Today’s Big Story

The Downside to Sobriety

Skipping after-work drinks might be better for our bodies, but there are unintended consequences

Are you drinking as much lately? Personally, I’ve swapped a lot of the booze I would’ve drank for healthier N/A options, but still occasionally partake. But the percentage of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol has fallen to 54%, the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend. This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time.

Many are experimenting with Sober October and others will give up drinking for Dry January. There isn’t one clear reason for alcohol’s decline among younger generations, but experts point to a variety of factors. Alcohol’s social reputation has also changed, of course. And it could be considered as toxic as smoking. From a health perspective, change might signal something positive—alcohol, after all, is bad for your body no matter how you look at it.

But GQ wonders what we’re losing by passing on drinks. Writer P.E. Moskowitz asks, “skipping after-work drinks might be better for our bodies, but what happens to our social lives when alcohol is no longer part of the equation?” He spoke with a researcher who said people might be less likely to get drunk if they’re aware anything they do could be recorded and posted online. And it echoes what I hear from my sober and sober-curious friends: that drinking simply doesn’t fit into a more fractured social landscape, one in which people are socializing more through the internet and less through physical spaces.

In that way, researchers say, the decrease in alcohol consumption might be a sign of a more worrying trend—the massive increase in American loneliness: Young people, and especially young men, are increasingly socializing mostly through the internet, or not at all. Stats bear this out: American adults are spending 30% less time face-to-face than they did only 20 years ago, according to an analysis of the American Time Use Survey. For teens, the shift has been even more dramatic—they’re spending nearly 50% less time with their friends than they were two decades ago.

This essay, by a now sober gentleman who misses the reckless fun of a boozy night, is a great summation of the complicated relationship so many of us have with alcohol. I’ll drink to that … but maybe it’ll be a 0% phony Negroni.

It’s Halloween

What’s the story behind the holiday?

Are you ready for tonight? Maybe you’ve got plans and a costume ready … or perhaps you’ve just bought plenty of candy for trick-or-treaters. I usually splurge for the good stuff (Reese’s peanut butter cups and Kit-Kats) and when they don’t show at my apartment, I eat the entire stash in about 48 hours. But speaking of the spookiest of holidays, what do you know about Halloween’s origin?

Carving pumpkins, walking home with bags weighted down with sugary treats, and wearing silly costumes are cherished traditions, but according to the History Channel, Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth so people darkened their faces with ashes to ward off unwanted ghostly guests and remain safe from unfriendly attention.

Fast forward to the 8th century and the introduction of All Saints’ Day (November 1). This was to be a celebration of Christian martyrs and saints and November 2 became All Souls Day, a day to remember the souls of the dead. As the church sought to replace the pagan festival with a church-sanctioned holiday, the day before All Saints’ Day—now renamed All Hallows’ Day—became All Hallows’ Eve. Eventually that celebration became known as Halloween. The tradition of going door-to-door for “soul cakes” to pray for the departed started to emerge, which was a precursor to our modern trick-or-treating.

The Government Shutdown Drags On

Trump calls for Senate Republicans to scrap the filibuster rule and end the stalemate

The Senate adjourned on Thursday and won't meet again until Monday, extending the government shutdown until at least its 34th day, which would match the longest funding lapse in U.S. history. Senators continued to express cautious optimism about bipartisan talks over reopening the government and passing longer-term appropriations bills, but Thursday saw no apparent breakthroughs, and the upper chamber did not vote on the House-passed continuing resolution.

Food stamp benefits could halt for millions of Americans this weekend and federal workers across the country are going unpaid and finding it increasingly hard to make ends meet. President Donald Trump seems to be only mildly concerned. He called on Thursday for the removal of the Senate’s filibuster rule, to bypass a Democratic roadblock. The filibuster is the Senate rule for agreement by 60 of its 100 members to pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 219-213 majority in the House of Representatives. “It is now time for the Republicans to play their “TRUMP CARD,” and go for what is called the Nuclear Option,” Trump wrote on social media.

Politico adds that Trump is ruling out another Oval Office meeting with Democrats—at least, for now. One month into the shutdown, White House officials view a bipartisan meeting with the president as a rescue mission they’re unwilling to take on until after Democrats vote to fund the government. But for everyday Americans, it’s about to get worse.

A Weekend Pairing

‘The Witcher’ + a Black Manhattan Cocktail

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Be the good.