The Obstacles Are Structural
Talking Pope Francis, monopolies + roasting a chicken
Dear Friends,
Welcome back to The Crunchwrap!
This week, we’re talking about monopolies, Pope Francis, and how ICE raids reinforce the wrongheaded story that America tells about itself. And, for the sake of sanity, we’ll also delve into the joys of making a whole roasted chicken with Mark Bittman’s (very easy) recipe. These times, man.
BUT FIRST, if you’re a new subscriber (hey), here’s a little bit about me and this newsletter: I am a journalist based in New York. I write for a bunch of different places about politics, work, fast food, culture, business, regular-speed food, Americana, and more. I’m also the author of two books, including Drive-Thru Dreams (2019) and 99% Perspiration which, in spite of some really bad Thomas Edison jokes, came out earlier this year to wide acclaim. (You might also know me from my unwieldy hand-talking across several seasons of The History Channel’s The Food That Built America.)
In this newsletter, I cover Critical National Issues like waning social cohesion in America, Taco Bell’s collaborations Cheez-It and Milk Bar, and the relative grossness of Trader Joe’s product recalls. I welcome your responses and notes and might publish them if they’re funny, insightful, or not mean.
First Crunch
On Monday, the morning after Easter, ICE began a days-long sweep through Florida and arrested around 800 undocumented immigrants. It was a shocking escalation in part because the operation (dubbed “Tidal Wave”) was assisted by the unprecedented coordination of local law enforcement. It was also shocking because the overwhelming majority of those removed from their lives, jobs, families, and communities did not have deportation orders against them, despite that being the stated aim of the roundup.
In pitch-perfect, incidental symbolism, Operation Tidal Wave began around the same time that news of the death of Pope Francis came over transoms around the world. As you know, Francis had been a vocal defender of the right of migrants. In 2016, he’d held a mass on the U.S.-Mexico border, just south of the Rio Grande. Over 250,000 people attended.
“What is built on the basis of force and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”
Many of the obituaries for Pope Francis have noted how his papacy coincided with both the issue of global refugees and the rise of authoritarianism around the world. These two issues are politically intertwined and, for Francis, they were morally intertwined as well. “What is built on the basis of force,” he once wrote, “and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.”
I bring this up in part because it was the backdrop for a conversation I had this week with Justin Stofferahn, who co-runs
, a very smart and newsletter that (accessibly) delves into all the ways that corporate concentration, monopolies, and American-style oligarchy are, well, screwing over consumers, taxpayers, families, and communities in real time.1 In addition to having one of the best Midwest accents you’ll hear, Justin has one of the best job titles in the world: Antimonopoly director at the Minnesota Farmers Union.One note that I’ve been hitting again and again as I talk about the culture of work in American life is how immigration has been the cudgel that the Trump administration (and many aspiring and real authoritarian outfits around the world) has been using to deflect attention away from many of the structural obstacles – income inequality, the consolidation of economic power, low wages – that are actually making it much harder to succeed, get by, or have the basics of a good life in America.
I get into all of that in my conversation with Justin and You’re Probably Getting Screwed, which chose 99% Perspiration as its most recent book club pick. Specifically, we talk about reporting I did with a young immigrant cannabis entrepreneur in Oklahoma (starts around minute six) whose family had been shut out of the gas station business as well as the legacy of Black Wall Street and the American frontier.
Have a listen and definitely check out YPGS!
Snack Break
If you’re anything like me (let’s hope not!), the idea of roasting an entire chicken brings up all kinds of culinary inadequacies, commitment issues, and the unnerving specter of a poultry cavity. Sorry.
Recently, in the noble pursuit of dinner and personal growth, I decided to face my fears and roast a whole chicken all by myself. And it was easy and delicious. I went with Mark Bittman’s recipe, which has inspired comments like this one.
The recipe is simple and is basically this:
Put a 3-4 pound chicken (breast-side up) in a cast-iron skillet
Lube it up with olive oil and cover with salt and pepper
Roast it at 500 for 15 minutes, drop the oven temp to 350, and cook it until it hits 155 internal temp (mine took ~35 minutes).
Tilt the chicken to let its juices run into the pan, let it sit for five minutes, carve, and eat.
Following some commenters, before dropping the temp to 350, I slid some veggies underneath the chicken to have a readymade side. I also put some smoked paprika on the bird before roasting. Highly recommend!
Soft Shoe
This newsletter is free and I write it because I love to stay connected with people and because I’m a stone-cold narcissist. That said, it would help me immensely if you considered supporting my work. Here’s how:
Buy my new book! (Reviews have been stellar and AudioFile recently raved about my performance reading the audiobook.)
Request my new book from your local library!
LEAVE A REVIEW ON AMAZON. I know I just dedicated nearly of all of this newsletter to battling behemoths, but Amazon reviews help get my book into more hands. (You don’t even have to write anything, just hit the five-stars and windowshop for something with microplastics.)
That’s it for this week!
Thank you as always for reading and supporting my work.
With love,
Adam
Here’s a recent entry on how private health insurance monopolies influence our obscene Medicare costs more than citizens gaming the system ever could.