https://theincurablehumanist.com Weekly essays on grief, migration, and art by Denise Rodriguez Dao. en-us Mon, 31 Aug 2026 02:17:26 GMT https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/why-the-lindsay-clancy-trial-has-so-many-women-asking-could-the-system-fail-me-too https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/why-the-lindsay-clancy-trial-has-so-many-women-asking-could-the-system-fail-me-too Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:01:37 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, As you probably have been too, I’ve been closely following the Lindsay Clancy trial these past few weeks. I know it’s not healthy to keep watching, and I want to stop, but I haven’t been able to. Our brains will deny it to protect us… “No, there’s no way I could ever… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-reading-list https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-reading-list Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:04:37 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Summer is flying by, and can’t believe there’s already hints of pumpkin madness out there. This week I’ll keep it brief and dive right into The Incurable Humanist’s August/September reading list: Carl Spitzweg. The Bookworm , 1851 1. The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/three-new-restaurants-to-try-this-summer-in-new-york https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/three-new-restaurants-to-try-this-summer-in-new-york Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:01:16 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, One of the many things I love about living in New York is the food. But beyond the obvious, food has always interested me as a story of migration. The tomato for instance feels inseparable from Italian cuisine; Caprese salads, pizza, and pasta sauce… Yet it came from… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/who-is-burning-out-by-30 https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/who-is-burning-out-by-30 Tue, 04 Aug 2026 17:00:56 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, A couple of nights ago, I was lying in bed doomscrolling on TikTok (don’t judge, you know you do this too), when I stopped to listen to a podcast clip, where they asked “who is most likely to burn out by the time they turn thirty?” The guest replied: “daughters of… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-giacometti-taught-me-about-not-texting-back https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-giacometti-taught-me-about-not-texting-back Tue, 28 Jul 2026 17:02:34 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, I went to the Met for Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur , and if you’re feeling overwhelmed with life in general, you should too. The exhibition brings Alberto Giacometti’s sculptures to the Met for the first time, placing them in conversation with the Temple of… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-odyssey-through-the-lens-of-migration https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-odyssey-through-the-lens-of-migration Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:04:26 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey has already achieved blockbuster status, breaking box office records this year. Yet long before it reached movie theaters, it was already the quintessential story for understanding the instability, hardship, and… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/before-france-there-was-venezuela-camille-pissarro-and-the-making-of-an-artist https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/before-france-there-was-venezuela-camille-pissarro-and-the-making-of-an-artist Tue, 14 Jul 2026 17:03:34 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Over the past two weeks, I have been writing about the aftermath of the earthquakes in Venezuela and, about La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas. I find it important to continue to raise awareness of what is still happening in Venezuela, but for this week, I want… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/venezuela-is-still-falling-what-it-means-to-grieve-from-afar https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/venezuela-is-still-falling-what-it-means-to-grieve-from-afar Tue, 07 Jul 2026 17:03:14 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Last Wednesday, a week after the double earthquake, I was sitting in my office in Midtown. I opened Instagram and saw a video of Elena, a woman from La Guaira, pleading for help to recover the bodies of her husband and sons. She knew where they were yet help never… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/venezuela-earthquake-2026-grief-collapse-and-the-cost-of-a-broken-state https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/venezuela-earthquake-2026-grief-collapse-and-the-cost-of-a-broken-state Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:01:13 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, It is with great sadness that I write to you today. Although I usually write to you on Tuesdays, I am publishing this week’s newsletter on Sunday because of what has happened. Last Wednesday, June 24, two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/donohues-steak-house-closes-after-76-years-a-farewell-to-old-new-york https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/donohues-steak-house-closes-after-76-years-a-farewell-to-old-new-york Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:03:10 GMT This past weekend, Donohue’s Steak House closed its doors after 76 years on Lexington Avenue. An old-school Upper East Side institution, known for its steaks, impeccable burgers, strong martinis, and for being run for decades by the one and only Maureen Donohue. It was quintessential Manhattan -… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/neon-summer-skin https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/neon-summer-skin Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:00:46 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Some days, while drafting long petitions at the office, I put on my headphones and let Spotify run on shuffle. Last week, by serendipity, I found Bedouine and then, even more luckily, saw her live at Rough Trade , the small record shop tucked into Rockefeller Center.… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/stop-calling-frida-and-diego-relationship-goals https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/stop-calling-frida-and-diego-relationship-goals Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:01:07 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Last week, I went to MoMA to see Frida and Diego: The Last Dream , which opened in conjunction with the Met’s new production of El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego . I’ll admit it upfront, I walked in already skeptical, and unfortunately even with my low expectations, I… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-june-reading-list https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-june-reading-list Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:04:00 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Summer is in the air! Despite the moody weather New York has been throwing at us lately, there’s no mistaking it - the season has arrived. And with summer, of course, comes the best part: summer reads! Jose Ferraz de Almeida Junior, Reading , 1892 So without further… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-dorothea-langes-migrant-mother-reveals-about-todays-immigration-climate https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-dorothea-langes-migrant-mother-reveals-about-todays-immigration-climate Tue, 26 May 2026 17:02:54 GMT In 1936, Dorothea Lange turned her car around after she had already finished her assignment for the Farm Security Administration documenting the lives of displaced agricultural workers across California. Something pulled her back toward a pea-pickers camp in Nipomo, and toward a woman sitting… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/on-saudade https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/on-saudade Tue, 19 May 2026 17:00:24 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Doesn’t it happen to you that sometimes you miss a place or a stage in your life, but then when you really think about it, you realize that even if you could go back it wouldn’t be the same—because you are also someone else? This might come off a little confusing… but… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-intimacy-of-the-handwritten https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-intimacy-of-the-handwritten Tue, 12 May 2026 17:01:37 GMT My dearest Incurable Humanist, We have a new logo! Why is this relevant, you might be thinking? Well, you see… I’ve always loved my grandma’s calligraphy. She’s always had the most perfect handwriting. When I was little, my grandparents used to host many cocktail parties and sit-down dinners at… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/how-mary-cassatt-reimagined-motherhood-in-art https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/how-mary-cassatt-reimagined-motherhood-in-art Tue, 05 May 2026 17:03:02 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, With Mother’s Day approaching, I thought why not write about motherhood in art, and what better way to do so than with Mary Cassatt. Born in Pennsylvania in 1844, Cassatt came from a family with the means to support her ambitions, and that privilege gave her a kind of… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-may-reading-list https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanists-may-reading-list Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:03:06 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, This week, I want to share my reading list for May. Jean Honoré Fragonard, Young Girl Reading , c. 1769 Lately, I’ve been craving a slower routine in the evenings with less scrolling, more reading, and preferably from an actual book. After spending 9 to 11 hours a day… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/grief-time-and-the-pressure-to-move-on https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/grief-time-and-the-pressure-to-move-on Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:03:46 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, “It’s hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound,” Taylor Swift once wrote in her song this is me trying from Folklore (2020). And what does Taylor Swift have to do with what I’m writing about today? Not much—except such poignant lyrics have accompanied me… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanist-one-year-anniversary https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-incurable-humanist-one-year-anniversary Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:02:36 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, I can’t believe it’s been officially one year since I started writing here on Substack! First and foremost, thank you for being here with me every week for a year. On the Incurable Humanist’s one year anniversary, I thought I’d remind you why we’re here — and if… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/birthday https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/birthday Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:01:26 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, It is my birthday today, April 7, and I find myself thinking about time, stages, and thresholds. That is what led me back to Dorothea Tanning, especially her painting Birthday (1942), her memoir Birthday (1986), and its expanded version, Between Lives: An Artist and… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/francisco-de-miranda-the-original-incurable-humanist https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/francisco-de-miranda-the-original-incurable-humanist Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:02:54 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Even if you are not Venezuelan or Latin American, you have probably heard of Simón Bolívar, the “ Liberator ” who led the independence of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Panama. But I’m not here to talk about Bolívar. Today I want to introduce you to… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/patsys-in-east-harlem-the-immigrant-story-behind-new-yorks-first-pizza-slice https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/patsys-in-east-harlem-the-immigrant-story-behind-new-yorks-first-pizza-slice Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:05:16 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, There’s a corner in East Harlem where the present feels paused. On the surface, Patsy’s looks like any other old-school New York pizzeria, a window dusted with flour and time, and pictures with celebrities hung on the walls. But this is no ordinary pizza joint.… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/how-robert-rauschenbergs-dante-series-mirrors-todays-immigration-crisis https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/how-robert-rauschenbergs-dante-series-mirrors-todays-immigration-crisis Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:00:37 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Robert Rauschenberg’s Thirty-Four Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno (1958–60) reimagines Dante’s medieval vision of Hell in mid‑20th‑century America. Each drawing corresponds to one canto of Dante’s Inferno , but instead of devils and medieval tyrants, we get cold-war… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/call-me-a-radical https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/call-me-a-radical Tue, 10 Mar 2026 16:03:21 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Lately I’ve had this quote, often misattributed to Dante in my mind. It’s a modern paraphrase of Inferno III “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” We live in a time when everyone relativizes… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-power-of-saying-no-how-immigrants-learn-to-protect-themselves-from-endless-gratitude https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/the-power-of-saying-no-how-immigrants-learn-to-protect-themselves-from-endless-gratitude Tue, 03 Mar 2026 18:00:30 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, In Latin America, or at least in Venezuela, it is hard to say “no.” I lived in Mexico for a while and, in my experience, it was the same. I think it is considered bad manners or rude or something. Even here in New York, I feel that sometimes people still expect women… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-justice-means-today https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-justice-means-today Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:02:52 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, In my first week of law school back in 2013, sitting in an Introduction to Law class, the professor asked, “What is justice?” I remember sitting in silence, suspicious that any definition I could think of would not be quite right, and so before opening my mouth and… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/every-new-beginning-comes-from-an-ending-learning-to-grow-through-change https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/every-new-beginning-comes-from-an-ending-learning-to-grow-through-change Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:03:08 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, Tomorrow I’m starting a new stage in my life! Beginning something I’ve worked towards for years. I am so excited about this new stepping stone in my career. I can’t share what it is with you yet, but tomorrow is my ‘first day’. Or well, actually today, since you’re… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-romcoms-get-wrong-about-immigration-marriagebased-green-cards https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/what-romcoms-get-wrong-about-immigration-marriagebased-green-cards Tue, 10 Feb 2026 18:00:20 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, It’s that time of the year again. The annual mania of hearts, chocolate-induced drama, red-and-pink everything, tacky roses, and restaurant reservations that cost more than your rent. But instead of writing about the intoxicating magic of new love or the soul-crushing… https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/four-lessons-ive-learned-in-four-years-of-grief https://theincurablehumanist.com/essays/four-lessons-ive-learned-in-four-years-of-grief Tue, 03 Feb 2026 18:08:31 GMT My dearest incurable humanist, It was February 17, 2022 at 2:12 AM “Can you talk?” My phone’s screen brightened with the text notification from my mom. I was in bed, alone, freezing, on the 39th floor of a Santa Fe high-rise, the Hudson Yards of Mexico City. The wind howled outside. The windows…