That one time AI killed me
By Ben Olson Reader Staff “O brave new world, that has such people in it!” — William Shakespeare (or maybe it was a bot that said this. Who knows anymore?) Journalists are used to covering...
Tagged: Ben Olson
The bitter pill of nostalgia
By Ben Olson Reader Staff I love watching movies from the 1990s. There’s something nostalgic and warm about that decade right before we all became consumed by the internet, smartphones and social media. It...
Banned Books in Review: ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’
By Ben Olson Reader Staff More than 1,600 books across 32 states were banned during the 2021-’22 school year. In Idaho, 26 titles were banned across three school districts, underscoring a trend spearheaded primarily...
Best of 2022, in brief
By Ben Olson Reader Staff At the conclusion of every calendar year, it’s customary for journalists to wax poetic about their favorite creative endeavors that dropped over the past 12 months. Checking in with...
The soft underbelly of a humbug
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Maybe it’s because I was born the day after Christmas that I became a humbug. Throughout my childhood, Christmas always loomed before my birthday; the annual eclipse that left...
Gift guide 2022
By Ben Olson Reader Staff The irony of me writing a gift guide is as thick as molasses in wintertime. I’m terrible at buying obligatory gifts. I know there are others like me who...
Not far from the tree
By Ben Olson Reader Staff When I was younger and someone asked where I was from, I’d tell them I was born and raised right here in Sandpoint. They might ask the usual questions:...
The hidden homeless
By Ben Olson Reader Staff The word “paradise” is often tossed around to describe towns like Sandpoint. But scratch beneath the surface in resort towns across the West and evidence of issues like housing...
A weekly reminder: You’re not crazy
By Ben Olson Reader Staff In the nearly eight years I’ve been at the helm of this newspaper, one constant remains as a motivating reason why we do what we do — to remind...
Banned Books in Review: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
By Ben Olson Reader Staff More than 1,600 books across 32 states were banned during the 2021-2022 school year alone. In Idaho, 26 titles were banned across three school districts, underscoring a trend spearheaded...
