#483: A Regular Guy, Radicalized

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Welcome back, loyal readers. First off, we had another strong week, with 18 new subscribers joining, thanks to Sunday, Sarah, Gotelé, Loque, Coree, Claire, Elizabeth, Lauren, Marina, Imma, Patricia, Beth, Mahesh, Olga, Heriberto, Leer, and Melissa. Thank you for trying Article Club, and I hope you like it here.

This week’s issue is dedicated to our article of the month. For all of you who are interested, we’ll be reading, annotating, and discussing “Radicalized,” by Cory Doctorow. You’ll learn more about the piece below, but here are a few tidbits:

  • It’s a fictional novella written in 2019 about a man who becomes radicalized after his health insurance denies his claim. Sound familiar?

  • I read this piece in December, the week after all-things-Luigi Mangione

  • Mr. Doctorow‘s writing is fast-paced and his details eerily prescient

Sound compelling? If so, you’re invited to join our deep dive on the article. We’re meeting up to discuss the piece on Sunday, March 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. All you need to do is click the button below to sign up. 📖

Sign up for the discussion

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

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1️⃣ Radicalized

Originally published in 2019, this novella follows Joe Gorman, a regular guy with a wonderful wife. One day she calls him at work with horrific news: Stage 4 breast cancer. They find a treatment that offers hope, but their health insurance denies their request. Reeling, Joe goes online for comfort. He discovers a discussion forum of men facing similar challenges. He feels safe online; he feels a sense of community. Over time, Joe finds himself on his computer in the middle of the night, as men on the forum writhe in pain and discuss ways to achieve vengeance. What will it take, they ask, in order for things to change? What will it take to achieve justice?

To say that the story is prescient would be an understatement. Don’t worry, Article Club is not going to rebrand as a Luigi Mangione fan newsletter. Nevertheless, Cory Doctorow’s writing is eerie, down to the details.

+ Content warning: violence

By Cory Doctorow • The American Prospect • 65 min • Gift Link

Read the short story

⭐️ About the author

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently Picks and Shovels. His most recent nonfiction book is The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Mr. Doctorow also coined the term “enshittification,” also known as platform decay, used to describe the pattern in which online products and services decline in quality over time.

⭐️ About the podcast

This month’s podcast is a two-parter. You get:

  1. An introduction to the story, brought to you by Article Club co-host Melinda and me. You’ll also hear our first impressions — and don’t worry, there are no spoilers!

  2. An interivew of Mr. Doctorow, in which he shares his thoughts on his novella.

I’m always deeply appreciative that authors agree to do an interview for Article Club. It’s a gift that they share with us their process, their craft, and their perspective. Thank you, Mr. Doctorow, for saying yes to participating in our reading community!

In the interview, Mr. Doctorow and I talked about a number of topics, including:

  • how he reacted to the breaking news of Luigi Mangione’s actions

  • how he conceived of the piece — which emerged from his Canadian background, his understanding of America’s predilection toward gun violence, and his father’s health journey

  • how he can empathize with people who become radicalized online

I encourage you to listen to the podcast if you have the time. Thank you!

🙋🏽‍♀️ Interested? I encourage you to sign up.

You are certainly welcome to read the article, listen to the podcast, and call it a day. But if you’re intrigued, if you’re interested, you might want to discuss this article in more depth with other kind, thoughtful people.

If you sign up, I’ll be sure to get you all the info you need, including the Zoom link and what you can expect from the discussion.

If this will be your first time participating in Article Club, I’m 100% sure you’ll find that you’ll feel welcome. We’re a kind, thoughtful reading community.

What do you think? Interested? All you need to do is sign up below. Or if you have questions, hit reply or email me at mark@articleclub.org.

Sign up for the discussion on March 23

Thank you for reading and listening to this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

If you appreciate these interviews, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of incessantly scrolling the Internet for hours on end, especially during “these times,” please consider a paid subscription. (Big thanks to Jenn, Article Club’s latest paid subscriber.)

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If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Share the newsletter with a friend (thanks Zelda!) or buy me a coffee for $3 (so I can read more articles).

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#482: Dear White Sister

Dear Readers,

They say in schools, February’s no joke. Alongside my colleagues, I’ve certainly been putting in the hours in order to serve our students the best we can. But there’s always still reading to be done — not only for this newsletter and our reading community, but also for my own self-care. It makes me happy that I keep getting to do this, week after week. Thank you for reading and supporting Article Club.

I have a feeling you’re going to like this week’s issue. Instead of the regular offering (i.e., four articles), I’m switching things up and sharing with you some great writing and thinking from a variety of genres. Scroll down and you’ll find:

  • an essay about racial appropriation and the end of an interracial friendship

  • an interview with Susan Dominus about IVF and her article, “Someone Else’s Daughter”

  • an article about the care a park ranger takes in order to support unhoused people in Golden Gate Park

  • a podcast episode about how young people definitely don’t think using generative AI is cheating

Also, don’t miss our pet photo, as well as our poll toward the end. Hope you enjoy.

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

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1️⃣ Dear White Sister

I appreciate the work of Tressie McMillan Cottom, so when she recommended Don’t Let It Get You Down, a collection of essays by UC Berkeley Law professor Savala Nolan, I knew I needed to check it out. I was not disappointed. As the book’s subtitle makes clear, Prof. Nolan writes plainly and thoughtfully about race, gender, and the body. In the chapter, “Dear White Sister,” Prof. Nolan decides whether to approach a close and long-time white friend after an objectionable post on Instagram. In short, the friend quotes Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” to celebrate her love for roller skating and progress in roller derby.

Prof. Nolan writes: “I feel a peculiar sensation when white people borrow — take — something Black: it’s like there’s an octopus in my chest, peacefully afloat, when danger suddenly appears. The animal contracts its jellied body and expels a gush of protective ink, then darts away in panic. Don’t belittle ‘Freedom,’ I hissed inside. ‘Freedom’ isn’t for a white girl in the Midwest taking up roller derby.”

By Savala Nolan • Don’t Let It Get You Down • 25 min

Read the essay

2️⃣  An Interview With Susan Dominus: “I was just so inspired by the goodness of the people involved.”

Many of you read and appreciated January’s article of the month, ”Someone Else’s Daughter,” by Susan Dominus, which told the story of a horrible IVF mistake that resulted in two women giving birth to the other woman’s genetic baby. More importantly, the piece illuminates the generosity of the human spirit, as the mothers, filled with grief and shame for an error they didn’t make, embrace each other and figure out a way to raise their children together.

I got to interview Ms. Dominus a few weeks back, and hope you take a listen. Over and over again in our conversation, she shared how reporting and writing the piece left her inspired and hopeful. Here’s an excerpt:

 I would say the main thing that I really did want people to feel reading the piece was that same inspired feeling I felt in hearing their stories — that there is always a way, not always, but that when there is conflict or crisis, if you respond with openness and generosity, sometimes beautiful things come of that. That's what I took away as a human being, just being part of it. I was so inspired by the goodness of the people involved and the way that their goodness allowed them to turn something awful into something really beautiful.

➡️ Listen to the interview by clicking the play button below.


Longtime favorite pet Ollie, who belonged to loyal reader Kati, passed away last month after a short illness. He loved carrying his owners’ shoes outside and disliked clothes dryers. Ollie always preferred his tongue out. He will be missed. hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ Her Job Is To Remove Homeless People From SF’s Parks. Her Methods Are Extraordinary.

It’s easy to bewail the rise and intractability of homelessness. It’s much harder to do something about it. That’s why I appreciated reading this article about the efforts of Amanda Barrows, a park ranger for San Francisco Recreation and Parks. In 2015, the government agency launched a new program designed to connect unhoused people with the services they need. Since Ms. Barrows joined the force in 2021, she has helped 60 people leave Golden Gate Park and accept more permanent housing.

Reporter Susan Freinkel does an excellent job following Ms. Barrows as she builds relationships with her clients, earns their trust, and listens to what they need. Having grown up in public housing, having lived in a “dodgy SRO” for five years, and having lost her father to a fentanyl overdose, Ms. Barrows says that her work feels natural. “I can relate to a lot of the people who I contact through my own lived experience.”

By Susan Freinkel • The San Francisco Standard • 16 min • Gift Link

Read the article

4️⃣ Playboi Farti And His AI Homework Machine

In case there’s any doubt: How teenagers think about using generative artificial intelligence in school is very different from how most educators think about it. In essence, we think it’s cheating (or plagiarism, or whatever big word we want to use), and they don’t. To them, ChatGPT is like a word calculator. Why slog away at a boring five-paragraph essay about The Great Gatsby that’s been done millions of times when a robot can do you it for you?

That’s the essential question of this podcast episode, in which host PJ Vogt tests a theory he holds — that writing is more than answering a teacher’s prompt, and that generative AI is more than just a labor-saving tool. It’s thinking, he argues, and if we give away thinking to a computer, then our humanity is doomed.

By PJ Vogt • Search Engine • 61 min • Apple Podcasts

✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.

Last week, we confirmed that there’s no widespread conspiracy to keep this newsletter out of your inbox. Delivery is working well most of the time.

But what about your reading habits? Do you focus on the current week’s issue? Or do you like diving into the archives to check out past issues?

POLL

Do you ever go back and read an issue from the past?

Yes

50%

No

50%

POLL CLOSED

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 8 new subscribers — including Hilary, El, Christopher, Brimbus, Gloria, and Paul — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Gary, our latest paid reader. Thank you!

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If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Recommend the newsletter to a friend (thanks Yolanda!), leave a comment, buy me a coffee (thank you, Anonymous Coffee Giver!), or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#481: Reading As A Scavenger Hunt?

Dear Loyal Readers,

You and me, I’d venture to say, we like to read. This is why I put together this newsletter week after week. And this is why you generously subscribe to it. After all, this is Article Club, right? We’re here to read.

But we also know (though I don’t like to admit it): Reading isn’t for everyone. This month’s article of the month, “Is This the End of Reading?” follows the downward trend of reading, especially among Gen Z college students. In her piece, writer Beth McMurtrie looks at the problem straight on: listening to professors, considering causes, and most importantly, thinking of ways to respond.

There’s still room to join our discussion on Feb. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. For more information and to sign up, click the button below.

Sign up for our discussion on Feb. 23

Leading this week’s issue is a conversation I had last week with Ms. McMurtrie. Especially if you’re an educator or a parent, I highly recommend that you listen. In the interview, Ms. McMurtrie shares the feelings of professors dealing with the abrupt shifts they’re witnessing in the classroom. Reading stamina has significantly declined, and so have critical reading skills. Gone are the days when students could read a book or an article on their own. Now, according to one professor, reading has become a “scavenger hunt,” in which students search for discrete answers to discrete questions, dipping in and out of short excerpts, rather than taking in a whole text.

If that interview does not catch your interest, never fear. I urge you to read one of the other three articles in this week’s issue. They are about:

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

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An interview with Beth McMurtrie, author of “Is This the End of Reading?”

I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Beth McMurtrie this week. Senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ms. McMurtrie knows what she’s talking about when it comes to the status of reading among college students. It was a delight to talk to her. I encourage you to listen to our entire conversation. Here’s an excerpt:

If you think of teaching as a vocation, a calling, which a lot of academics do, [the decline of reading] is really an existential crisis because you’re seeing harm come to your students. I didn’t find many professors who were angry at their students; they were sad for their students. They were certainly frustrated and sometimes wanted to beat their head against the walls, but they were sad for their students because they could see the anxiety that the students felt when they couldn’t do the work.

[The professors] would often say to me, These students have no idea how much less I’m asking of them than I asked of students 10 or 15 years ago. It changes what you can do in the classroom and how you can teach. You can’t get through as much material, which means students just simply aren’t as learning as much content. If you can't get through as much content, you may end up having to teach the skills that you thought students had learned in high school. So then your teaching becomes a different kind of teaching.

And if you don't do those things, then you kind of have a dead classroom, or you might have a discussion that goes off the rails because the students are not interpreting kind of what they're learning in a useful way.

Sign up for our discussion on Feb. 23

2️⃣ The Loss Of Things I Took For Granted

I included this fair, well-written piece last year when it was published, but I’m sharing it again, especially since Ms. McMurtrie highlighted it in our interview. Focusing on the decline of reading among college students, it’s a great companion piece to hers.

Prof. Adam Kotsko writes: “For most of my career, I assigned around 30 pages of reading per class meeting as a baseline expectation — sometimes scaling up for purely expository readings or pulling back for more difficult texts. (No human being can read 30 pages of Hegel in one sitting, for example.) Now students are intimidated by anything over 10 pages and seem to walk away from readings of as little as 20 pages with no real understanding. Even smart and motivated students struggle to do more with written texts than extract decontextualized take-aways. Considerable class time is taken up simply establishing what happened in a story or the basic steps of an argument — skills I used to be able to take for granted.”

By Adam Kotsko • Slate • 7 min • Gift Link

Read the article

Seneca, who belongs to loyal reader Kira, enjoys his stuffies and is working on delaying gratification (as we all are). Want your pet to appear here? hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ Two Days Before Abortion Stopped In Kentucky

Savannah Sipple: “I grew up in a conservative, religious part of eastern Kentucky where fundamental Christianity rules. For most of my upbringing, I recognized the pastors, choir leaders, and Sunday school teachers as the folks who lived the kindness they preached. When someone’s family member died they cooked food, cleaned house, and prayed with the grieving. They regularly took up offerings and gave food to those struggling.

“What I didn’t recognize at the time were the microaggressions. They’d say slight comments about Catholicism, which confused me as a kid because part of my family was Catholic. They’d make jokes about gays. Preachers pronounced lesbians the scourge of the nation because they dared to live without men. I was closeted, but I was both the butt of the joke and then the monster. Still, I was devout. This kind of confusing Christianity where hate is enmeshed with love was the only kind of sacred available to me. Even when my personal beliefs stood in contrast to what I was taught, I remained silent. I heard church folks disparage women who sought abortions. I heard their judgments, the way words like abomination, backslider, and sin always carried a tone of disgust and dismissal. And I stood by.”

By Savannah Sipple • The Arkansas International • 8 min • gift link unavailable

Read the article

4️⃣ An American Education

Noah Rawlings: “A revolution in education! A resuscitation of the university mission! To happen in, of all places, not the pompous old northeast or the debauched West Coast, not New York or California but the country’s southern reaches — in the Texas Hill Country, in the city of Austin, where already technologists and venture capitalists had swarmed, drawn by the absence of income tax and the looseness of labor regulations, pulled by the mild zoning laws and the natural beauty and the food trucks and the good vibes. Austin, because it was a ‘hub for builders, mavericks, and creators.’ Here a new university: the University of Austin, or UATX.

“UATX is a ‘genuinely safe space,’ in the sense that it isolates students from the inconvenient opposition of other peers and professors. It is a monoculture of free-market faith which provides, in the end, a venue for young people seeking success in tech and finance to network and to fortify the rightwing ideas that brought them here in the first place.”

➡️ Big thanks to loyal reader Tim for recommending this article. Want to nominate an article to appear in the newsletter? Click here.

By Noah Rawlings • The New Inquiry • 26 min • Gift Link

Read the article

✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.

Last week, we confirmed that most of you read Article Club via email. That’s what I suspected. (But no problem if you use the app!)

This week, let’s solve a mystery.

POLL

Email readers: Has an issue ever skipped your inbox or not been delivered?

Yes

8%

No

92%

POLL CLOSED

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To all of our 9 new subscribers — including Ines, Julia, Maira, Kate, Lex, and Jasun — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Lee! Leo! Leonel!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Zaira, thank you for getting the word out.

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Kate and Carol, our latest paid subscribers. Thank you!

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If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways to support this newsletter. My favorite would be if you recommended Article Club to a friend. Other great options include buying me a $3 coffee, leaving a comment, or sending me an email at mark@articleclub.org. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#480: After All This

Dear Readers,

First things first: Let’s welcome our 51 new subscribers Violet, Rae, Olga, Taylor, Joyce, Sogo, Emily, Callie, Angelina, Peter, Tya, Emily, Natalie, Christine, Heather, Mary, Hannah, Marie-Pierre, Kristy, Fernanda, Maurtini, Helen, Angelina, Colette, Ronald, Courtney, Kelley, Jaymi, Katy, Steph, Deborah, Cathy, Christina, Brenna, Megan, Jacki, Alina, Cynthia, Caryn, Brittany, Nimi, Katie, Shell, Jamie, Candice, Samuel, Leslie, and Stephanie. New subscribers, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

A big thank you goes to Katy O, who writes The Mindful Librarian, for writing about ast week’s issue and sharing it with her kind readers. I’m very grateful.

As you can see, this week was a joyous one. Here are some more highlights:

  • HHH was a big success (see below)

  • We reached 1,500 subscribers (thank you for your readership!)

  • I interviewed Beth McMurtrie, author of “Is This the End of Reading?” (coming next week)

  • I interviewed Susan Dominus, author of “Someone Else’s Daughter” (coming later this month)

  • I got to chat with Melinda about “Is This the End of Reading?” (see below)

Not a bad week at all, don’t you think? Let’s keep up this momentum.

This week’s lead article, “After All This,” caught my interest from the first paragraph. Author Dana Salvador is a teacher and a parent who cannot fathom why we’ve done so little to protect our children against mass shootings. You might not want to read another article about guns in schools, but this one is tightly and beautifully written. I especially appreciated Ms. Salvador’s ability to create vivid images with spare, succinct prose.

If that article does not catch your interest, never fear. Choose between:

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

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1️⃣ After All This

Dana Salvador was in college in 1999 when two young people killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School. That fall, she became a teacher, and remains one to this day. Throughout her career, Ms. Salvador has ruminated on the vast harm that guns in schools have caused. She is devastated by our country’s inability to protect our children. In this powerful piece, Ms. Salvador juxtaposes her personal experiences as a teacher alongside our failures as a nation to stop the killing. “Every day I know I could be shot,” she writes. “I understand how someone who feels powerless might crave dominance, how someone who feels fragile might long to feel control.” Not to give away any spoilers, but the end is particularly illuminating, and sad.

➡️ In case you’re interested, here’s my hand-written annotated version.

By Dana Salvador • The Sun Magazine • 10 min • Gift link

Read the article

2️⃣ “Is This the End of Reading?” Join our discussion Feb. 23

Last week, I revealed February’s article of the month, “Is This the End of Reading?” Written by Beth McMurtrie and published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the piece focuses on the decline of reading among college students. I highly recommend the article, especially if you’re a parent, educator, or worried about the state of reading. (I am worried. 😬)

Already, several of you have signed up for our discussion on Feb. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. This is great news. If you’re still on the fence, click on the play button below to listen to an introduction to the piece, which Melinda and I recorded last weekend. (Plus there’s an extra perk if you listen to the end!)

Everyone is welcome to sign up for the discussion. This is how it’ll go:

  • We’ll sign up by clicking the button below

  • We’ll read and annotate the article together on this shared Google Doc

  • We’ll listen to an interview with author Beth McMurtrie (coming next week)

  • We’ll gather on Zoom to discuss the article in facilitated small groups

Are you interested? I hope so!

If this will be your first time, rest assured: Like you, Article Club readers are kind and thoughtful. We love the best writing that’s out there, and we appreciate building connection and empathy across difference. If you have any questions, hit reply or email me at mark@articleclub.org.

Sign up for our discussion

It was great to see all 32 of you who gathered last Thursday for our 24th HHH. As usual, it was a great event of kind and thoughtful people. Big thanks to everyone who braved the cold, and to John and Ingrid for their latest raffle gift. See you at the next HHH in March or April.

3️⃣ The Last True Hermit

Reading this article about Christopher Thomas Knight, who lived for 27 years as a hermit in the woods of central Maine — never talking to anyone — confirmed for me, once again, that I dislike camping and do indeed prefer the comfort of my abode.

But Mr. Knight’s story, brilliantly told by Michael Finkel, certainly earned my respect of the North Pond Hermit, who survived bitter winters without once lighting a fire. Doing so, he said, would give away his location. The trick was to wake up early, around 2 a.m. “If you try and sleep through that kind of cold, you might never wake up.”

But true hermits and survivalists might scoff at Mr. Knight’s dependence on plundering homes and businesses — at a rate of 40 burglaries per year, always in the dead of night — in order to stock up on food and provisions. His favorites included propane (to cook with and to melt ice, for water) and candy, especially Smarties.

After all, how can you look down on Henry David Thoreau (as Mr. Knight does) when you’re rummaging around for bacon and burgers?

By Michael Finkel • GQ • 32 min • Gift Link

Read the article

4️⃣ A Hellish Apartment

If the last article convinced you that living by yourself in the middle of the woods might not be the ticket to bliss, this article will remind you of the importance of knowing your housemates before entering into a lease agreement. Also, if your gut says no (see below), then maybe your gut is correct.

A few years back, Tabatha Pope was down on her luck, living with her boyfriend at a $35-a-night motel in the West Side of Houston. Desperately needing a permanent place, she heard about an open apartment in a three-story house downtown. Perfect, Ms. Pope thought. Let’s take a look.

The tour of the house went smoothly — that is to say, until the owners showed Ms. Pope the available apartment. “When she started to open the door, an intense, rotten stench flooded the hallway. [The owner] told Pope not to worry about the smell: A refrigerator had stopped working, spoiling some meat.”

By Ian Frisch • Curbed • 27 min • Gift Link

Read the article

✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.

Last week, we learned that you definitely click on gift links (95% yes, 5% no). To be clear, these are made possible by our generous paid subscribers.

This week, let’s learn more about your reading habits. (My gut says I know this answer, but I want to make sure.)

POLL

How do you usually read Article Club?

In my email, on my computer

48%

In my email, on my phone

35%

In the Substack app, on my computer

0%

In the Substack app, on my phone

9%

On my iPad or tablet

9%

POLL CLOSED

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Seewan and Courtney, our latest paid subscribers. Thank you!

Subscribe

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. My favorite would be if you shared Article Club with a friend and encouraged them them to subscribe. (This is what happened this week.) Or buy me a $3 coffee, leave a comment, or send me an email at mark@articleclub.org. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#479: The End of Reading?

Dear Loyal Readers,

Last week’s lead article, “Women Have Been Misled About Menopause,” prompted a deluge of kind words, emails, and phone calls. Thank you for reaching out and sharing that the piece connected with you.

This week, we’re focusing on a topic near and dear to my heart: the state of reading. It’s an understatement when I say I’m a fan of reading. After all, I publish this newsletter, lead a reading nonprofit, support teachers to promote literacy, and extol the virtues of reading to anyone who will listen.

The past few months, I’ve noticed an uptick in voices claiming that young people don’t or can’t read anymore. Much of this sentiment is not new. Every generation, when they’re no longer young, likes to complain about young people. (If you want an article to go viral, the best recipe is to blame teachers without providing evidence.)

Because there’s so much bad writing out there about the fall of reading, I want to share a few articles that might ground us in thoughtful, productive conversations.

Today’s lead article — “Is This The End of Reading?” — is also our February article of the month. It’s written by Beth McMurtrie, whom I selected Best Author of 2024. Ms. McMurtrie is a real reporter; she steers clear of the sensational. This won’t be a gossip column about Lucy Calkins or a hatchet job on the Science of Reading. I highly recommend it, especially if you are a parent, educator, or advocate of reading. If the piece resonates with you, I invite you to our discussion on Feb. 23. You can find out more information below.

If that article does not catch your interest, never fear. Choose between:

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

Subscribe

1️⃣ Is This The End Of Reading?

Some of this, we’ve heard before: Young people aren’t reading as much, and they’re not as skilled in reading, so they’re coming to class unprepared to read complex texts. Whether or not this is true, or a new phenomenon, it certainly doesn’t help to bemoan the state of reading without trying to do something about it.

That’s why I appreciated this article so much. Reporter Beth McMurtrie follows college professors as they grapple with how to teach their students in a post-print world. After all, as one professor says, “If you design a class based on the assumption that students will do the reading, you’ll get nowhere.”

After listing a litany of causes that explain the decline of reading — here we go: smartphones, the pandemic, poor reading instruction, testing culture, less homework in schools, less writing in schools, grade inflation, anxiety, isolation, that school is boring, that parents don’t read to their children, and more — Ms. McMurtrie focuses on the successes and failures of real teachers doing the real work. It’s not all happy and triumphant. “We all kind of feel lost these days,” one professor says.

➡️ In case you’re interested, here’s my hand-written annotated version.

By Beth McMurtrie • The Chronicle of Higher Education • 18 min • Gift Link

Read the article

2️⃣ Come join our discussion on February 23

I’m happy to announce that we will be discussing “Is This The End of Reading” on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, on Zoom.

I warmly invite you to participate this month in our deep dive and to join the discussion. Everyone is welcome to sign up. This is how it’ll go:

  • We’ll sign up by clicking the button below

  • We’ll read and annotate the article together on this shared Google Doc

  • We’ll listen to an interview with author Beth McMurtrie (coming next week)

  • We’ll gather on Zoom to discuss the article in facilitated small groups

Are you interested? I hope so.

If this will be your first time (this is most of you!), rest assured: Like you, Article Club readers are kind and thoughtful. We love the best writing that’s out there, and we appreciate building connection and empathy across difference. If you have any questions, hit reply or email me at mark@articleclub.org.

Sign up for our discussion

Morris, who belongs to loyal reader Janine, would prefer having fewer dogs in this newsletter. Please nominate yours for publication: hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ When AI Does The Reading For Students

We know this to be true: ChatGPT is writing our kids’ essays. It doesn’t matter what we do. Pretty soon, unless we bring back Blue Books, generative AI will complete a larger percentage of writing assignments than our students themselves.

But what if the computers do the reading, too? It’s already happening. Google NotebookLM is like CliffsNotes on steroids. Young people won’t have to fake that they’ve done the reading. They’ll just say their digital companion has prepared for them a summary brief. After all, why suffer for hours, slogging through text, when technology will do the grunt work for you?

By Marc Watkins • The Chronicle of Higher Education • 6 min • Gift Link

Read the article

4️⃣ The Need To Read

Whenever I feel hopeless about the future of reading, I return to this piece, which loyal reader Lynn recommended in November 2016. Will Schwalbe reminds us why we read and why we should strive to continue to do so. Here’s one of my favorite passages:

Books remain one of the strongest bulwarks we have against tyranny — but only as long as people are free to read all different kinds of books, and only as long as they actually do so. The right to read whatever you want whenever you want is one of the fundamental rights that helps preserve all the other rights. It’s a right we need to guard with unwavering diligence. But it’s also a right we can guard with pleasure. Reading isn’t just a strike against narrowness, mind control and domination: It’s one of the world’s great joys.

Yes, this is an ode to reading, and a bit syrupy at times, but I feel like that’s what we need right now. Unless we state with conviction that reading is important, and what reading is for, I’m afraid we might lose it as part of our culture, entirely and forever.

By Will Schwalbe • The Wall Street Journal • 12 min • Gift Link

Read the article

✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks to paid subscribers, I’m able to provide gift links for anyone who hits a paywall. Do you use them?

POLL

Have you ever clicked on a gift link?

Yes

95%

Not yet

5%

POLL CLOSED

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 15 new subscribers — including Joanna, Pamela, Modern Reproduction, Helena, Elaine, Gregory, Aisling, Lucinda, Manisha, Robyn, Samir, and Martha — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Glenda, our latest paid reader. Thank you!

Subscribe

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Recommend the newsletter to a friend, leave a comment, buy me a coffee, or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#478: Misled About Menopause

Dear Readers,

I hope you are taking good care. This week, I scoured what seemed like the entire Internet for good articles to share with you. We’re talking about many hours here! (My gut says that the inauguration probably consumed the attention of many publications.)

The good news is, after sweat and tears, I was able to find three pieces that passed my high standards and thereby are worthy of bringing to you. In usual Article Club fashion, they explore various topics and emerge from various sources.

I highly recommend this week’s lead article, “Women Have Been Misled About Menopause,” by Susan Dominus. As someone who personally knows little about menopause, but who seeks to learn more, I found this piece extremely informative. It’s a good companion piece to Issue #457, “The Female Body.”

If that article isn’t for you (even though it won a National Magazine Award), scroll down past Mouse, this week’s pet, to find two more great selections about:

I hope you appreciate this week’s articles. Also, I’m looking forward to our two upcoming in-person gatherings: this Sunday’s discussion of “Someone Else’s Daughter” (sold out) and next Thursday’s reader event in Oakland (still room).

If you like what we’re doing here at Article Club, and want to support this venture with a paid subscription, I would be very grateful. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.

Subscribe

1️⃣ Women Have Been Misled About Menopause

Susan Dominus: “Imagine that some significant portion of the male population started regularly waking in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, a problem that endured for several years. Imagine that those men stumbled to work, exhausted, their morale low, frequently tearing off their jackets or hoodies during meetings and excusing themselves to gulp for air by a window. Imagine that many of them suddenly found sex to be painful, that they were newly prone to urinary-tract infections, with their penises becoming dry and irritable, even showing signs of what their doctors called ‘atrophy.’ Imagine that many of their doctors had received little to no training on how to manage these symptoms — and when the subject arose, sometimes reassured their patients that this process was natural, as if that should be consolation enough.”

By Susan Dominus • The New York Times Magazine • 30 min • Gift Link • Audio

Read the article

2️⃣ The Charango

Valerie Argentina Calvo: “I can see him. He stands proud, with his shoulders back; he’s short and stocky like a pitbull. His voice is just as proud as his posture, loud and deep, with a thick, warm, Andean accent. His wide jaw and square head make him look stern when his face is resting. But my dad is a performer, so his face is not often resting. Most of the time it is in a wide, amicable grin. He holds the neck of the charango in his left hand, and his right hand strokes it, smoothing down the hair, as though it were still living. His big hand covers almost its entire body.

“I remember the night my father choked me. I spoke back at him, and he grabbed my thin neck, pushed me up against a bookcase, and lifted me until my toes were reaching for the carpet. A vase fell off the bookcase and shattered; the next day at school my best friend would ask me about the cuts on my feet. I remember his eyes looked so hard, like black marbles, and his firm, calloused fingers closed off my air like pressing down on a fret. I wonder what strained, high-pitched cries he squeezed out of me.”

By Valerie Argentina Calvo • Longreads • 10 min • Gift Link

Read the article

Mouse, who belongs to loyal reader Corinne, enjoys road trips to Crescent City. Would you like your pet to appear here? hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ Go Where You’re Invited

Katherine Johnson Martinko: “There's nothing wrong with turning down an invitation clearly and politely when you receive it. I'm all for emptying the calendar of superfluous events, especially if you want to focus on other projects. But I take issue with not showing up for good friends, cancelling within a couple days, using a lame excuse, or leaving your RSVP status vague until the last minute.

“ ‘Self-care’ is often used as an excuse, and while it is important to attend to one's personal well-being, I am not a fan of self-care that marginalizes other well-meaning people. There's a time and place for spending a night on the couch in your PJs, but there's just as much a time and place to show up for the people who want to be your friends — assuming you want friends.”

By Katherine Johnson Martinko • The Analog Family • 6 min • Gift Link

Read the article

✅ It’s time for a quick poll. I’d love to hear from you.

POLL

What do you want more articles about?

Race

0%

Education

9%

Culture

22%

Mark, keep doing what you’re doing!

70%

POLL CLOSED

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 16 new subscribers — including BN, Ming, SD, Grace, Phil, Nicole, Alexis, Laura, Bert, Erna, Aileen, Bonnie, Thomas, Julie, and Cardinal — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Fern, our latest paid reader. Thank you!

Subscribe

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Recommend the newsletter to a friend (thanks Vivian!), leave a comment, buy me a coffee (thank you, Anonymous Coffee Giver!), or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#477: The Anti-Social Century

Last week’s issue prompted strong emotions. Thank you for reading it and reaching out with your reactions. Several of you said that the lead article made you cry. Many of you signed up for our online discussion on Jan. 26 and for our in-person gathering on Jan. 30. Your kind words and engagement reminded me of the power of reading in community and the joy of connecting with other thoughtful people.

Unfortunately, this kind of engagement is not happening in all corners of our country. Ever since the pandemic (and likely farther back), we’ve retreated significantly from social life. All of a sudden, everyone’s an introvert. (I blame Susan Cain.) We’re lonely. We’re disconnected. We’re cocooning.

That’s why I deeply appreciated today’s lead article, “The Anti-Social Century,” by Derek Thompson. It’s well-reported, well-researched, and well-written, and I encourage you to read it. If you prefer shorter pieces, feel free to scroll down, where you’ll find two additional articles and a mini-podcast related to this week’s theme. They’re about:

Hope you appreciate this week’s articles and mini-podcast. As always, if you appreciate an article, I’d love to hear from you (by email or in the comments below). Or if you prefer, show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (like Fern) or buying me a coffee (like Doug). I would be very grateful.

Subscribe

1️⃣ The Anti-Social Century

Nobody wants to do anything anymore. Loneliness is on the rise. Everyone’s an introvert all of a sudden. We care more about our phones than our friends. Pets are popular because they offer us one more excuse to avoid people.

For years now, you and I have bemoaned this decline in American social life. I know it’s been on your mind because last year’s most-read article in this newsletter was “The Friendship Problem,” by Rosie Spinks. And certainly it’s been on my mind, too — in the many conversations I‘ve had with my partner, and in the many articles I’ve read.

Up until this outstanding article, however, I hadn’t read a comprehensive look at this trend toward mass solitude. Journalist Derek Thompson certainly does his legwork here. There are many startling facts and disturbing graphs. There’s history. There are discussions of technology and phones and artificial intelligence. Most importantly, Mr. Thompson explores the negative impacts of solitude, but he also maintains that changes in our culture are not inevitable.

This piece is worth your time. It’s not comprehensive, of course, and you won’t agree with all of Mr. Thompson’s claims. But you’ll appreciate having read it, and you’ll have something to talk about with your friends when you finally decide to go outside.

By Derek Thompson • The Atlantic • 30 min • Gift Link

Read the article

2️⃣ The Homeschooling Option

About a year ago, I featured an article that criticized the social and educational benefits of homeschooling. Thoughtful readers reached out to encourage me to rethink my position. I appreciated our conversations. Since then, I’ve sought out various perspectives on homeschooling that might push my thinking.

This article by is one of those pieces. Writer Casey Kleczek first establishes that the homeschooling trend continues to skyrocket, especially among Black families, where the rate has increased five-fold since 2020. In other words, homeschooling is not a passing fad, and it’s not limited to white or hippie or Christian families.

What I liked most about this article is that it’s a wake-up call for traditional schools. Five years ago, as we suffered through the pandemic, educational visionaries promised that schools would transform once we got to the other side. But not much has changed. Ms. Kleczek writes that many Black and Brown parents never stopped wondering “why they were sending their children to a place for eight horus a day when they were still not doing well.” One parent said, “If nobody else can do this for my child, I can do this for my child.”

By Casey Kleczek • Plough • 11 min • Gift Link

Read the article

At long last: This year’s calendar is here! Moby, who belongs to loyal readers Caitlin and Jason, graces the cover. The Pets of Article Club calendar is a gift for paid subscribers.

3️⃣ The Loss of Public News Racks in San Francisco

Nobody is reading print newspapers anymore. It makes sense, then, that public news racks are disappearing as well. Like payphones, another extinct artifact from the analog age, news racks were never beautiful. Some found them to be an eyesore, a blight on the urban aesthetic. But the total removal of news racks — as the City of San Francisco will complete within 60 days — is a distinct and not-insignificant cultural loss. It means the end of randomly grabbing the neighborhood newspaper on your walk to work. It means that your elderly neighbor stops reading her beloved Chronicle after 60 years. It means the shuttering of more local publications and less accountability of local government. And it means the inexorable decline of physical manifestations of reading in the world. Pretty soon, if anyone is reading, we might not know it, and certainly our kids won’t know it, since any reading that we’re doing will be hidden away behind the privacy of our personal devices.

By Julia Gitis • Mission Local • 7 min • Gift Link

Read the article

4️⃣ Our First Thoughts: “Someone Else’s Daughter”

This month, we’re discussing “Someone Else’s Daughter,” a poignant story about two families whose lives turn upside down after finding out the babies they gave birth to aren’t actually their genetic children.

Already, we have 19 people who have signed up to join our discussion on January 26 at 2 pm PT. There are five slots left. This article is a deep and thought-provoking one, so if you are interested in talking about it with other kind, thoughtful people, I highly recommend that you take the plunge. It’d be great to see you there.

Sign up for the discussion

A couple days ago, Article Club co-host Melinda and I met up to discuss our first impressions of the article. It’s like the-discussion-before-the-discussion! We hope you take a listen. In addition to our usual banter, we have a little surprise feature for listeners — which I suppose is no longer a surprise.

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 13 new subscribers — including Tim, Gomez, Gloria, Natalie, Shelby, Frances, Sydney, Susan, Fer, Astra, Molly, Rod, and Jason — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Ernest, our latest paid reader. Thank you!

Subscribe

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Recommend the newsletter to a friend (thanks Tanisha!), leave a comment, buy me a coffee, or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

#476: Someone Else’s Daughter

Dear Loyal Readers,

I hope your new year has begun well. Mine is strong so far. My colleagues and our students have returned to school; my dog still enjoys fetching his ball with abandon; I am spending ample time resting and reading.

If you are a long-time subscriber, you know that two things make Article Club special: (1) the great articles, (2) the great people. That’s what this week’s issue is all about.

Today I’ll announce January’s article of the month. Then I’ll invite you to two upcoming gatherings, which I think you will find valuable.

Hope you appreciate this week’s article and invitations. As always, if you appreciate an article, I’d love to hear from you (by email or in the comments below). Or if you prefer, show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (like Sam) or buying me a coffee (like Devin). I would be very grateful.

Subscribe

1️⃣ Someone Else’s Daughter

Daphna Cardinale was overjoyed when she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The road had been a long one: She and her husband Alexander had tried for three years to get pregnant before turning to in vitro fertilization. They called their daughter May. Everything about her was a gift.

Except there was one problem: Their daughter didn’t look like them.

At first, Daphna and Alexander shrugged off their feelings of anxiety. Genes work in mysterious ways, they said. Who cares if their friends and family were asking pointed questions? But no matter what they did, their suspicions never subsided. So Daphna and Alexander ordered a DNA testing kit to calm their nerves.

The results shocked them. May wasn’t their genetic baby. Their I.V.F. clinic had made a huge mistake. Now what? they asked.

By Susan Dominus • The New York Times Magazine • 27 min • Gift Link

Read the article

2️⃣ Come join our discussion on January 26

I’m happy to announce that we will be discussing “Someone Else’s Daughter” on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, on Zoom.

I warmly invite you to participate this month in our deep dive and to join the discussion. Everyone is welcome to sign up. This is how it’ll go:

  • We’ll sign up by clicking the button below

  • We’ll read and annotate the article together on this shared Google Doc

  • We’ll listen to an interview with author Susan Dominus (coming Jan. 23)

  • We’ll gather on Zoom to discuss the article in facilitated small groups

Are you interested? I hope so.

If this will be your first time (this is most of you!), rest assured: Like you, Article Club readers are kind and thoughtful. We love the best writing that’s out there, and we appreciate building connection and empathy across difference. If you have any questions, hit reply or email me at mark@articleclub.org.

Sign up for our discussion

Billy, who belongs to loyal reader Boris, enjoys letting his small dog friends win wrestling matches from time to time. Want your pet to appear here? hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ Can’t make January’s discussion? No problem.

One thing I like about Article Club is that we keep things friendly and informal. Remember, this isn’t graduate school. We don’t have to be fancy or feel like we need to perform, as if it’s graduate school or something. After all, we’re here for the articles and to connect with other thoughtful people.

One outgrowth of this vibe is that I have not typically planned out discussion dates and articles in advance. But I’ve heard from some of you that you’d like to mark your calendars and choose which discussion(s) to join.

That sounds like a great idea, so here are the 10 discussion dates for 2025.

I hope that having all the dates all in one place will encourage you to join a discussion when you feel available and inspired to do so.

Sign up for our discussion

4️⃣ Dislike Zoom? Connect with fellow readers in real life.

If you live near Oakland, I warmly invite you to attend our most popular gathering, affectionally called Highlighter Happy Hour, on Jan. 30. We’ll meet at Room 389 beginning at 5:30 pm. Yes, there will be prizes. Sign up by clicking the button below.

HHH always “sells out.” (Tickets are free.) It’s a great way to connect with fellow loyal readers and to share perspectives on the articles. Friends have been made at HHH!

Why is it called HHH? The acronym hearkens back to when this newsletter was named “The Highlighter,” circa 2015-2022. While I’ve rebranded most everything else Article Club-related, HHH remains strong.

Want to start a local chapter of HHH? I fully support this idea. Let’s chat.

Get your free ticket

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 25 new subscribers — including Beth, Kelsey, Irene, Michael, Balboa, Joan, Gary, Jordie, Ini, Mythili, Christina, Becky, Kathryn, Ravi, Kim, Shrirex, Melissa, Briesan, Susan, Sam, and Rachel — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

If you appreciate the articles, value our discussions, and in general have come to trust that Article Club will have better things for you to read than your current habit of scrolling the Internet for hours on end, please consider a paid subscription. I am very appreciative of Sam, our latest paid reader. Thank you!

Subscribe

If subscribing is not your thing, don’t despair: There are other ways you can support this newsletter. Recommend the newsletter to a friend (thanks Tracie!), leave a comment, buy me a coffee, or send me an email. I’d love to hear from you.

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe below. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.

The calendar is back 🗓️

Dear Loyal Readers,

Happy new year. Thank you for supporting me and Article Club with your paid subscription. I’m appreciative of your generosity.

Most of you support AC without any expectation of perks. But in 2025, perks are what you’re going to get!

(Don’t worry: I won’t flood your inbox with junk. Or with knickknacks, bric-a-bracs, whim-whams, or dingle-dangles.)

Instead, you’ll receive only the highest-quality, most exclusive fare.

For instance, like today’s offering: Behold, after a three-year hiatus, the Pets of Article Club calendar is back!

There’s Moby (Pet of the Year) gracing the cover. Inside, you’ll find 15 more wonderful pets. Maybe your beloved made the calendar?

Plus, I’ve included crucial AC-related dates — like when each newsletter comes out (in case you need a reminder!) and when each of our 10 monthly discussions will happen.

All right, I acknowledge that we’re well into the 21st century, and that most of us (including me) exist inside Google’s hegemonic ecosystem — and might therefore have no use for an old-school full-size analog wall calendar.

But if you’re interested in receiving one, I’d love to send one to you. All you need to do is email me with your mailing address. (I won’t save or share your address.)

Click here to get your calendar

I have no idea how much interest there will be, so I ordered 30. Who knows — maybe there will be whopping demand?

Thank you again for your support,

Mark

#475: Radicalized

Dear Loyal Readers and New Subscribers,

Happy New Year! Hope yours was a good one.

Did you make any resolutions? Honestly, they scare me, so I try to avoid them. Many of you will cheer me on when I tell you that I spent the last two weeks focusing on rest and generally not thinking too hard about this newsletter. But be assured: There are new ideas afoot here at Article Club. I’ll keep you posted.

As far as today’s issue, you get a classic one: Four great articles on a variety of topics from a variety of publications. If more (or more focused) reading is a goal of yours this year, why not start today with these selections?

Today’s lead article is “Radicalized,” a short story (yes, fiction again!) by Cory Doctorow. Originally published in 2019, the piece follows a man who becomes radicalized on the Internet after his wife falls ill and is denied treatment by her insurance provider. To say that the story is prescient would be an understatement.

If anything Luigi Mangione-related is not your cup of tea, here are three other articles that you may find intriguing. The first two in particular are very “new-yeary” in that they explore the big things in life. (The third one is a bit ridiculous.)

Hope you appreciate this week’s articles. As always, if you appreciate an article, I’d love to hear from you (by email or in the comments below). Or if you prefer, show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (like Diana) or buying me a coffee (like Carina). I would be very grateful.

Subscribe

✚ If you’re wondering what this month’s article of the month is going to be, I’ll announce that next week. We’ll meet on Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2 - 3:30 pm PT.

1️⃣ Radicalized

Don’t worry, Article Club is not going to rebrand as a Luigi Mangione fan newsletter. However, I do need to share two quick facts: (1) “Mangione” means “Big Eater,” (2) Luigi’s nose looks like my brother’s (haven’t told my brother yet).

Why am I talking about this? It’s because this short story by Cory Doctorow is eerie. The main character, Joe Gorman, is a regular guy with a wonderful wife. One day she calls him at work with horrific news: Stage 4 breast cancer. They find a treatment that offers hope, but their insurer denies their request.

Reeling, Joe goes online for comfort. He discovers a discussion forum of men facing similar challenges. He feels safe online; he feels a sense of community. Over time, Joe finds himself on his computer in the middle of the night, as men on the forum writhe in pain and discuss ways to achieve vengeance and justice. What will it take, they ask, in order for things to change?

By Cory Doctorow • The American Prospect • 65 min • Gift Link

Read the short story

➕ This piece is part of Mr. Doctorow’s 2019 book and was also recommended by The Lazy Reader, a weekly newsletter featuring the best longform journalism.

2️⃣ Confluences

Around the same time that Jennifer Sinor is bringing a new life into the world, her father and uncle are taking their last journey together. They’re up in Alaska, traveling once more down the Alatna River (wow, it’s beautiful), just like they did when they were younger. This time, however, Ms. Sinor’s uncle, who has prostate cancer and Parkinson’s, is struggling.

One night around the fire, as they discuss their children and hopes for the future, Ms. Sinor’s uncle wonders where Cynde is. Her father replies, “Cynde did not come on this trip.” Her uncle tries to save himself: “I know, I just forgot.” Over the next few days, things get worse.

Even though I’m not sure that Ms. Sinor needed to insert her own story into this braided essay, I was touched by the beauty of her writing, as well as the love that she has for her family.

By Jennifer Sinor • the American Scholar • 23 min • Gift Link

Read the article

Tucker, who belongs to loyal readers Tony and Ziba, is very jumpy and loves to cozy up under the covers and destroy ornaments. Want your pet to appear here? hltr.co/pets

3️⃣ Into The Wind

In her early-20s, Laura Killingbeck lived in Oakland, studied philosophy in college, danced for money to make ends meet, felt disgust at the men who groped her, started drinking and taking painkillers, worked as a mascot at an aquarium, and lived on a sailboat with a man she met at a bar. At some point, she lost herself.

“There was only one solution,” she writes, “and that was to leave everything behind: to undo myself completely, to free myself from my own motivations.” She said goodbye to everyone and everything and bought a one-way ticket to Alaska.

There, Ms. Killingbeck began a bike ride from Anchorage south through Canada. It is healing and transformative. She writes:

Every pedal stroke became part of the rhythm of breath and motion. Every thought and feeling became transient, like the sky. I cried a lot as I rode, often from gratitude, and these tears seemed to cleanse me from the inside out. It didn’t matter what I looked like out here or what anyone thought of me. I was free to fall apart, and inside that dissolution, for fleeting moments, I felt whole.

By Laura Killingbeck • Bicycling • 13 min • Gift Link

Read the article

4️⃣ The Parents Who Don’t Teach Sharing

Critics of this article say it’s clickbait, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. (Maybe that’s the goal of clickbait?) Apparently, some people who believe in gentle parenting teach their children not to share. Doing so, they argue, is developmentally inappropriate, especially for young children who may not understand the concept. Forcing a child to share therefore causes harm, mental health problems, and future people-pleasing. One psychologist says, “⁠Not sharing in childhood sets kids up to be able to prioritize their own needs and to have things in life that they want for themselves.”

Sounds pretty white middle class capitalist to me — and to Lucía Alcalá, professor of psychology at California State University. In Indigenous Mayan families, she says, children are expected to share from an early age. “We don’t see the terrible 2s in these communities. There’s no such thing.”

By Emi Nietfeld • The Cut • 7 min • Gift Link

Read the article

Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀

To our 34 new subscribers — including Bailey, Mythili, Kenneth, Clara, Megan, Holly, Miss, Tara, Avi, Ana, Ini, Salvador, Miguel, Rhoda, Ash, Ernst, Eunice, Mayte, Arminé, Laura, Vince, Campbell, Leah, Mii, Jenny, J E, Pat, Ashley, Maneet, and David — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Welcome to Article Club. Make yourself at home. 🏠

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