Article Club

Welcome, new subscribers, and welcome back, loyal readers! I’m happy you’re here. Today’s issue is dedicated to an interview with Dashka Slater , the author of “ The Instagram Account that Shattered a California High School ,” October’s article of the month. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in August, the piece explores a racist social media account created at a Bay Area high sc...

Welcome, new subscribers, and welcome back, loyal readers! I’m happy you’re here. Today’s issue is dedicated to an interview with Daniel Duane , the author of “ A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots, and My Mother's Berkeley Backyard ,” September’s article of the month. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in May, the piece explores the housing crisis in the Bay Area and the fears that e...

Welcome, new subscribers, and welcome back, loyal readers! I’m happy you’re here. Today’s issue is dedicated to an interview with Matthew Desmond , the author of “ Why Poverty Persists in America ,” August’s article of the month. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in April, the piece is an excerpt from Prof. Desmond’s bestselling book, Poverty, by America . If you haven’t read it...

Dear VIPs, Thank you for being paid subscribers and for supporting me and Article Club. This weekend, I have for you an audio letter, where I share some of my thoughts on deeper reading — and whether it’s possible to read deeply with so many online distractions swirling around, competing for our attention. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while, but Meta’s launch of Threads really got me...

Dear Loyal Readers, Thank you for being here! I have three things for you this week, so let’s get right to it. 1️⃣ Article Club This month we’ve been focusing on “ How Much Would You Pay to Save Your Cat’s Life? ” by Sarah Zhang . Originally published in The Atlantic last December, it’s a piece I highly urge that you read. Here’s why: * It explores the rising trend of cat kidney transplants (expen...

Dear Loyal Readers, Thank you for being here! I have four things for you this week, so let’s get right to it. 1️⃣ Article Club This month we’ve been focusing on “ Why is Affirmative Action in Peril? ” by Emily Bazelon . It’s a piece I highly recommend that you read. Here’s why: * The Supreme Court will likely strike down affirmative action next month * This article expertly explains why * Ms. Baze...

Happy Thursday and happy almost-May, loyal readers. I’m very happy to announce that this upcoming month, we’ll be reading and discussing “ Why Is Affirmative Action In Peril? ” by Emily Bazelon . You may know that the Supreme Court will be ruling on two affirmative action cases in June. It’s a big deal, given the current composition of the Court. Unless one of the conservative justices changes the...

Dear Loyal Readers, I’m coming to you on a Monday with a bonus episode of the podcast. This is because many of you said “we want more!” after listening to a conversation I had with fellow Article Clubber Melinda last month. So I asked Melinda, “Want to do it again?” And she generously said yes! ⭐️ Melinda’s an activist, lawyer, and cat mom living in Washington, D.C. A lover of many genres, from m...

This month at Article Club, we’ve been focusing on “ The Sunset ,” by Lisa Bubert . If you haven’t read the article yet, I highly encourage you to do so. In the essay, Ms. Bubert discusses her experience working in a nursing home when she was a college student. It’s poignant and outstanding. Also : I hope you’ll join us to discuss the article on Sunday, April 30, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom. There’s...

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. Great to see so many new subscribers here this week. Welcome to our kind and thoughtful reading community. Hope you like it here. This month at Article Club, we’ve been focusing on “ Saying Goodbye to my Chest ,” by Naomi Gordon-Loebl . If you haven’t read the article yet, I encourage you to do so. In the essay, Gordon-Loebl poignantly and vulnerably discusses her up...

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. This month at Article Club, we’ve been focusing on “ The Spectacular Life of Octavia Butler ,” by the talented writer E. Alex Jung . If you haven’t read the article yet, I urge you to do so. It’s excellent. Even if you are a newbie to Ms. Butler’s work, you’ll appreciate how Mr. Jung honors her and her impact. There aren’t many great profiles out there about Ms. Butl...

Happy Thursday, loyal readers. This month at Article Club, we’ve been focusing on “ An American Education ,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow . If you haven’t read the article yet, I highly encourage you to do so. It’s outstanding. It’s about how the superintendent of a school district in Bullhead City, Arizona, tries to deal with its severe teacher shortage by attracting top-notch...

I never forget how lucky I am to be doing Article Club. Not only have I met so many of you, and built a thoughtful reading community together, but I’ve also had the opportunity to interview the most talented authors out there. Like, the most talented authors out there. This month is no exception. Some of you might say, It’s the pinnacle, actually. That’s because Mitchell S. Jackson — the Pulitzer...

This month at Article Club , we’ve been diving into “ A Kingdom From Dust ,” by Mark Arax — a big, bold, outstanding piece about the magic and plunder of California. I’ve been hearing from many of you about how much you are appreciating the article. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to do so. And if you find the piece moving, I urge you to sign up for our online discussion on Sept...

This month , we’re gathering online on Aug. 28, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, to talk about “ Revolt of the Delivery Workers ,” by Josh Dzieza . I got a chance to interview Mr. Dzieza a couple weeks ago, and he thoughtfully shared how he reported the story and how the 65,000 delivery workers have fought for better wages, working conditions, safety measures, on tighter regulations of delivery apps. I hope you...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ The Roe Baby ,” by  Joshua Prager . I’m pleased that so many of you have signed up to discuss the article on Sunday, June 26. I am looking forward to it! A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Prager. It was an honor. Thanks to his generosity and thoughtfulness, it was a great conversation. We spok...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ On White Violence, Black Survival, and Learning to Shoot ,” by  Kim McLarin . It’s powerful and beautifully written. I’m pleased that so many of you have signed up to discuss the article next Sunday, March 27. I am looking forward to it! A few weeks ago, Sarai and I had the opportunity to interview Prof. McLarin. I...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ When Things Go Missing ,” by  Kathryn Schulz . It’s one of my favorite pieces of the past five years. I’m pleased that so many of you have signed up to discuss the article on February 27. I am looking forward to it! A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to interview Ms. Schulz. It was an honor. Thanks to her gener...

This month at Article Club, we’re reading “ When Things Go Missing ,” by Kathryn Schulz . Big thanks to Carina, Jamie, Kira, Lauri, Toronzo, Shreya, Angela, Corinne, Peter, and Sara for already signing up for our February 27 discussion. If you’re interested (especially if this will be your first discussion!), there’s still time to sign up (until Saturday, February 12).  Here’s more information abo...

Hi Article Clubbers! Welcome to February. Before revealing this month’s article, I would like to express my gratitude to Sara, Abde, Jennifer, Bonnie, Elise, Marcus, Summer, Toronzo, and Peter for our discussion last Sunday of “Good Mother.” Special thanks go to Sara — for joining Article Club for the very first time! — and to Sierra Crane Murdoch, for your beautiful article. I’m pleased to announ...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ Good Mother: Custody and Care in the Shodow of Colonization ,” by  Sierra Crane Murdoch . A few weeks ago, Sarai and I got the chance to interview Ms. Murdoch. It was a great conversation. We talked about a range of topics: how it felt to be a Pulitzer Prize finalist, how this article came to be, how she felt to re...

And we’re back! Welcome everyone to the third year of Article Club. I’m really happy that you’re here, and I encourage you to join this month’s discussion. That’s because this month’s article is awesome. I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be reading “ Good Mother ,” by Sierra Crane Murdoch . It was one of my favorite articles last year. Here’s the blurb I wrote about it for The Highlighter: Lissa...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am ,” by  Nicholas Casey . A few weeks ago, I got to interview Mr. Casey with fellow Article Clubber Lauri. It was a great conversation. He talked about how he came to write this piece and about how writing his own story was different from his regular work...

Welcome to November! I’m excited to announce that it’s our first-ever Readers’ Choice Month . This month, we’ll be reading and discussing “ My Father Vanished When I Was 7. The Mystery Made Me Who I Am .” by  Nicholas Casey . Thank you to everyone who nominated an article, and congratulations to Lauri for being the winner! Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in June, the piece chro...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ The Key ,” by  Brian Broome . Mr. Broome is one of my favorite writers. We last spoke more than two years ago , after he published “ 79 ,” one of the best pieces in Highlighter history. It was an honor to interview him again. He’s the first returning guest to the podcast! I hope you’ll listen to the interview. It’s...