Week of Nov. 20, 2025

From the editor’s desk

I do not love sounding like a broken record. Truly, I almost nixed the idea of discussing how President Trump further disparaged news reporters and their organizations this week. He’s been doing it for years, so in one way, it feels like old news. And honestly, there are days when I feel just plain overloaded with his relentless, everyday callousness and the fast-track to authoritarianism; I would really prefer to discuss my three favorite Thanksgiving desserts. 

But first, let’s keep the Trump/journalists issue on our radar for a few minutes. I’m pretty sure that if Trump were to learn that I was so oversaturated with his administration’s increasing onslaught against journalists that I decided to ignore it for a day, he’d be delighted at the notion of having silenced one more journalist. Maybe he’d even bust a victorious dance move.

Last Friday, Trump shushed Catherine Lucey from Bloomberg News and called her “Piggy”—behavior that no self-respecting preschool teacher would have allowed. Today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the comment as “frank” and “honest” and told reporters they should appreciate it.

This is not mere brattiness. It’s part of an ongoing ploy to further dismantle the public’s trust in the media.

When, on Tuesday, Trump dodged a question during a White House meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he revealed a shocking—even for him—level of callousness. Bin Salman is the very same Saudi prince who the CIA determined likely ordered the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist based in the U.S. working for The Washington Post who criticized the Saudi government.

ABC reporter Mary Bruce said to bin Salman: “Your Royal Highness, the U.S. intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal of murder of a journalist. 9/11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office.”

Trump disparaged ABC, dodged the comment, and eventually said, of Khashoggi:

A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him, or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.

Let that sink in. Trump is showing his cards, in full view. If an authoritarian government does not like what a journalist is saying, the important thing is not that we acknowledge the overreach of power. It’s not that we mourn the journalist. It’s that we don’t insult the government that appears to have ordered his murder.

The reason Trump keeps attempting to silence the news is because it is so much easier for rampant power to go unchecked when people don’t know about it.

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Now. about those Thanksgiving pies. I really do think we need to carve out some time to do whatever it is that lowers our anxiety. For me, throwing down at a Thanksgiving potluck is that stress reliever. If that sounds like fun to you, too, I’ve spent every year since I was about 10 testing and comparing recipes, and here are the three holiday desserts that have stayed in my repertoire the longest. 

3. Kabocha Squash Pie from The New York Times—I enjoy a classic pumpkin pie as much as the next person, but for potlucks, I go with something less usual. In this pie, tradition flirts with novelty. It has the requisite pumpkin spices, and also cream cheese and ginger butterscotch sauce. Plus, IMO, kabocha tastes better than pumpkin.

2. Bittersweet Chocolate-Truffle Tart With Candied Oranges from Food + Wine—My personal theory of desserts is that they should be chocolatey and exorbitantly rich, like a truffle, and that you really only need a bite or two—but that at holiday time, you need a whole slice. If you try this one, make extra candied orange slices, especially if other people live in your house. My family members, at least, cannot keep their hands off freshly made candied orange slices. 

1. French Apple Tart from America’s Test Kitchen—It might not sound quite right that a dessert based only on apple slices, apple puree, apricot preserves and butter would yield an elegant texture and bolder-than-they-sound flavors. But with this one, people agree to sample it just because the flower-petal-shaped arrangement of thin-sliced apples standing on end looks so cute—and it ends up knocking people’s socks off. (This one’s behind a paywall, but ATK offers a free, 14-day trial.)

I wish you a warm and happy holiday ramp-up.

Take care,

—Kris Vagner, managing editor