Welcome to The Spindle, where we spin you a yarn about the historical ephemera, hobbies, and random hyperfixations keeping us up at night. Whether you’re seeking crafting tips, tales of women who changed history, or weird pop culture takes, we have something to prick your curiosity.
Pour yourself a cup of tea (or something stronger), sit down, and stay for a while. There’s plenty of reading material.
Why Books Make the Best Holiday Gifts
As the world tumbles into its glittering tangle of holiday traditions — Christmas trees twinkling, menorahs glowing, Kwanzaa candles shimmering, and cozy secular celebrations brewing — we also enter that time-honored season of giving… or, if we’re being honest, strategic shopping with a dash of panic. Lists are drafted, budgets
Cold Weather Recipes to Wow Your Friends and Family
It always feels like once the autumn equinox has passed, we slide directly into cozy season. Suddenly, instead of summer picnics and barbecues, we’re being invited to Friendsgiving potlucks and soup swaps (IYKYK). We all have our favorite recipes for this season but in case you’re seeing to try something
Mushrooms are the answer
What do you call a mushroom that makes music? A de-composer. This is of course a joke, but the truth is mushrooms are excellent decomposers. (If you like mushroom jokes and puns, this Parade article has 57 more.) A mushroom is actually the fruit of a fungus, most of the
Soundtrack of Rebellion: Protest Songs That Shaped Generations
Protest music can serve as the connective tissue between generations; a rhythm of rebellion that refuses to age. Whether strummed on a dusty guitar, screamed over electric distortion, or pulsing through a bass drop, these anthems transcend genre to deliver one timeless message: enough is enough. These songs do more
Melancholic and Ghostly Road Trips for Autumn and Winter
With over 4.1 million miles of public roads, it’s no wonder that the road trip has become an all-American pastime. Earlier this year, we published a list of motorcycle routes for sunny days, but what about travel plans for that time of the year when melancholy coats our highways and
Easy Last-Minute Halloween Costumes
Look, we’ve all been there. Glancing down at the calendar only to realize Halloween is just a few short days away and there isn’t a costume in sight. Or maybe it’s a last minute party where you need to be in a great costume. Don’t worry: we’ve got your back
Supernatural Girl Bosses Open to Work: Ghosts, Banshees, and She-Demons
Supernatural beings often get a bad rap. Yes, it’s bad form to suck the blood or the life force out of your victims, but is it all too different from what corporate scions or social media grifters are doing every day? We’re not convinced that the ghouls, banshees, and she-demons
Amelia Earhart and her flying typewriter
The Publisher, the Pilot, and a Power Couple in the Making One of the reasons we know as much about Earhart as we do, is that she dated and eventually married the heir to the Putnam Publishing Company. The company was founded in 1838, and over a century later, George
An Open Letter on No Kings Day
Today, we remember why those who came before us decided to spin their own thread. They taught us that authority is not the same as wisdom, that reverence is earned, not inherited, and that obedience has never been our natural state. On Spinsters Row we look at what is happening
Art Appreciation Friday: “My Wife’s Lovers”
Sometimes you stumble across a piece of art, literature, or media that makes you stop in your tracks and ponder the delightful and unexpected places that human creativity takes us. It’s likely evident that the residents of Spinsters Row are unabashed animal lovers. If you took a peek at our
A Brief History of Séances and Spiritualism
Séances have become a horror movie trope, featuring prominently in modern classics like Hereditary (a movie I refuse to watch again), The Others, and Beetlejuice, among many others. Ouija boards and the creepy embalmed hand in Talk to Me are also a variation on séances, as they represent a means
Good News in Grim Times: Small Wins Worth Celebrating
Look — we’ve all been feeling it. Fascism and authoritarianism washing in like a powerful tide, the vivid full-color proof of a genocide being perpetrated with our tax dollars, and the omnipresent threat of climate disaster and microplastics in our brains… it’s grim out there, folks. Doom scrolling is an
