Riley Paul wants you to know that birds have rights, too!

Who or what that you follow on social media is your favorite guilty pleasure?

A few years ago, my friend turned me on to birdsrightsactivist (@ProBirdRights) on Twitter. I don’t know that I feel guilty about it—birds have rights too, after all—but I absolutely take pleasure in knowing that “birds decide to go from being big dinosaucers to small puff […] to. fit. inside. doritos. bag.”

Favorite news story of the year? 

Any news about giant squids is my favorite news. Just last week, we caught a fresh glimpse of some juvenile tentacles! While I’m really just waiting for first contact with aliens, stories from the deep are a great appetizer. Mysteries, discovery, and new life are out there, and I think our common curiosity about them is an essential part of what makes us human. It gives us purpose in answering an unanswered question, connecting over a shared sense of wonder, and reminding us that we are just a small part of a very big and little understood world.

Internet : pro or con?

Whether you’re an internet pro or an internet con all depends on how you use it. More often than not, I fall on the side of internet pro. An internet pro follows the “rules of the road” when surfing. I spot bad links, set up spam filters, and dodge trolls in the comments section like it’s my full-time job. For me, the internet is a safe and comfortable place. A good internet con, however, knows when to take a risk—how to find the best porn, stream that new Avengers movie for free, or start a provocative conversation on Twitter. As a lifelong teacher’s pet, I could probably use some tutoring on the delinquent ways of the web. The internet has given us some new and marvelous ways of breaking our own rules, saying things that “shouldn’t” be said, and doing things that “shouldn’t” be done. We’ve seen it again and again with the launch of the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, or the #MeToo movement. Not all of the risks we can take on the internet are good ones, but there’s something worthwhile to be said about this platform that let’s us be a little bad.

Describe your perfect tech free Sunday?

Tech is honestly my favorite part of a free Sunday. The television… it’s a magical place—it’s like a whole other world in there! Tech free Sunday? Free tech Sunday, please!

Flossing, Dabbing, Shiggy, or Shoot?

I’m a fair flosser, not a great one, but I love to do it because it’s not that easy. It’s a real challenge for me to fit a 6/8 dance movement onto a 4/4 beat at velocity. Not giving up.

Catch Riley in Where We Go One, We Go All on Monday July 29th! Email cherrypickingnyc@gmail.com to be placed on the waitlist.