudolph

A Homeless Mentor? A fictional short-short story

Notes for My How to Do Life Workshop

A Bank Robber Explains: A fictional short-short story

Me, a Billionaire? A fictional short-short story

Why a Ph.D. Got a Real Estate License: A fictional short-short story

How I Ended Up in Compliance: A fictional short-short story

How I Ended Up in a Slaughterhouse: A fictional short-short story

Christmas is a Political Holiday

When Santa Got Bored

Would You Design Your Child?

My First Day at Kindergarten: A fictional short-short story

On Burying My Twin: a fictional short-short story

While My Wife Was Giving Birth: A fictional short-short story

What Could They Be Thinking?

A Hippie's Life: A fictional short-short story

Letter to My Dead Father

Unraveling: A fictional short-short story

Excuses Metastasizing

Addressing Common Fears

My Favorite Things

The Nemkos Do: A Very Un-PBS Holiday Cooking Show: Ruggelach, Debates, a...

I Read Aloud Eight Holiday Short-Short Stories

A Scientist Talks to His Dog

Wall Street Journal: Nov 11, 2025. Higher Ed Needs Receivership, Not Ref...

11 Tips Every Career-Minded Harvard Alum Should Know and May Not

The Soloist: A fictional short-short story

Which AI Guy Does the Princess Choose? A short-short story

The Barista Question

The Old Scientist and the Young Artist: A fictional short-short story

Mixed Company: A fictional short-short story

"No Dogs!"

God, Before Genesis: A fictional short-short story

Why Ready, FIRE, Aim Works

On Writing

My Life of Fear: A fictional short-short story

Will: A fictional short-short story

Our Approach to Men, Updated 10/25/25

In Praise of the 80+-Hour Workweek

An Analysis of Reverse-Discriminatory DEI

A Rejoinder to "Of Boys and Men."

The Permanent Postdoc

2025 Beckman Institute Mentorship Seminar - Dr. Marty Nemko

The Nemkos Do Cheese Puffs and Thanksgiving

A Postdoc's Diary Entry

Talkback

Is Peace Realistic?

Is Gratitude Realistic?

Old Faces

Craving Stabililty

I perform a monologue from Interview with a Vampire

Blueprint for a Writing Workshop

A Plagiarizing Guru: lA fictional short-short story

Condemned. Keep Out!: A fictional short-short story

AI Dog?

On a Tree

Becoming a Beloved Manager

Baby Steps Toward College or Graduate School Success

Baby Steps to Wealth

Baby Steps to Losing Weight and Keeping it Off

The Kumbaya Myth

If I Were a Substitute Teacher

An Old Pianist Talks to Us: A fictional short-short story

How I Push People Away: A fictional short-short story

Lining Up to Die

An Old Bond Trader Talks to Us: A fictional short-short story

Badass Red Riding Hood

A Stained Mattress: A fictional short-short story

Broken Bridge

The Letter I Reread 10 Times: A fictional short-short story

Loaded Dice

Odd Man Out (9-minute version)

Your Child's Lemonade Stand

The End of Debate

Teaching With AI

My Secrets

At the Buffet: A fictional short-short story

ZepHead: A fictional short-short story

The College Application Essay

The Ultimate Motivation: A fictional short-short story

Becoming a Protege

The Excellent Mentor

Scams That Fool Even the Smart

On Indivualism vs Collectivism, from John Steinbeck's East of Eden

Engaged and Ambivalent

The No-Barista Cafe: A fictional short-short story

The Reject: A fictional short-short story

The Latest Research on Cannabis

The AI-Assisted MD: A fictional short-short story

A Master’s in Machine Learning and Unemployable?

Child Labor: The Sequel: A short-short story

CEO Shooter: A fictional short-short story

A Compulsive Gardener

I Try to be Amused By It All (updated)

What Clients Have Asked Me: Collection 5

I Read To You OCT 2025

Yet More Questions My Clients Asked Me

More Questions My Clients Asked Me

Questions My Clients Have Asked Me

The Hillcrest Widow Club: The sequel. A fictional short-short stor. (tol...

Mother of the Bride: The Sequel: A fictional short-short story

The Pro-European DEI Trainer: A fictional short-short story

Camping Seemed Like a Good Idea: The Sequel: A fictional short-short story

A School Shooter: A fictional short-short story

Up in Flames: A fictional short-short story

The Kitchen Remodel: The sequel. A fictional short-short story

SuperSchool: A fictional short-short story

"Chicken:" The Sequel: A fictional short-short story

Favorite Tweets, Collection 4

The Secrets to My Success

The Worst Kid in the Whole Wide World: A short-short story

The Explainer Edition: A thought experiment

Tired of Being Responsible: A fictional short-short story

The Monitor: A thought experiment

Designer Dogs, 2060: A thought experiment

I Read To You: stories from my book, Light: Short-short stories on life'...

A Janitor Can Learn a Lot: A fictional short-short story

Lyft: A fictional short-short story

The Late Grads: A fictional short-short story

Should I Fire Him? A fictional short-short story

Should I Ask for a Raise? A fictional short-short story

Yee-Hah Pizza, Slice of New York Pizza, or Neither? A fictional short-sh...

On Looking at a Rose

On Getting into My Car

Monumental? A short-short story

The Dance of Decline: A fictional short-short story

After I Said, No!" A fictional short-short story

The Moment I Decided Not to Quit: A short-short story

Maybe I'd Fit Better on Some Other Planet

Midlife Malaise, Episode 5: Is that all there is?

Midlife Malaise, Episode 4: Our Spending, Our Saving

Midlife Malaise, Episode 3: Our Daughter

Midlife Malaise, Episode 2: Our Marriage

Midlife Malaise, Episode 1: Topping Out

The Erasure of Men: Open your eyes and you will see

The 92-Year-Old Thief: A fictional short-short story

Done: A fictional short-short story

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 6: Lessons Learned

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 5: What the Hell is the Meaning of Life?

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 4: Staying Sane

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 3: Weight

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 2: Social Life

Bachelor Hatchings, Episode 1: What to Do?

Playing to Please: Advice for solo musicians

An Old Dog Speaks: A short-short story

Greenies: A short-short story

A Worrywart Dog: A short-short story

The Five-Year Summer Camp: A short-short story

I'm a Happy Doggie: A short-short story

A Garden-Variety Guitar Player: A short-short story

Hugs: A user's guide

5 Keys to Good Acting

Slat in the Hat: A short-short story

If I Were 16 Again

Love Apple: A short-short story

Teen Fears

Reading Aloud to You: Dog Stories

David’s Decline and Fall: A fictional short-short story

The Whirligig of Life by O Henry

My Commandments: The best advice I give myself and others.

Roommates: A fictional short-short story

Working Dog: A fictional short-short story

Short-short Stories from My Book, Dark

On the Pen

Unloved and Didn't Care: A fictional short-short story

Fallen Idols: Heroes who turn out to be not so heroic

Child Labor: A fictional short-short story

Empty Nesters, Episode 3: The Objection

Empty Nesters, Episode 2: Quit?

Away? A fictional short-short story

Powerless: A fictional short-short story

To the Woods to Die: A fictional short-short story

Faking It

Favorite Tweets, Collection 3

Favorite Tweets and Retweets

How Hypocritical Are You? A self-assessment

Gautami: An American Story A composite

Kevin: An American Story. A composite

Talking to Myself: An open journal entry

I Read Aloud To You, recorded, Napa Valley TV, Channel 28, 6/13/25

The Decline, Fall, and Rebirth of a Library: An improbable thought exper...

The Unseen, Part 2

The Decline, Fall, and Rebirth of the American Empire: An improbability

The Decline and Fall of a Mighty University: An improbable fiction

11 Keys to a Happy Life

On Independence

If Dogs Were Allowed EVERYWHERE: A thought experiment

Vacation or Staycation

Real School: a Thought Experiment

JustMed: A thought experiment

On My Turning 75

On My Turning 75

Smaller: A fictional short-short story

The Unseen

What is Evil?

What Governs Our Choices?

The Nemkos Do, Ten Questions to Ask Your Child

Marriage is Too Risky

Mamdani's Largest Significance

On Hurrying

In Praise of Transience

On Owning a Dog

Ten Questions to Ask Your Teen

How Coffee Shops Could Boil Their Frogs

U.S. Bombs Iran: Best, Worst, and Moderate-Case Scenarios

Sawed in Half: A fictional short-short story

The Sound of Silence: A fictional short-short story

Junk: A fictional short-short story

Sherman Valentine: A fictional short-short story

The Retiree, Episode 13 (final episode): Is the Small Stuff Enough?

The Retiree, Episode 11: Bucket List

The Retiree, Episode 10: Dream

The Retiree, Episode 9: Israel

The Retiree, Episode 8: Dancing

The Retiree, Episode 7: The Setup

A Retiree, Episode 6: SilverSingles.com

I'm Half the Man I Used to Be. By Mike Hamrick

A Retiree, Episode 5: The Girlfriend

A Retiree, Episode 4: Guardian Angel

A Retiree, Episode 3: Harry’s Hat Shop

A Retiree, Episode 2: SCORE: A fictional short-short story

A Retiree, Episode 1: Girls Basketball. A fictional short-short story

A Suck-Up: A fictional short-short story

Peeping Paul: A fictional short-short story

Unraveling: A fictional short-short story

How I Create Flash Fiction

A Perfect Garden: A fictional short-short story

The Inheritance: A fictional short-short story

Robotic: A fictional short-short story

Watching, Acting In, and Directing Plays

The DMV Magician: A fictional short-short story

Brave Quitting

Slob Chic: A fictional short-short story

A Not-Quite Straight Arrow: A fictional short-short story

One Month Left: A fictional short-short story

My Light Side, My Dark: A fictional short-short story

Curing A Blaming Mindset: Toward an internal locus of control

"My Life's Great, Yet Is That All There Is?"

"My Whole Life Sucks”

Heat: A fictional short-short story

Cockapoo Meets Pit Bull: A fictional short-short story

Better Than the Prom? A fictional short-short story

My Three-Legged Hero: A fictional short-short story

A Bad Tomato Farmer: A short-short story

My Pianos

Accept Yourself or Try to Change?

"I'm Good:" A fictional short-short story

Interview Yourself

Judgment Day: A fictional short-short story

Zapped: A fictional short-short story

Pork and Beans: A fictional short-short story

Reducing Your Sadness

Finding Moments of Happiness

Bluntly

The Creative Life: Portrayals vs the norm

Tired: A fictional short-short story

Cheating Death: A fictional short-short story

Most Likely to Die by Lethal Injection: a fictional short-short story

"The Future is Bright:" A fiction

Lemonade: A fictional short-short story

The Last Word: A fictional short-short story

Most Likely to Succeed: A fictional short-short story

Dribble: Rocky meets Mrs. Maisel

The Light Timer: A fictional short-short story

The Machine Salesman: A fictional short-short story

Excerpts from Postcards: a short story by Joseph Epstein

In Search of Peace of Mind: A fictional short-short story

Pitching: A fictional short-short story

The Freebie: A fictional short-short story

Excerpts from Moe, a short story by Joseph Epstein

Far From Town: A fictional short-short story

Wistful: A fictional short-short story

Excerpts from Felix Emeritus, A short-short by Joseph Epstein

On Love

A Case for Atheist Asceticism

A Tour of My Garden

The Gala: A fictional short-short story, well, partly fictional

Harvard is an Islamist Outpost: Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal, Apr. 25, 2025

A Taxonomy of Bores by Joseph Epstein

A New Nobel. By Joseph Epstein

I Bought a $10,000 Bag: A fictional short-short story

Choosing a College

Tomb of the Unknown Scientist

"Conservatism Needed a Trump Reset: Op-Ed in WSJ, 5/1/25

My Declaration of Independence A partial fiction

The One-Man City Government: A fictional short-short story

On Mentoring

One Man's Search for the Meaning of Life: A fictional short-short story

Like Mother, Like Daughter: A fictional short-short story

My Annual Tomato Ritual

Tipsy

It's Just Coffee: A fictional short-short story

Payback: A short-short story

The Pretty One: A fictional short-short story

Born Genius: A fictional short-short story

Vacant: A fictional short-short story

Could Your Next Job Interview Be Like This?

Animalization: A possible future?

From "A Warning to the West" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Push?

My Poised Pen

Four More Hard Cases in Finding a Career

Finding a Career: Three other difficult cases

Neat vs Slob

From Joseph Epstein's Essay: Work and its Contents

Looking Forward

My 21 Most Recent Tweets: on life, issues, and media bias

If You Worry That You're Dull

Conquering Conferences

Bored? 13 Productive activities

Trump and Musk in Hell: A fantasy

Stray: A fictional short-short story

Small Wins

Branding, Subscriptions, Ads, and You

On the Spring of My 75th Year

On Winning and Losing

We're On the Cusp of Greatness

My Friendships

AI and Your Career: Ignore it and you risk being toast

An Atheist, Haggadah-Free Seder

Second Semester, Senior Year

This Old Fart Can't Embrace the New Normal

"No One's Gonna Hurt You, Not While I'm Around": a fictional short-short...

I Dislike Most People

Auditioning

On Work

Death Wish: A fictional short-short story

I've Stopped Caring: A fictional short-short story

Creatives, Pair Up?

A Letter to Creatives

Marty Nemko Plays Fly Me to the Moon

My Piano Concert: Spring Renewal

On Writing and Reading: 7 short pieces

On Reading

On Negotiating Compensation

On Creating a Short-Short Story

Selling Your Book

Art School?

An Actor Prepares

The Prop Master: Based on a true story

Just a Matter of Opinion? A fictional short-short story

Barbara Nemko: 2025 Hart Vision Award for Authorizer of the Year

On Rehearsing Perfomers

Springs Past

9 Things I Know How to Do and You Should Too

On Feedback

On Screen, I Kiss and More: A short-short-story

Shaking: A fictional short-short story

Replace Income Tax with Sales Tax?

On People Watching

The Egg Crate Community

On Coffee

We Say We'll …

On the Bed

On Hair

How to Give a House Concert

A Shameless Worship of Heroes. By Will Durant

On Control

The Last Bookstore on Earth: A short-short story

On Rewards

A High School Teacher Muses

Excerpts from my book, Baby Steps: Doable ways to improve your life

10 short-short stories from my book, Senior Stories

The Favorite of My 2025 Tweets.

The Favorite of My 2025 Tweets.

On Fairness

On Beauty

My Practical Philosophies

Asked and Answered: Questions I wish someone would ask me and the honest...

If There Was No Work: A fictional short-short story and thought experiment

A Lazyperson’s Way to Grow Tomatoes, Zinnias and Marigolds from Seed

Microsignals: Subtle ways we show that we like or don't like someone

The Director's Nightmare: a short-short story

Questions That Lead to Action, including some for Valentine's Day

A Stoner Debates a Teetotaler

The Two Clots: Based on a true story

The Nostalgia Candy Store: A short-short story

"Idiot! "a short-short story

Nichecraft: Ideas for unhappy lawyers, doctors, teachers, and more

Managing Meaninglessness

You Snooze, You Win: A short-short story

Getting Your Picture Taken

What I'm Scared Of

Books and Me

The Devil Went Down to Mississippi: A fictional short-short story

16 and Suicidal: A fictional short-short story

Woe Man: A fictional short-short story

Britain’s Rape Scandal Returns to the Front Pages: by Stephen Pollard, C...

What I Love and Don't

Answers and Questions on Plant Hybridizing

Problems in Career Counseling

The Climb: A fictional short-short story

Creeping into Our 50th Anniversary: A fictional short-short story

Home Schooling? A fictional short-short story

"Chicken:" A fictional short-short story

Building My Mausoleum: A short-short story

Trump’s Cat: A fictional short-short story

Relieved: A short-short story

"After I'm Gone?" A short-short story

If You Tend to Piss People Off

Lasered In: A fictional short-short story

The Dog Walker: A short-short story

"I Used to Take Piano Lessons: " Why piano lessons are usually a terribl...

"Why Did I Come Into This Room?" What normal aging can look like

In Candor

"I Have Nothing to Say:" Conversation starters and deepeners

Gamify! An under-considered key to motivation and productivity

When You're Confused

When You're on a Roll

Oh, To Be a Fly on THAT Wall

Dealing with Heartbreak: Yours or people you care about

How Can People With Low IQ Cope?

The Desexing of America

Tampon: A fictional short-short story after Carrie

The Plant

A Conspiracy Theory: A fictional short-short story

On Einstein's assertion that "Work is the only thing that gives substanc...

What I Like and Don't

My Ahas: Epiphanies I've had during my lifetime

8 Ways to Slow or Even Stop the Unfairness to Asian and White Men

The Case for Not Changing Yourself Nor Your Situation

The Anti-White and Anti-Asian Male Era

So Alcohol's Bad: A fictional short-short story

Bari Weiss (The Free Press) interviews Marc Andreessen. Here, I read an ...

How the US Military Busts Its Budget. By Matthew Petti, Assistant Editor...

"Community" is an Unrealistic Goal