SJ’s Substack

Old Shanghai: The buildings, the people, the stories.

Longtime journalist James S. Russell offers fresh perspectives and often-missed context at the intersection of the cultures of architecture and cities.

Rumblings about movies, music, tv, and crime (real and fictional).

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares thoughts about sports, politics, and popular culture and how they define America.

A place to celebrate good books and ponder the journeys they spark, both in the real world and in our heads.