by Shuja Haider

Shuja Haider is an editor at Popula and Viewpoint, who has also written for The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Republic, and The Believer.

Jan 1, 2018 1:44PM EST

The Editors @popula

The Ambien Diaries
The first thing I always notice, after the mild cottonmouth that serves as the universal announcement of a chemical taking effect on the body, is that I’m not alone.

How to Suck at Business Without Really Trying
I didn’t know the term then, but I had become a toiler on a content farm.

Song for My Father
Where words fail, there is music.

Canon Fodder
Where’s the country music on Pitchfork’s Best Albums of the 1980s?

A style of music played on the guitar that pretty much no one listens to except guitar players
So my agenda was to inspire myself to start playing again.

Ajooba, or That Emotion Which is Excited by Novelty
The Hindi film Ajooba is something like a cross between Robin Hood and Batman.

Somebody Had to Set a Bad Example
The return of the Pistol Annies calls attention to a troubling gender imbalance in the country music industry.

How I Invented a Cocktail
Eventually, someone threw up. It might have been me.

Sweet Leaf
Paan is a substance that occupies a space somewhere between a snack and a drug — a space left vacant in the West.

Eli Valley is Not Sorry
“When you’re in such a warped mindset, it’s natural you’re going to call a piece of Jewish art antisemitic.”

I Call it Just the Beginning
The DJ’s job is to ensure the music doesn’t stop, allowing listeners to get from Point A to Point B without having to stop dancing.

One Weird Trick to Get Red Wine Stains Out of Clothing That Doesn’t Actually Work
I spilled red wine on my pants. What happened next will shock you.

Life at the Village Vanguard
I knew what it sounded like to be in there before I ever had a chance to go there myself.

Good Mental Health
On Frasier, an argument over opera or wine can become as much a plot point as a farcical mistaken identity.

NYT Fact Check: David Brooks
You are in the business of forgetting, so in the end I have nothing much to offer you.

What Next

You’ve got yourself a chicken of the woods
- Catherine Nicholas
Published on Dec 13, 2018 2:00PM EST
The Strong, Silent Type
- Samer Kalaf
Published on Jun 10, 2020 8:00AM EDT
The Haircut
- Aditya Bahl
Published on Mar 26, 2019 11:00AM EDT
Communication for Chinese Undergrads
- Henry Zhang
Published on Feb 2, 2021 5:59PM EST
Loss For Words: A Meditation on the Ubiquity of Bizarre Corporate Language
- Lucy Schiller
Published on Jul 20, 2021 1:17PM EDT
Not Too Smart Cities
- Laura Bird
Published on Mar 10, 2019 12:00PM EDT
Election Day: Communist Poland
- Danuta Hinc
Published on Nov 6, 2018 2:00PM EST
The Celebration Gator
- Andru Okun
Published on Jan 3, 2022 10:00AM EST
Azadi’s Gates
- Pedestrian
Published on Jul 17, 2018 11:00AM EDT
Filet-O-Fish: It’s Halal That
- Abdullah Shihipar
Published on Oct 31, 2018 1:00PM EDT

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