I don’t remember the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as being this…insistent. On the eve of the 20th anniversary, though, after PR blasts about commemorative docs and specials and singles and endless all else “honoring” or “remembering” 9/11/01, I feel…intruded upon. Yes, it changed the world; yes, it’s worth pausing to contemplate; no, you’re not alone in hoping that perhaps this flare of craven self-righteousness can be the end of it. (2026 is likely to be as bad, IMO; we’ll see.)
So, if you’re avoiding coverage, and/or social media, and/or thinking about it this year, I don’t blame you. If the inevitable Giuliani-osity of contemporary accounts is insupportable, I hear that. If it just doesn’t seem that important compared to the last eighteen months, I don’t disagree. But there is a fair amount of worthwhile material about 9/11, so if you’d like to share that instead, and “make it about the work,” let’s do that. I’ve watched The Woman Who Wasn’t There several times (there’s a book as well); the New York piece on Sneha Anne Philip is still haunting, although the podcast about her disappearance isn’t as successful. I haven’t made time for Lawrence Wright’s award-winner yet, but if you’ve read it, what did you think?
The newest episode of This Is Actually Happening features a doctor who worked in the ER in a small hospital near the towers, and I found it interesting and touching. Particularly the ending. There will be more 9/11 episodes throughout the month.
The 9/11 content I seek out every year is SDB's remembrance at Tomato Nation. Like grief and memory, her annual posts take on new shapes and tones, but Sarah always marks/ed the occasion with sympathy and care. https://tomatonation.com/stories-true-and-otherwise/
Thank you for all that, Sarah. And happy birthday, Don.
I’ve had Wright’s book in my shelf since it was published and just have not had the appetite for it. I did like the material you mentioned. I do get drawn into the stories once I start them but it’s a high hurdle to get me started. One more worthwhile piece is the 9-11 Commission Report which may still be available free online.
What I’m finding very tedious after all these years is reporters recounting their ‘where I was’ stories in what seem like therapy sessions. We know. We were all someplace too. It’s not intrinsically interesting to me unless they were involved somehow.
I've watched the documentary "9/11" by the Naudet brothers many times because the footage is astounding. Much of it is used in the Nat Geo series "9/11 - One Day in America" which I'm almost done with. It's been a brutal watch, but some of the stories from survivors have been amazing. (The guy in the yellow tie's story in episode one is just jaw dropping.)
So, what's everyone's theory on Sneha Philip? Did she rush to help? Random murder? Murder of opportunity by someone who saw the perfect time to get away with it, while the whole country was focused on something else? The version of her story I've always heard is that she had mentioned a possible visit to the Windows on the World restaurant, because a friend had planned an event there. Yet the possibility of her being inside the North Tower at/on her way to the restaurant seems to never be discussed. Does the timing rule that out?
Forgot to mention the musical Come From Away is really good if you like musicals. It’s based on true stories of people that were stranded in Nova Scotia when the flights were grounded. I think PBS or another streamer might be airing it free this weekend.
I read The Looming Tower and liked it, though not as much as some of Wright’s other work. I never watched the television adaptation though. I do tend to find myself drawn to the intelligence failure side of things, perhaps because that kind of analysis/unpacking lines up with my grief comping mechanisms.
I’ve heard good things about The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff, but have not had the emotional bandwidth to read it.
I enjoyed Vice's Too Soon, which is about comedy coming back after 9/11.
The newest episode of This Is Actually Happening features a doctor who worked in the ER in a small hospital near the towers, and I found it interesting and touching. Particularly the ending. There will be more 9/11 episodes throughout the month.
https://wondery.com/shows/this-is-actually-happening/episode/5675-the-long-shadow-what-if-you-ran-the-er-five-blocks-away/
The 9/11 content I seek out every year is SDB's remembrance at Tomato Nation. Like grief and memory, her annual posts take on new shapes and tones, but Sarah always marks/ed the occasion with sympathy and care. https://tomatonation.com/stories-true-and-otherwise/
Thank you for all that, Sarah. And happy birthday, Don.
I’ve had Wright’s book in my shelf since it was published and just have not had the appetite for it. I did like the material you mentioned. I do get drawn into the stories once I start them but it’s a high hurdle to get me started. One more worthwhile piece is the 9-11 Commission Report which may still be available free online.
What I’m finding very tedious after all these years is reporters recounting their ‘where I was’ stories in what seem like therapy sessions. We know. We were all someplace too. It’s not intrinsically interesting to me unless they were involved somehow.
I've watched the documentary "9/11" by the Naudet brothers many times because the footage is astounding. Much of it is used in the Nat Geo series "9/11 - One Day in America" which I'm almost done with. It's been a brutal watch, but some of the stories from survivors have been amazing. (The guy in the yellow tie's story in episode one is just jaw dropping.)
The 9/12 podcast is out and - like anything Dan Taberski - I’m finding it excellent.
So, what's everyone's theory on Sneha Philip? Did she rush to help? Random murder? Murder of opportunity by someone who saw the perfect time to get away with it, while the whole country was focused on something else? The version of her story I've always heard is that she had mentioned a possible visit to the Windows on the World restaurant, because a friend had planned an event there. Yet the possibility of her being inside the North Tower at/on her way to the restaurant seems to never be discussed. Does the timing rule that out?
Forgot to mention the musical Come From Away is really good if you like musicals. It’s based on true stories of people that were stranded in Nova Scotia when the flights were grounded. I think PBS or another streamer might be airing it free this weekend.
I read The Looming Tower and liked it, though not as much as some of Wright’s other work. I never watched the television adaptation though. I do tend to find myself drawn to the intelligence failure side of things, perhaps because that kind of analysis/unpacking lines up with my grief comping mechanisms.
I’ve heard good things about The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff, but have not had the emotional bandwidth to read it.
Here's a reading list from Will Leitch: https://williamfleitch.medium.com/your-september-11-reading-list-8645a4ad5e5b - SDB