Article Club

Our 20th Article Club discussion is in the books! We read and annotated Tyrone Fleurizard’s “ How to Name Your Black Son in a Racist Country ” and participated in three thoughtful conversations. Thank you! Thank you to Summer, Peter, Jennifer, Elise, Molly, Lauri, Shreya, Wes, Sarai, Telannia, Daniel, Philippe, Tamyra, Susan, Abde, and David for joining the discussion. I’m very grateful. Also, I d...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ How to Name Your Black Son in a Racist Country ,” by  Tyrone Fleurizard . A couple weeks ago, Article Clubber Sarai and I got the chance to talk with Mr. Fleurizard and ask him some of our questions. It was a fun, deep conversation. We talked about a range of topics, including why he writes and how Jerald Walker’s...

Before we start : Welcome, new subscribers! (There are about 100 of you.) Thank you for signing up for Article Club. I hope you feel right at home. OK, let’s get to it. Our 19th Article Club discussion is in the books! We read and annotated Jamie Figueroa’s “ The Stories I Haven’t Been Told ” and participated in a deep, thoughtful conversation. But that’s not all. A few weeks ago, Ms. Figueroa gen...

Welcome to August! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ The Stories I Haven’t Been Told ,” by  Jamie Figueroa . You’re going to appreciate this article, because of its beautiful language, direct authenticity, and deep themes. Here’s my blurb of the piece, which I featured in  Issue #286  of The Highlighter: Jamie Figueroa fills up cheap spiral-bound notebooks with words to explor...

Hey Article Clubbers! Hope your July is going well. This month, we’re discussing “ Private Schools Are Indefensible ,” by  Caitlin Flanagan . It’s about the excesses of fancy independent schools. I hope you’ll join our discussion on Sunday, July 25, 2:00 - 3:15 pm PT. You can sign up here or find out more here . Today I have a bonus for you: a recording of the piece, thanks to loyal reader Nancy....

Welcome to July! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ Private Schools Are Indefensible ,” by Caitlin Flanagan . You’re going to appreciate this article, no matter where you fall on the public vs. private school spectrum. In fact, I especially invite independent school teachers and parents to the discussion. Here’s my blurb of the piece, which I featured in Issue #285  of The High...

Our 17th Article Club discussion is in the books! We read and annotated Amirah Mercer’s “ A Homecoming ” and participated in three deep, thoughtful conversations. Thank you to Summer, Sarai, Shelley, Lorie, Bonnie, Elise, Jennifer, Kati, Lauri, Tamyra, Mahogney, and Amirah for joining the discussion. I’m very grateful. Also, I deeply appreciate Amirah for participating in the conversation and for...

Welcome to June! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ A Homecoming: How I Found Empowerment in the History of Black Veganism ,” by  Amirah Mercer . Even if you’re not a vegan, you’ll love this piece. Here’s a quote from the article, which I featured in Issue #277 of The Highlighter: “Plant-based eating has a long, radical history in Black American culture, preserved by institutio...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ The Crow Whisperer ,” by  Lauren Markham . A couple weeks ago, Article Clubber Sarai and I got the chance to talk with Ms. Markham and ask her some of our questions. It was a fun conversation filled with joy. We talked about a range of topics, including animal-human communication, the importance of changing registe...

This week we’re reading, listening to , and annotating “The Crow Whisperer,” by Lauren Markham — getting ready for our discussion on Sunday, May 23 at 2 pm PT. Still want in on the discussion? Great! You can sign up here until May 18. Coming up on Monday, we’ll get to listen to Ms. Markham talk about her article. This is thanks to her generosity and Article Clubber Sarai’s interviewing skills. As...

Hey Article Clubbers! Hope your May is going well. This month, we’re discussing “ The Crow Whisperer ,” by  Lauren Markham . It’s a delightful article about crows, crow whisperers, the intelligence of animals, and our connection with the natural world. This week is all about going deeper. Here are some things you can try: * Annotate  the article. It’s a shared Google Doc, so feel free to highlight...

Welcome to May! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ The Crow Whisperer ,” by  Lauren Markham . Even if you don’t like crows, and even if you don’t much believe in animal whisperers, you’ll love this piece. Here’s my original blurb from Issue #285 of The Highlighter: After crows attacked their dog, harassed their baby, and followed them around their neighborhood in Oakland, Dani...

Hi Article Clubbers! I look forward to discussing Bill Buford’s “Baking Bread in Lyon” with you this weekend. We’ll meet on Sunday 2-3 pm PT via Zoom. Mr. Buford will be joining us! There’s still time to sign up if you’re interested. To get ready for the discussion, I encourage you to… * Annotate the article with fellow Article Clubbers. * Come with a topic you’d like to explore, a question you’d...

Hey Article Clubbers! Hope your April is going well. This month, we’re discussing “ Baking Bread in Lyon ,” by  Bill Buford . It’s the story of following through on a dream: living in France and becoming a French-trained chef. (It’s about a bunch more, too, and very well-written, and a tear-jerker.) This week is all about going deeper. Here are some things you can try: * Annotate the article. It’s...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we read, annotated, and discussed “ A Lonely Occupation ,” by  Francesca Mari . Our conversation last Sunday was perhaps our deepest yet, thanks to everyone’s thoughtful contributions and Elise’s expert facilitation. A couple weeks ago, Article Clubber and facilitator Sarai and I got the chance to talk with Ms. Mari and ask her some of our questions. It was...

Hey Article Clubbers! Hope your March is going well. This month, we’re discussing “ A Lonely Occupation ,” by  Francesca Mari . (Here’s the original version.) It explores the effects of gentrification, including how real estate developers hire homeless people to house-sit empty homes undergoing renovation. This week is all about reading and annotating the article. Plus, for the second month in a r...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ How the Black Vote Became a Monolith ,” by  Theodore R. Johnson , senior fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice. Hope you’ll join us! (We are expecting a record turnout of kind, thoughtful people.) Here’s a little blurb about the article: Black people vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, but that doesn’t mean they’...

Welcome to February! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ How the Black Vote Became a Monolith ,” by  Theodore R. Johnson . It is a powerful piece worthy of our deep reading, reflection, and conversation. Published in The New York Times Magazine last September, the article explores the history of the Black electorate in the United States and challenges simplistic conclusions abou...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ Motherland ,” by  Jiayang Fan , staff writer at The New Yorker. Hope you’ll join us! The article explores the relationship between Ms. Fan and her mother, who lives with ALS in a long-term acute-care facility in Harlem, with the support of two around-the-clock aides. When COVID-19 hits and New York closes down in e...

Welcome to 2021! Hope your new year has begun well. After a month-long break, I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ Motherland ,” by  Jiayang Fan . It is a powerful piece worthy of our deep reading, reflection, and conversation. Published in The New Yorker in September, the article explores the relationship between Ms. Fan and her mother, who lives with ALS in a long-term acute-ca...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading and discussing “ Theater of Forgiveness ,” by Hafizah Geter , poet and author of Un-American . The article explores the intergenerational rage that emerges from our society’s expectation that Black people forgive the atrocities that white people commit. Last week, my friend and colleague Sarai Bordeaux and I got the chance to talk with Ms. Gete...

Happy Monday, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading, annotating, and discussing “ Theater of Forgiveness ,” by Hafizah Geter , which explores the intergenerational pain and anguish caused by our society’s expectation that Black people forgive the atrocities that white people commit. Sound interesting?  Read this  to catch up and join this month’s discussion on Nov. 22. Also, I am very excite...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading and discussing “ Miranda’s Rebellion ,” by Stephanie McCrummen , Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Washington Post. It’s a great article that explores the political transformation of a white suburban woman in Georgia and her reticence to share her new beliefs with her conservative friends and family. Last week, I got the chance to talk wit...

Welcome to October! I’m excited to announce that this month’s article is “ Miranda’s Rebellion ,” by  Stephanie McCrummen . You’re going to love it. (Or maybe it’s more accurate to say, You’ll have strong feelings about it.) Featured back in March in  Issue #233 , “Miranda’s Rebellion” explores the political transformation of a white suburban woman in Georgia and her reticence to share her new bel...

Hi there, Article Clubbers! This month, we’re reading and discussing “ I Went to Disney World ,” by Graeme Wood , writer at The Atlantic and author of The Way of the Strangers: Encounters With the Islamic State . It’s a great article that explores the reopening of “the happiest place on Earth” smack dab in the middle of this summer’s surge of the coronavirus. Besides being hilarious, the piece bri...