I always just wanted to be a writer, not necessarily a particular kind of writer. Jill Lepore kindnecessarilywant Change image and share on social
Americans like to get rich fast. That this means we go broke fast, too, is something that we have become very good at forgetting. Our ignorance of history is matched only by our unfailing optimism; it's actually part of our optimism. Jill Lepore americanbreakfast share on social
Conservatism cherishes tradition; innovation fetishizes novelty. They tug in different directions, the one toward the past, the other toward the future. Jill Lepore cherishconservatismdirection Change image and share on social
Political elites vote in a more partisan fashion than the mass public; this tendency, too, follows a curve. The more you know, the more likely you are to vote in an ideologically consistent way, not just following your party but following a set of constraints dictated by a political ideology. Jill Lepore consistentconstraintcurve share on social
In the nineteen-thirties, one in four Americans got their news from William Randolph Hearst, who lived in a castle and owned twenty-eight newspapers in nineteen cities. Jill Lepore americancastlecity Change image and share on social
Secrecy is what is known, but not to everyone. Privacy is what allows us to keep what we know to ourselves. Jill Lepore privacysecrecy Change image and share on social
'Doctor Who' is, unavoidably, a product of mid-twentieth-century debates about Britain's role in the world as its empire unravelled. Jill Lepore britaincenturydebate Change image and share on social
Folklore used to be passed by word of mouth, from one generation to the next; that's what makes it folklore, as opposed to, say, history, which is written down and stored in an archive. Jill Lepore archivefolkloregeneration Change image and share on social
Desktop computers - boxes inside boxes - began appearing in those cubicles in the mid-eighties, electrical cords curling on the floor like so many ropes. Jill Lepore appearbeginbox Change image and share on social
We have discharged one generation of debtors after another, but we do not find that their numbers lessen. We find only that we forget, when times are good, that times were ever bad. Jill Lepore baddebtordischarge Change image and share on social