Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Big Move

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Will Moss

Emptying the nest all the way out When I cradled my newborn son, Zachary, in a daze in Beijing in 2008, the idea of him as a young man seemed as remote as the planet Neptune. Babies are all-consuming in … Continue reading →

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Black or White

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Will Moss

How hard should we cancel the Michael Jackson biopic? I was in high school in 1982 when Michael Jackson’s Thriller came out. Those were the days of national monoculture, and that album was the aural equivalent of chewing gum on your shoe. … Continue reading →

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French Harder!

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Will Moss

An air crash, the politics of language and the dangers of unresolved tension Let’s say you’re the CEO of a national air carrier. It’s a big job that comes with lots of pressure! One of your aircraft is involved in a … Continue reading →

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The Predictable Prediction Crisis

Posted on March 15, 2026 by Will Moss

The risks of being able to bet on anything, anytime One of the things that makes a good crisis comms person is being able to imagine bad situations. The benefit is that you can envision possible scenarios and plan accordingly. … Continue reading →

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The People v. McRib

Posted on January 25, 2026 by Will Moss

The press bites on a sandwich lawsuit Here’s a possibly controversial theory: Lawyers are just specialized PR people. I can hear my lawyer friends clenching their jaws, but hear me out. Contracts are communication. Courtrooms and arbitration hearings are communication. … Continue reading →

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Rocketship to Planet Urologist

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Will Moss

Getting older, one awkward gland at a time It’s been getting harder to pee. It’s not that I can’t pee. That would be time to rush for the emergency room and get catheterized, something that (so far) I have not … Continue reading →

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The Kiss-Cam of Resurrection

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Will Moss

Born Anew in the New York Times Remember the Coldplay concert kiss-cam disaster of last July? The CEO of software company Astronomer, Andy Byron, and the head of human resources, Kristin Cabot, were caught in a suggestive embrace by the … Continue reading →

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Ward 86: Growing Up in the Time of AIDS

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Will Moss

My father’s memoir of the terrible epidemic of the 1980s My parents separated in 1973, when I was six years old. I sometimes think the amazing thing is that they got together in the first place. They are very different … Continue reading →

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In Space, No One Can Hear You Spin

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Will Moss

Crisis PR for science fiction’s most evil company Note: Minor spoilers for the recent “Alien: Earth” series. I was eleven in 1979 when my dad took me to see Ridley Scott’s Alien at the Geneva Drive-In, in South San Francisco. I watched … Continue reading →

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Triumph of the Wankers

Posted on October 11, 2025 by Will Moss

Stadium Concerts and the Iconography of Totalitarianism I am going to start with something polarizing. I like the band Oasis. When people who don’t like Oasis find out that you do like Oasis, they will often try an intervention, like … Continue reading →

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