Salt + Prepper Issue #14: We’re Talking About Practice
How to Be Ready for Game Day
Last issue, I wrote: You are the cavalry. But cavalry needs to know where to ride.
We need to know what to do.
I’m realizing most people don’t do nothing because they don’t care. They do nothing because they don’t know what to do.
I’ve been looking for a playbook.
Scrolling. Reading. Watching people who call themselves leaders. Looking for something steady. Something practical. Something that answers the question: What can we do?
Instead, I keep finding urgency without instruction. Heat without clarity. Plenty of “this matters.” Very little “here’s what to do.”
And it occurs to me: we don’t usually learn how to respond from commentary.
We learn from stories.
Long before there were feeds and pundits, people turned to stories to understand how to live through uncertainty. Stories let us see erosion before it has a name. They show us what integrity costs — and what it builds. They are where we practice courage.
Preparedness isn’t only material. It’s moral. It’s knowing who you need to be before you’re tested.
A few years ago, my husband was at a playground in New York when he saw a man being unacceptably rough with his child. You could feel the discomfort ripple outward. People noticed. No one moved. He didn’t know what to do either. So he texted a friend who works in this space: What do I do?
The answer came back quickly: “Walk up and ask the time. Break the moment.”
Don’t confront. Don’t escalate. Interrupt.
The goal wasn’t to win. It was to disrupt. To signal: someone sees this. To create a pause.
I’ve always loved the idea of family code words. If a kid texts a certain phrase or string of numbers, you know they need out of a situation, no questions asked. You call. You arrive. You interrupt.
You don’t invent that in the moment. You decide it ahead of time.
Stories work the same way.
They are cultural playbooks. They give us language before we need it. They train our instincts. They build moral muscle memory so we’re not inventing ourselves under pressure.
So when something tips, we’re not scrambling.
We’ve practiced.
Below is a set of stories — across media — that feel useful right now.
Pick one. Pick one from each section. Start anywhere. Share yours. Build your own playbook.
I. Early Warnings
Learning to see the field.
📖 1984 – George Orwell
📖 On Tyranny – Timothy Snyder
📖📺 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
🎬 The Matrix
📺 Years and Years
II. The Human Core
Strength when structures weaken.
📖 Night – Elie Wiesel
📖 Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
📖 Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler
🎬 Children of Men
📺 Station Eleven
III. When the Cost Becomes Real
Knowing the price — and choosing anyway.
📖 Letter from Birmingham Jail – Martin Luther King Jr.
🎬 Michael Clayton
🎬 Women Talking
🎬 Navalny (documentary)
📺 Chernobyl
IV. Networks of Renewal
No one wins alone.
📖 Hope in the Dark – Rebecca Solnit
📖 Let the Record Show – Sarah Schulman
🎬 Selma
🎬 Spotlight
📺 Andor
V. Myth & Memory
Stories that train us early and before the moment arrives.
📖🎬 The Lord of the Rings (If you only read one: The Two Towers)
📖🎬 Harry Potter (If you only read one: Order of the Phoenix)
🎬 Star Wars (Rogue One or A New Hope)
🎬 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
📺 Avatar: The Last Airbender
VI. Gentle Preparedness
Not every strength is loud.
📖 The Long Loneliness – Dorothy Day
🎬 Jane (documentary)
📺 Ted Lasso
📺 Friday Night Lights
📺 Queer Eye
If You Only Choose Three
📖 Letter from Birmingham Jail
🎬 Michael Clayton
📺 Andor
(Or four — because always:)
📺 Ted Lasso
And we haven’t even talked audio.
This morning, Jelly Roll was singing, “I’m not okay, but it’s all gonna be alright.” There’s our anthem.
My brother, an acclaimed audio artist, recently created a series of biological resets if your nervous system needs support. Click Next for options. If you feel the difference, donations on the site are appreciated.
This is the beginning of a new playlist. If there’s a song that steadies you, send it along. Let’s build the soundtrack for the next issue.
I love reading Robert Reich. He is so wise and so encouraging!!