Picking Up by Robin Nagle

Why did I request Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City by Robin Nagle from the university library? If you did not chant "because the author was on You're the Expert" you have not been paying attention. 

If you get me talking late at night, I'll start talking about how worried I am about infrastructure. The electrical grid, water treatment plants, and the safety of nuclear warheads. I will discuss the food chain, the issues of local agriculture, and how many chickens have had to die in my county in recent years due to bird flu (2025 and 2026). I will rant about roads and bridges and sewage pipes. 

So when I picked up this book about Nagle, who really wanted to understand how sanitation works in New York City, my husband did nothing but sigh at me. Just like for a bit of time all I wanted to talk about was pigeons, he knew that all I'd want to talk about was trash. 

First up, I'm going to say something controversial. New York is gross for lots of reasons, many of which are enumerated in this book. It is impossible for the sanitation workers to keep up with trash in a city that size and the whole place smells disgusting. I have never had a good time in NYC and I refuse to apologize for this opinion. But imagine a time WHEN IT WAS WORSE. 

Back in the Tammany Hall days, NYC was ripe with corruption and the folks responsible for dealing with trash usually just took the money and did nothing. Until the hero of our story, Street Cleaning Commissioner George Waring, came along. Waring cleaned house and suddenly the streets were infinitely cleaner than they had been. These are photos that show the same places in 1893 and 1895. What a difference Waring made.  

Source

Anyway, New York was rife with vermin and disease and street cleaning and trash removal is super important. 

Nagel embedded herself in the world of sanitation workers by obtaining a job with the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). I have mentioned how much I love an ethnography and this is absolutely no different. She is puzzled over why sanitation workers are invisible in the city when she sees what they do as the most important thing in public health and safety. She introduces us to sanitation workers, rules and regulations, and the city's four hundred year-old struggle with trash removal. What an absolute treat (if you're an absolute nerd). 5/5 stars

Lines of note:

The garbage here and in every other dump in the world over reflects lives lived well, or in desperation, or too fast, or in pain, or in joy. Even without the status of worth or a claim of possession, each bag stuffed with trash, each wad of spent tissue, every shred of shrink-wrap, every moldy vegetable and maggot-covered turkey leg, hints of countless stories. Archeologists of contemporary household wasted have demonstrated this; indeed, insights that the field has given us about our own past often rest on analysis of nothing more than the garbage of civilizations long dead. (page 7)

There's another You're the Expert episode about an archeologist who gets really excited when finding dumps and privies. I feel like all of my interests are determined by YTE at this moment in my life. 

Effective garbage collection and street cleaning are primary necessities if urban dwellers are to be safe from the pernicious effects of their own detritus. When garbage lingers too long on the streets, vermin thrive, disease spreads, and city life becomes dangerous in ways not common in the developed world for more than a century. It is thus an especially puzzling irony that the first line in defense in any city's ability to ensure the basic health and well-being of its citizens is so persistently unseen...(page 17)

I can't even imagine modern life without trash pickup every week.

An alarming number of people seem to become cretins when they slip behind the wheel of a car. (page 20)

Dr. BB and I had been discussing how there is no one more entitled than an American behind the wheel of a car just before I read this. We're the same way, too. As soon as we start driving, we're dicks. Why is that? 

No city can thrive without a workable solid waste management plan. If sanitation workers aren't out there, the city becomes unlivable, fast. (page 24)

I mean, NYC is unlivable anyway, right?

Being a sanitation worker is more dangerous that being a police officer or firefighter. (page 57)

The BLS calculates that as of 2011..."refuse and recyclable materials collectors" hold down the nation's fourth-most-dangerous job, after fishermen, loggers, and aircraft pilots. (page 58)

Just FYI for the people who so admire police and fire.

Things I looked up:

peristaltic (page 5) - refers to peristalsis, an involuntary, wave-like muscle contraction that moves contents forward through a tube. This biological mechanism is most commonly associated with the digestive tract, but the term also describes specialized industrial pumps that mimic this exact squeezing motion

Blue-Collar Journal by John Coleman (page 17) - Blue-Collar Journal: A College President's Sabbatical is a 1974 book by John Royston Coleman, then president of Haverford College, detailing his experience working undercover in blue-collar jobs like a garbageman, sandwich maker, and construction worker during a sabbatical to bridge the gap between academia and the working class. (It goes without saying that I want to read this book, right?) 

Stuff by Frost and Steketee (page 239 - Chapter 1, FN 19) - Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee is an academic look at hoarding through a psychological lens. Hm. Maybe this would be good for me to read? Maybe not? 

Sorting Things Out by Bowker and Star (page 251 - Chapter 16, FN 3) - Sorting Things Out: Classification and Its Consequences by Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star is about classification. That could be boring. Or interesting. Who knows?

Vogons (page 138) - The Vogons are an alien race from the planet Vogsphere who are employed as the galactic government's bureaucrats in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

"Blizzard of 1888" (chapter 18) - That link has it all. Great resources.

Hat mentions (why hats?):

In the summer especially, flesh shines as sweat trickles down necks, squeezes from inside elbows, drips from brows, chins, and earlobes, darkens T-shirts, soaks bandannas and hat crowns. (page 53)

The adjacent picture shows a white man in hat, gloves, and boots (no apron) with a wide washtub, also heavy with debris, balanced on his head. The text does not say whether he's wearing padding under the hat...(page 55)

Suddenly san men who'd had long hair since they'd been hired years before were told to cut it, make it disappear under a hat, or take a rocket. (page 133)

It's not as if New Yorkers are going to run out of their homes and stop you from picking up their garbage because your hat's on crooked. (page 133)

Red-jumpsuit-clad Times Square Business Improvement District workers give away hats, boas, pom-poms, balloons, eyeglasses...(page 146)

...standing in the back of our little group, my hat pulled low, I considered the foreman's youth and suppressed a smile. (page 197)

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What's your take on reading books about niche communities or industries? Would you like to read this book? Do you think I'm wrong about New York City?

The Chew, Part II

This is a continuation of a mini-series I'm doing about food during June because I don't know what else to talk about right now.

Part I

Have you ever eaten alone? Why or why not?

What a weird question (obviously I got this list of questions on line somewhere, but I can't remember where). Of course I have. I lived alone for many years. I eat breakfast alone most mornings because my husband and I have different morning schedules. I generally eat my lunch alone in my office. If I treat myself to going out to lunch on a workday, I generally eat alone. Is this a trick question?

What’s your earliest memory of homecooked meals?

My parents fighting over what to make for dinner and it would always end up being scrambled eggs and toast. Surely this is universal?

How has your diet changed/not changed over time and why?

When I was young, there was a lot of food insecurity and I never knew if we were going to have food or not. When I got to to college on a scholarship that paid for room and board, I've never had so much bounty. I just ate everything. And I do sometimes call myself a garbage disposal because I will basically eat anything if you put it on my plate. 

And then I met my husband. Because of his dietary restrictions, I now eat a lot less junk and am much more thoughtful about my food choices. The whole way I eat has changed and that's definitely for the better. 

What do your food choices say about your values? 

I think we are limited in the United States about having ethical food choices. I have gnashed my teeth about this a lot. Sure, I eat mostly pescatarian, but I still buy food that has been shipped across seas and countries. Sure, I try to do a lot of shopping at Costco where I think employees are treated well, but who knows about the suppliers to Costco? Maya once said that she resents having to make these decisions herself and that government should regulate more of this and I agree. 

Anyway, I'd love to make more ethical choices about food, but I'm really focused on making sure my husband gets enough food to eat to survive and sometimes that means I don't really do the research on companies I'm buying from. 

If you were to die tomorrow, what would your last meal be?

I guess it would be Indian butter chickpeas because that's what we're having for dinner tonight. 

Are table manners outdated or essential still? 

Good manners are never outdated!

What food would encourage conversations? 

All food encourages conversations, right? I took a qualitative methods class in grad school and we had to do an interview with our classmates. I always asked about food because it would get people talking about food traditions in their families, favorite foods, and what a traditional get together looks like (is it potluck? formal sit-down dinner?). Food is universal. 

In your culture, what do you eat when you’re sick? 

Saltine crackers and 7Up. Sometimes chicken noodle soup or broth. 

How does your culture celebrate birthdays? 

Cake and ice cream! 

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What food do you eat when you're sick? Do you do cake and ice cream for birthdays?

Day In the Life, 6/21/2026

What does a Sunday look like in my world?

7:30am - Wake up without an alarm. Dr. BB has been up for a bit and he was reading his Kindle, so we rolled out of bed, pulled up the covers to "make it" and started our morning.

I went downstairs where I brushed Zelda and then weighed her. She's 10.64 pounds, which is the most she has weighed since her radiation treatment. It has been kind of difficult to get her to eat her dinner recently, but I'm not going to worry about it much if her weight is staying stable.

Then I walked Hannah. We were out for about 45 minutes. I listened to an episode of "Did Furbys Spy on Us?" while we meandered along the riverwalk. 

8:30am - We're back. I feed Hannah and get myself breakfast. By 9, I'm sitting down at my laptop to work on blog posts for the week for an hour. 

10:00am - I tear myself away from the computer to go brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed (in workout clothes). I collect and start laundry, iron two items of clothing that I want to wear this week, and wander downstairs. There I ask Dr. BB to assist me with cutting Hannah's nails, and then vacuum/sweep the main level. Then I fill the bird feeders outside. 

11:40am - The part of the day I have been dreading has arrived. I need to give Hannah a bath. She hates it so much. After much running away from me (and some choice words under my breath about dog ownership), she is finally washed. I walk her around the neighborhood in a futile attempt to get her to be a bit more dry before I let her go in the house.

12:15pm - Back inside. I eat lunch. We swap out the laundry. I stare into space for a few minutes wondering how to make my dog hate baths less. I search the house to find the cat because at least I know people on the street won't be reporting me for abuse of the cat. 

1:20pm - I sit back at my computer to work on my blog some more until the last load of laundry is dried.

2:00pm - The dryer buzzed. I head off to fold the last load of clothes.

2:20pm - Start my workout. I do a 30 minute total body (which means more like 45 minutes for me with additional rest and changing weights) and 25 minute yin yoga.

3:40pm- Workout is over. I message my accountability and head downstairs for the best part of the day. It's time to "read" on the couch, which actually means take a nap with Zelda. 

5:35pm - Feeding the girls and training Hannah. It sounds like this should be easy, but Hannah needs her gross medication mixed with pumpkin and Zelda takes ages to eat two tablespoons of food, so this ended up being A Thing.

6:00-7:30pm - Make and eat dinner. After dinner, I make some pistachio date balls as an after work snack for the week. They don't look appetizing here, but I promise they're delicious. 

7:40pm - Shower.

8:05pm - We start the second episode of Silo on AppleTV. 

9:06pm - Hannah and I go around the block before bed. Drippy, dreary night. Hannah is displeased to be outside. 

9:18pm - I take my evening medications and brush my teeth.

9:40pm - Finish the last of this post. After this I'll do my line-a-day and goal journals for the day and then do a final check of the kitchen before heading to bed. Fingers crossed lights out by 10:15.

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Did you have a chore heavy Sunday or was it more fun heavy? What book are you currently reading?

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

Sarah talked about Into the Blue by Emma Brodie on Sarah's Bookshelves. It has been weeks since I'd read a romance novel and I just needed something.

 AJ lives in a small Massachusetts town, writing fan fiction based off an improv comedy show that starred a reclusive actress who lives in her town where she's working at a video rental store. She dreams of leaving Massachusetts to be a writer. One day her peaceful work life is shattered when Noah Drew of the HOLLYWOOD DREWS walks in and starts working next to her. They have an immediate bond, but one day Noah disappears. When they meet up again as adults, what is going to happen with these two? 

Interesting characters: AJ is interesting. Noah is a dick who won't communicate. I cannot with Noah. Also, I cannot with "woe is me, being famous is so hard."  

But you know what's really not interesting to me? The whole idea that you will just immediately feel a connection. The whole instalove thing? The whole fated to be together thing? It's not interesting. Good relationships are built on way more than how good someone smells. (Although, to be scrupulously honest with you, my husband smells sooooo good. But it was not instalove for us.) I just don't want people out there who haven't fallen in love to think that if it doesn't happen the second you make eye contact, there's no chance. There is a chance! GIVE IT A CHANCE. 

Believable conflict: Yes, there would be conflict if one of the people in the relationship keeps running away whenever tough conversations have to happen. Sometimes you have to get through tough shit to get to the good shit, but HOW WOULD HE EVER KNOW THAT?

Emotional tension: Sure, sure. There's a lot (too much?) of will they or won't they in this book.

Happily ever after: Hm. That's an interesting question and I think it would definitely depend on your definition of happy. I'll say that I would probably categorize this under literary fiction rather than romance if I had to shelve it at the non-existent NGS bookstore. 

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There were a number of tropes here I didn't love, but I did read it all, so that's something, right? 3.5/5 stars

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(Note about page numbers. I accidentally ordered the large print edition of this book from the library. I used to feel terrible when I did that because I was taking it away from someone who really needs it, but let me tell you - the large print is AMAZING. I am officially old. Anyway, I'm going to give chapter numbers instead of page numbers.)

Line of note: 

Most people did not have hidden depths; they had hidden shallows. (Todd's Coverage, Episode 5)

This is so cynical, but I laughed anyway. 

Hat mention (why hats?):

...producing a crochet needle and a hat he was making for baby Claire. (New York, New York January 9, 2012)

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Do you feel guilty if you accidentally order the large print? What does happily ever after mean to you in a romance novel? 

Podcast Roundup June 2026

Do you remember when I used to do podcast roundups every month? That has clearly gone the way of the wooly mammoth because the last one I did was in January! I mentioned a few podcasts last week, but I still have more to talk about. 

Here's what's good in my feed.

"Costco" from Acquired - In April, Kyria mentioned that she liked this episode. Now, I was hesitant because the last thing I want to listen to is dude bros talk about capitalism as if it is the best thing on earth. I have a deep dislike for all things business school and my eyes glaze over when people start talking about "growth" in "spaces." All of that being said, we have a couple of dude bros talking business concepts. Did I have no idea what they were talking about about 7% of the time? Absolutely. Do I love how much they love Costco, though? Yes, absolutely. Acquired is not going to make it into my regular rotation, but I did enjoy this episode and I learned a lot about Costco that makes me appreciate it more than I ever did before. 

The Walkers: The Real Salt Path - The Salt Path by Raynor Winn was a huge bestseller. It told the story of an indigent couple who take to hiking when the husband becomes diagnosed with a terrible degenerative illness, but they overcome. It's a heartwarming tale of love, grit, and grief. It's also a complete lie. This podcast investigates the Winns and with every episode, you fall deeper and deeper into this literary controversy.

Adrift - Raise your hand if you know that I like a good tale at sea. Raise your hand if you're sick of hearing about Moby-Dick, In the Heart of the Sea, and The Wager. You've come to the wrong place if you don't want to hear about dangerous seafaring. Adrift is an eight-part pod about a family that gets shipwrecked in the Pacific after they sell everything they own (and give away their dogs) to sail around the world. WHY DIDN'T THEY BRING THEIR DOGS WITH THEM? I digress. 

This story is riveting. The storytelling isn't always my jam - the recreations, the sound effects are a bit cheesy - but the story is fascinating. I tell you what. I'm glad I wasn't with them. 

Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions - This is the story of Australia's largest Ponzi scheme. It's also a bit of a mystery as to where the woman who was behind it all ended up. I think what was most affecting about this podcast was the interviews with people who lost all their money. They didn't get a lot of sympathy for losing their life savings because many people just saw them as rich people with money to burn, but some of the people are literally destitute now. Solid reporting.

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Have you listened to a standout episode or series recently?

Alex & Me by Irene M. Pepperberg

Would it surprise anyone reading this to know that Irene Pepperberg, the author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, was on You're the Expert would it? I was very interested in her work, so I grabbed her autobiography from the library.

Irene Pepperberg received a doctorate in chemistry before she decided she was really interested in animal intelligence and communication after seeing a documentary on television. She started doing research with an African Grey parrot named Alex.

Okay. Where do I start? 

First, the organization was...not great. It starts with a chapter about how Alex died and how The New York Times posted his obituary. It was all about how sad Pepperberg was. And you know what? I get it. I don't even want to think about what my reaction is going to be when my girls die (*if* they die - heaven knows Zelda might be immortal). BUT. WHY START THERE? The whole book was just a downer. Instead of starting with a funny bit about Alex bossing around the other parrots in the lab or something, she just starts with "I'm going to tell you about a dead parrot" and the whole book was framed around that.

Also? She's sort of mad that no one would take her seriously at first because she has a PhD in chemistry instead of biology? I mean, can you blame them? Then she gets a job in a biology department and doesn't think she's qualified to teach the introductory classes and gets mad at the department because they don't support her. CAN YOU BLAME THEM? (I think I would probably not be friends with Pepperberg.)

But. It's also a great story about perseverance. When she's bouncing around from fellowship to adjunctship to visiting professorship to whatever, she's applying for grants, she's fundraising, she's doing all the things. I think this would be a great book to give a student who is studying animal biology and wants to do research-oriented work. There are a lot of lessons about how academia sucks balls in there. 

It's also a story about a parrot who learns a lot and teaches the humans around him a lot. If you don't think I'm here for a story about a stubborn animal who *can* do things, but sometimes refuses to, let me reintroduce you to my own personal stubborn menace. 

"Hannah, look at me!" "No."

I have very mixed feelings on this book, but I was generally invested and kept wanting to read more to find out what impish things Alex was going to do next. 4/5 stars

What I looked up:
Pei's Toilet - MIT's Media Lab is housed at 20 Ames St. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Designed by the famous architect I.M. Pei, it is colloquially known as Pei's Toilet to the locals.

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Are you a bird person? What's your preference of animal friends? I'm not sure what my preference is, but I think birds are pretty far down on the list. 

The Chew, Part I

I'm going to do a mini-series about food this month because work is dumb right now and I'm exhausted and out of things to blog about. Surely everyone likes to chat about food. I'll do one food post a week for the next few weeks. 

What’ll you be having for breakfast/lunch/dinner today?

Breakfast: Greek yogurt with homemade granola, grapes, tea

Lunch: A "salad" made of tomatoes, mini peppers, cucumbers, and carrots; tuna; guacamole; pretzels; a LaCroix

Dinner: Indian Butter Chickpeas with rice

Do you usually cook at home, eat out, or get food delivery? Or a mix of all three? 

We cook at home the vast majority of the time. I think I have had lunch/dinner out maybe half a dozen times this year? Because of my husband's food restrictions, eating out just doesn't make sense for us. 

What was your favorite food as a kid?

Ice cream! I mean, if I'm completely honest, it still is.

Do you share your food with others? Why or why not?

No. Get your own.

Do you like to cook? Why or why not?

It's fine. I can listen to a podcast while I cook, so it's not so bad.

Have you ever had an accident while cooking or baking?

I have burned myself a number of times and have cut myself with knives more times than I can count. But I've never set the house on fire or anything like that.

Which foods are you allergic to?

KNOCK ON WOOD I am not allergic to any food. There cannot be another person in the house with food weirdnesses. 

Do you have a gluten, lactose, or other intolerance?

No, but my husband does and it makes a big difference in what I can and cannot eat at home. 

What food reminds you of family? 

Are you familiar with green bean casserole? Canned green beans (shudder), cream of mushroom soup (double shudder), and crispy fried onions. If you're not familiar with it, let me assure that it is as revolting as it sounds and it was served at every family holiday I ever went to with my family of origin.

But I could pound some mandarin orange Jell-O salad, so I'm not judging your family's favorite disgusting side dish. 

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What was your favorite food as a child?