Ep. 408 of The Sunday #NYTReadalong (Dolly Parton; Meta's Settlement; The March on Washington: 1963 and 2026)
- Neil Parekh
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Mary C. Curtis joins me as a Guest Co-Host for The Sunday #NYTReadalong. (Sree is traveling.) We’ll offer a remembrance of Dolly Parton, particularly her philanthropic work and the candor with which she discussed her struggles with depression; discuss Meta’s $17.1 Billion dollar settlement and the potential impact on teenagers’ use of social media; and we’ll talk about the March on Washington, both the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom and the 2026 March which focused on defending the right to vote. (Spoiler Alert: There are interesting questions to discuss about coverage decisions and word choice.)
With Mary in the studio, we’ll also check in on local news from North Carolina and, as always, review the print edition of the Sunday New York Times.
Please join me and Mary Curtis for Ep. 408 of The Sunday #NYTReadalong on August 30. (Sree is out of town.) We will be live at 8:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. GMT and 6:00 p.m. IST. If you miss the show, you can always watch the replay, right on this page.
Watch the live show or recording on this website or watch and comment on social media:
*Facebook will delete the video in 30 days. **We won't know the exact urls for Twitter and Instagram until we go live. For now, these links go to Sree's Twitter and Neil's Instagram
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Dolly Parton
Known for her outsize persona, appearance and talent, she rose from rural poverty to become a top-selling singer, songwriter and entrepreneur.
The country star supported early childhood literacy, disaster relief, the development of the Covid-19 vaccine and more. In ‘9 to 5,’ Dolly Parton Put a Friendly Face on Feminism
In 1980, feminists were often stereotyped as man-hating or out of touch. Then Parton gave the movement a boost — and an anthem.
Meta’s Settlement
Landmark trials are testing a new legal strategy claiming that Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube caused personal injury through addictive products.
Meta agreed to set more time limits and enhance protections in its platforms for young users, but was short on some specifics.
Meta, the social media giant, agreed to change the way children interact with its apps. That could be trouble if its competitors don’t abide by the same rules. Social Media and the Myth of the Big Tobacco Moment
Smoking used to be everywhere, the way Facebook, TikTok, Snap, YouTube and Instagram are now. Society decided to break the habit, but it took a long time.
March on Washington
“We must say: “Wake up America! Wake up!” For we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient.”
Roll Call: John Lewis’ Speech / March on Washington (Mary C. Curtis)
Washington Post, “‘You knew things would be different’: How the March changed one family”
Mary Curtis wrote about her family's involvement in the 1963 March on Washington; she interviewed the living relatives for the article.
Associated Press: Civil rights groups make urgent plea for voting rights in DC, ahead of midterm elections
Editorial Comment: On the AP Story, were the people who participated in the March “Activists,” “Demonstrators,” or “Protesters”? The article only uses “protesters.” One of the pictures refers to “demonstrators.” Three other pictures refer to "activists." It’s also interesting to note that as of 4pm ET, nytimes.com has no coverage of the March on Washington, and no mention of the anniversary.
About Mary C. Curtis
Mary C. Curtis is an award-winning journalist, podcast host and educator. She writes columns for Roll Call, hosts its “Equal Time” podcast, is featured on Charlotte, N.C., NPR-affiliate WFAE, and has worked at The New York Times, AOL’s Politics Daily and The Charlotte Observer, covering the intersection of politics, culture and race.
She has contributed to NPR, The Washington Post, MSNBC and CNN. Curtis is Senior Facilitator with The OpEd Project, leading “Write to Change the World” seminars at Yale University, Ford Foundation and Aspen New Voices in South Africa.
She co-hosted our Special 2024 Election Coverage with Sree Sreenivasan, is a former #NYTReadalong guest, loyal viewer and frequent commenter on Sunday mornings. Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
A Few Quick Messages
Jaipur Literature Festival
The Jaipur Literature Festival is returning to North America in September and October.
Sree’s Sunday Note
Sree’s latest newsletter focuses on the definition of “AI-assisted” in writing and its implications. He included several comments that were shared in a WhatsApp group dedicated to AI.
Here’s my contribution, “What constitutes “AI assistance?” Copy and paste is bad for many reasons. Copy and paste without attribution is worse. But what about going several rounds to refine the text? Or rewriting an AI-generated rough draft? What about using an AI-generated outline to write your own text? Do we need levels of AI attribution, with standards? How would it be verified?”
If you aren’t a subscriber to Sree’s Sunday Note newsletter, click here to sign up.
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Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health
On Thursday, Aug. 27 Sree was the guest on Ep. 55 of Shining Light on Shadows: A Candid Conversation About Mental Health, “The Mental Health Impacts of Social Media on Teens AND Adults.”
We talked about the Meta settlement, the impact of social media on adults; the challenges of modeling good behavior; the impact on teens, practical suggestions for cubing phone/social media use, and ended with a reflection on the good work you can do on social media.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the show over the past 10 years / 400 episodes and shared it on social media. The Sunday #NYTReadalong is produced by Digimentors in partnership with Scroll and Scroll Global, one of India’s most important independent websites.
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Thank you to MuckRack and The Graphic History Company for your support of The Sunday #NYTReadalong.
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