some stories cannot be told in "smaller chunks". Explain the plight of Palestinians in a 2 minute read. Moby Dick in smaller chunks? Social media has made a sea change, forcing us to write in tiny little bits. Everything needs to be an elevator pitch. And this has a real, chilling effect on ever telling stories which need to be told.

Of course the algorithms used by social media behemoths, and even Medium, penalize us mightily if we don't post small chunks; algorithms want us to publish uncontroversial pablum, and we'd better do it every single day.

This is how the Trump's and Orban's and Bolsonaro's and Duterte's and Hitler's get voted in to power. This is not our grandparents' or parents' world, it is a frightening new world.