This is post #100; thank you for continuing to “just bear with me.” December 19 is also the two-year anniversary of this site’s launch (so I should gift myself either cotton or china, and it should be red). To honor this symmetry, and to lighten the mood from my previous three posts (dealing—however obliquely—with the … Continue reading And for my 100th post…100 random facts (about me)
Author: Matthew Berger
I am a data geek, history researcher, writer and househusband with academic training in political science (BA, Yale; MA, Harvard), biostatistics (MA, Boston University) and epidemiology (PhD, BU). I published Interrogating Memory: Film Noir Spurs a Deep Dive Into My Family History...and My Own in 2022. As of July 2026, I seek a publisher for its completed follow-up, The West Philadelphia Story: An Immigrant Jewish Journey. I plan a third book on my idiosyncratic GenX life. My musical trinity is Genesis, Miles Davis and Stan Ridgway. A liberal Democrat, I know a healthy democracy demands cross-partisan cooperation. I grew up just outside Philadelphia, and I live just outside Boston, where my wife and children keep me happy, sane and grounded.
Samuel Joseph Kohn: exemplar of the Jewish immigrant experience
He had been a powerfully-built man, which served him well when he spent nearly two decades as a Philadelphia police officer (rising as high as plainclothes detective in the late 1940s). His 1940 World War II draft card lists the then-36-year-old patrolman as 5’10” tall and 210 pounds, dark-complexioned with black hair and brown eyes. … Continue reading Samuel Joseph Kohn: exemplar of the Jewish immigrant experience
Pete Shelley, RIP; or my life in punk and new wave
As I walked into my office this past Friday afternoon (December 7), I vaguely noticed our eldest daughter sitting on the sofa reading. Firing up my computer, I turned on iTunes. The 9,560 tracks contained there are sorted by artist, so I only needed to scroll down to the end of the B’s. I clicked … Continue reading Pete Shelley, RIP; or my life in punk and new wave
Rest in peace, George Herbert Walker Bush
Late on the night of January 20, 1989, I walked out of Dan’s Cafe—a dive bar in the Adams Morgan section of Washington, DC[1]—after imbibing a few or five or six bottles of Rolling Rock. Clutching my long black overcoat around me, I started to cross 18th street (likely to get a bite to eat, … Continue reading Rest in peace, George Herbert Walker Bush
2018 Election Cheat Sheet: How did I do?
I should apologize to our younger daughter’s friend’s mother. In my…determination…to be settled in front of the television with snacks and beverages at precisely 6 pm EST on November 6, 2018, I might have been a bit abrupt collecting our youngest daughter from a local taqueria where said friend’s mother had generously taken them to … Continue reading 2018 Election Cheat Sheet: How did I do?
Your 2018 Election Cheat Sheet
The 2018 midterm elections end today, November 6, 2018. If you are not one of the 36 million Americans who have already voted, PLEASE vote! Democracy is too precious not to participate, as is your right. I voted early, so starting at 6 pm EST (when some polls close in Indiana and Kentucky), I will … Continue reading Your 2018 Election Cheat Sheet
A plea to readers with two weeks until Election Day 2018 ends…
The 2018 midterm elections end in two weeks, on November 6, 2018. I write “end” because early voting is underway in 28 states, including Massachusetts. In fact, it opened Monday, October 22, and so I dragged our two daughters to Brookline Town Hall so they could participate in the process. And, yes, I voted straight … Continue reading A plea to readers with two weeks until Election Day 2018 ends…
Brett Kavanaugh and (not so much) I at Yale
I post this on my 52nd birthday (it is now past midnight in Boston). Over the last two years—since I turned 50—I have spent a great deal of time contemplating my “identity.” Indeed, my first post, in December 2016, was an exercise in contrasting autobiographical framing. Since that split-screen introduction, I have been coming to … Continue reading Brett Kavanaugh and (not so much) I at Yale
2018 Gubernatorial Elections: Where the REAL action is
With the recent—and thoroughly warranted—attention on the excellent Democratic prospects for recapturing control of the United States House of Representatives (“House”) and their improving (though still less than 50%) chance to do the same in the United States Senate (“Senate”) this November 6, there has been insufficient focus on the 36 gubernatorial elections being held … Continue reading 2018 Gubernatorial Elections: Where the REAL action is
UPDATE: State of play in the 2018 Senate elections
Just as FiveThirtyEight.com released its Senate forecast, I update this post on the outlook for Democrats in the 36 elections for the United States Senate (“Senate”) this November 6 (and beyond, in the Mississippi special election). Feel free to compare and contrast the two. To be more precise, I am updating the tables and a … Continue reading UPDATE: State of play in the 2018 Senate elections
Just Bear With Me... 