Shafer Gone

The contrarian truth is that under Plotz Slate has become an excellent magazine; the occasional Jonah Weiner atrocity notwithstanding, the overall quality of writing is very high.   Several regulars are indispensable — Lithwick on the Supreme Court most notably, and Dana Stevens is an excellent film critic (cf. her recent dissections of the male chauvinist anti-sex comedies spearheaded by the Farrellys, who have gone from merely overrated to menaces with dismaying speed.) Which makes this all the more unfortunate.   Although I certainly didn’t always agree with him, Jack Shafer was always worth reading, so this layoff isn’t good news.   I’m sure there were market-based reasons for it, but it’s still hard to see that there’s room for Dear Prudence and not Shafer…

…and I’m neglecting Tim Noah because he’s been on leave for a while, but his series on inequality was indeed superb and he’s always been a fine writer.