• Alt Lit is an online writing community that uses videos, social media, and images as its medium. The output is odd, fascinating, and challenging. Kenneth Goldsmith digs into the phenomenon for The New Yorker, making comparisons to Walt Whitman, the Beats, and even William Blake. (newyorker.com)

• The quietest place on Earth is in Minnesota, and you can’t even handle it. (slate.com)

• For this week’s AV Club Q&A, the staff revealed their cultural dealbreakers. While some were specific — Ayn Rand, Phish, The Following — most of the staff took a broader view citing willful cultural ignorance, not reading, and intellectual un-curiousity as grounds for immediate dismissal. It’s an fun an surprisingly interesting glimpse into how taste is shaped evolves with age. (avclub.com)

• VIDEO: Last night on This Week Tonight John Oliver and Bill Nye held a mathematically representative climate change debate. They won.