At the height of the pandemic in 2021, I identified the Top 100 Issues that kept me awake at night. The list has been revised to reflect my post-pandemic state of neuroses and insecurity, in no particular order:

1. What will happen if Russian implodes after Putin realizes he can’t have Ukraine?
2. The health and well-being of my children and spouse
3. How to cope with the next pandemic’s vaudevillian tragedy
4. Everything, everywhere that makes Amber Ruffin sad
5. Gerrymandering
6. Keeping up with news of the latest genocide
7. Laws – as well as prosecutorial policies — that result in the disproportionate incarceration of young Black males
8. Will Taylor Swift ever forgive John Mayer, and if she does, what will happen to her career?
9. The attack on the right of Americans to cast their votes
10. Has the Supreme Court forfeited its integrity and become hapless villains?
11. The 2024 election – actually, every election
12. The impact of climate change on the world my children will inherit this summer
13. Are we going to ridicule the popular obsession with HBO’s “Succession” in five years?
14. Food insecurity in the DMV
15. My Adult daughters’ home improvement projects
16. The Chinese government erasing history in Hong Kong
17. Will anyone ever read the novel, essays, and short stories I wrote during the pandemic?
18. Turmoil as my spiritual community navigates transition
19. Hunter Biden’s laptop
20. What my upcoming colonoscopy will reveal
21. Violence, threats, and oppression that members of the LGBTQ+ community are forced to endure
22. Am I guilty of microaggressions against people not like me?
23. How did so many evangelical Christians come to believe that the Son of God is an AR-15 toting MAGA supporter?
24. Does my therapist think I’m a loser?
25. Why does the next door neighbor’s dog always bark viciously at me?
26. The 2020 election was not stolen, amirite?
27. The historical and current injustices being perpetrated upon indigenous people by the U.S. government
28. The widening income and wealth inequality gap
29. Will Twitter ever be fun again in a non-ironic fashion?
30. Will Medicare protect newbies like me?
31. Political instability in the countries I plan to visit
32. Lack of affordable, universal health care and pharmacy in the United States
33. The macroeconomic impact of student debt
34. Why some Americans view other Americans as the greatest threat to our country
35. Why can’t I choose a favorite Wes Anderson movie?
36. Poor treatment of asylum seekers and economic refugees and lack of sound policies to stem the need for people to leave their homes, friends, and families and undertake long and dangerous journeys to seek protection in a strange country
37. Jury selection in the trial of the white man/men/police officer accused of murdering [insert name of latest young Black male victim]
38. Will I or my loved ones be caught in the next mass shooting?
39. Threats to financial systems posed by unregulated hedge funds and private equity firms
40. The legacy of redlining, which has had devastating impacts on so many American cities
41. Why can’t they leave Harry and Meghan alone?
42. The cruel and enduring legacy of colonialism in places like Africa
43. The risk of starvation and widespread violence in countries not deemed strategically important to the west
44. Would Miss Manners conclude that correct spelling and proper grammar are anachronistic concepts?
45. White supremacy and white terrorism
46. Are the western states running out of potable water?
47. Will the debt ceiling imbroglio cause the stock market to crash and devastate my retirement savings?
48. The diplomatic do-si-do around the threat to the sovereignty of the people of Taiwan
49. The use of sportswashing to induce us to forget about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the deaths of unprotected workers who built the venues for the last World Cup
50. The unwillingness of English politicians to acknowledge that Brexit has devastated their country
51. Why is friendship so hard to maintain?
52. The war against women in the United States
53. The sad and sorry state of journalism in the United States
54. Why is Kevin McCarthy apparently the most powerful person in Washington?
55. The eroding natural barriers between people and wildlife
56. The 45^th President of the United States
57. When will January 6^th happen again here?
58. What will happen to the commercial real estate market if no one goes back to work in their offices?
59. Why is Rick DeSantis picking on Mickey Mouse?
60. Why do so many white people refuse to admit that they are frightened of Black people?
61. Do I need to build and maintain two permanent wardrobes to reflect weight loss and gain?
62. Why do people vote for politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Louis Gohmert, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorn, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Ron Johnson, Mitch McConnell, Devin Nunes, and Greg Abbott?
63. The crazy tango between interest rates and housing prices
64. How will the Writers Guild of America strike impact my future entertainments?
65. Sports gambling advertisements that attempt to convince suckers that they are winners
66. How can we better help people living with physical and mental challenges?
67. Will I be killed by a Tesla on autopilot?
68. Which state will be the first to legalize an IRL “Squid Game?”
69. When will I need to start taking the little blue pill?
70. Who else has my Social Security number?
71. When will Congress begin to recognize the rights of the citizens of the District of Columbia?
72. Can Americans elect a woman president already?
73. Is the family-owned farm – or anything — dead?
74. How can we better help homeless individuals and families?
75. Will I make it to my next birthday?
76. Can we have a calm, serious conversation about reparations?
77. Which secret ingredient in my food will ultimately kill me?
78. Will I ever have more people than bots following me on social media?
79. Why am I going to so many funerals?
80. Why won’t politicians and consumers acknowledge that fossil fuels are not the answer?
81. Why do we rush to embrace artificial intelligence while understanding the outcome will be Skynet?
82. What’s really going on with my knees?
83. Will one of the super-tall, ultra-thin residential skyscrapers in Manhattan designed for billionaires topple during a violent storm?
84. The prospect of any possible descendants talking trash about me
85. Will Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck make it this time?
86. How can I kill off the ampersand and preserve the Oxford comma?
87. Why is the Space Force still a thing?
88. The nearly unchecked power that police possess over citizens
89. What word will break my Wordle streak?
90. Should I care about the Vanderpump Rules?
91. That snake marauding through my hiking trail
92. The inaccurate use of the word “conservative” in political writing
93. Any kind of reunion with college classmates
94. Don’t people understand that the banks always get paid?
95. My fear that we may never again experience excellence in Super Bowl commercials
96. The unwillingness of NBA referees to call even obvious traveling violations
97. The widening gap between “smart states” and “dumb states” due to “wokeness”
98. The irrational fear about induction stoves
99. Why did Ali Wong really get divorced?
100. Can I ever tell my daughters what’s really on my mind without losing them?