#400: Looking Forward
Some gratitude, an announcement, a great article, and two invitations
Dear Loyal Readers,
Here we are at 400 issues (and 113 podcast episodes and 38 discussions and 33 audio letters and 20 happy hours). Not bad, right?
I launched this newsletter eight years ago with a bold belief that I still hold today: If we read more of the best stuff, and if we connect with people about what we’re reading, then we might gain the knowledge and empathy to make ourselves a better world.
Some may say this was (and is) a naïve belief. Some may go further, calling it absurd. If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone. I’ve felt this way, too.
But what we’ve built (and are building) here — a thoughtful group of kind people who care about issues of race, education, and culture — demonstrates the power and possibility of reading in community.
It’s happening, thanks to all of you. People from across the country who otherwise do not know each other are coming together to have moving conversations about the critical issues of our time.
No matter how long you’ve been a subscriber, I’m very grateful. This includes readers like Marni and Erin, who signed up eight years ago this week. And it also includes the 64 new readers — including Lana, Inbal, Karyn, Jenna, Jamie, Jillian, Bailey, Lindsey, Vanessa, Ilana, Nicole, Alison, Anne, Laura, Jenn, Christine, Joel, Lauren, Samantha, Kaitlyn, Jess, Sukriti, Danielle, Barbara, Jade, Silvie, Ellie, Brooke, Chris, Nathaniel, Tanya, Rebecca, Becca, Veesam, Mackenzie, Nellie, Maeve, Melanie, Adriana, and Kate — who signed up just this week. Welcome. Hope you like it here.
This week’s issue is a little different than your typical, regular fare. Even though this is an anniversary issue, I won’t be talking about the past. I’m more interested in looking forward. What’s next for us? Below you’ll find:
a rebranding of this newsletter
one great article that I think all of us should read and discuss together
two invitations to upcoming events this summer, maybe you’ll join?
what’s coming up in July
Hope you like it. Thank you again,
Mark
1️⃣ We’re now Article Club!
Hey Mark, something’s changed! Where’s your face?
You’re right, long-time readers: My face is gone, replaced by the handsome face of my dog Arlo, an avid and ardent reader and highlighter.
And we have a name change, too: What used to be The Highlighter Article Club, and before that The Highlighter, and before that Iserotope Extras (anyone remember?), is now Article Club.
I’m excited. I like the new name and branding because it’s less me and more we.
Certainly I’ll still be highlighting away and bringing you outstanding articles every week for you to read and for us to discuss. And yes, that also means actually highlighting and annotating them sometimes (an example).
But I’m also interested in where this experiment in community reading will take us. In addition to the weekly newsletter, I’m thinking of these ideas and more:
Expanding our monthly article discussions to include in-person options
Designing ways to support one another to read more and more deeply
Hosting in-person and online gatherings for us to deepen connections
I’m really looking forward to this next chapter. Hope you are, too.
One last thing: It’s OK if you still want to call it The Highlighter. Nobody is going to correct you. (All feelings are welcome and valid.) And thank you to my partner Peter for the new nameplate and logo.
2️⃣ Let’s read & discuss: “Why Poverty Persists in America”
Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve heard of Matthew Desmond before. He’s the sociologist who wrote the “Capitalism” chapter in The 1619 Project and the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Evicted. Now he’s studying why the United States has essentially the same poverty rate now as it did 50 years ago (12.6 percent then, 10.5 percent now). The reason is decidedly not a decline in government spending. (It’s more than doubled.) Rather, Prof. Desmond argues, the primary reason is exploitation. In housing, labor, and banking, rich people exploit poor people because they can, under the laws we’ve passed and the systems we’ve built.
For the past half-century, we’ve approached the poverty question by pointing to poor people themselves — posing questions about their work ethic, say, or their welfare benefits — when we should have been focusing on the fire. The question that should serve as a looping incantation, the one we should ask every time we drive past a tent encampment, those tarped American slums smelling of asphalt and bodies, or every time we see someone asleep on the bus, slumped over in work clothes, is simply: Who benefits? Not: Why don’t you find a better job? Or: Why don’t you move? Or: Why don’t you stop taking out payday loans? But: Who is feeding off this?
Originally published in The New York Times Magazine in April, this article is an excerpt from Prof. Desmond’s bestselling book, Poverty, by America. It is a wake-up call to all Americans who say they’re progressive and want to do something to bridge the gap between the rich and poor — but who also hide behind their mortgage interest tax deductions and their segregated schools and their free checking accounts.
Prof. Desmond reminds us that we do indeed have a welfare state in our country, but the welfare is for the well-off. After all, he writes, when somebody wins in America, it means that somebody else is losing. I hope you read the article.
⭐️ BONUS: Prof. Desmond is participating in Article Club in August, recording a podcast interview with us as we read and discuss his piece.
Come discuss “Why Poverty Persists in America” in a small group with other thoughtful readers. There will be two events: The in-person event is open to paid subscribers and is limited to 6 people. The online event is open to all subscribers and is limited to 24 people.
Discussion: “Why Poverty Persists in America,” by Matthew Desmond
Sunday, August 27, 2023
11:00 – 1:00 PT (in person in Oakland)
2:00 – 3:30 PT (online on Zoom)
Matthew Desmond is the is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. He is the author of four books, including Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016), which won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Carnegie Medal, and PEN / John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction. The principal investigator of The Eviction Lab, Desmond’s research focuses on poverty in America, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and the William Julius Wilson Early Career Award.
3️⃣ Introducing two new events at Article Club. You’re invited.
For many of you, this weekly newsletter is enough. It’s exactly what you want. You’re happy with the articles, the blurbs, and the pet photos. Nothing else is needed.
But for many of you, you want to talk about the articles. You want to connect with other kind, thoughtful people. You want to find time and space to read more, and you’d like be part of a reading community. For all those reasons, I’m experimenting with two new gatherings at Article Club this summer that might interest you.
Quiet Reading Hour
Sunday, July 16, 9:00 - 10:00 am PT (online on Zoom)
Quiet Reading Hour is a fun, comfy, informal space for us to read whatever we want to read. We did a soft launch last month, and it was a big hit. It’s exactly what it says it is: a dedicated space to read for pleasure. (No, you don’t have to read an article. Last time, most everyone read books.) The format is simple. The first five minutes, we say hi and share what we’re going to read. Then we go off video and audio and read for 50 uninterrupted minutes. We close the hour back together and share how it went. Easy peasy, plus plenty of peace and reading.
NYT by the Lake
Sunday, July 23, 10:00 am - 12:00 Noon (in person at Lake Merritt in Oakland)
I’ve long been a fan of good people coming together to read as a community live in public. There’s something beautiful about it. I say let’s do it. If you’re nearby Oakland, we’ll meet at Lake Merritt, exact location TBD. You’ll bring your coffee or tea, and I’ll bring print copies of The New York Times, plus plenty of Arizmendi pastries. After saying hi, we’ll get into trios, get to know each other, share one newspaper among the three of us, read for about an hour, and then discuss what we’ve read at the end.
If you’re interested in either or both of these events, click on the button below and write me a one-sentence note saying, “I’m in!” It’ll be great to have you.
4️⃣ What’s coming up in July
As we head into the ninth year of this thing, I’m going to take July to pause, reflect, and ask the big questions. I’ll still be sending out weekly issues on Thursdays, and you’ll still receive great articles to read. But the newsletter will be a little more experimental in nature, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Some ideas I have include:
My favorite articles and podcast episodes of all time
An AI edition (where Chat GPT writes the blurbs, will anyone notice?)
The Article Club Enneagram: What’s your reading personality type?
10 ways to make the most of Article Club
The first-ever reader-curated issue (you interested?)
Got ideas? I’d love to hear from you. What would you like to see at Article Club? Let’s do this old-school style, with a good, old-fashioned voice message.
Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀
To our 64 new subscribers, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Lynn! Lynna! Lena!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader David, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.
If you like Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are two ways you can help out:
📬 Invite your friends to subscribe. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? I’d love it if you encouraged them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you for spreading the word.
❤️ Become a paid subscriber, like Nellie, Tanya, and Christine (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value Article Club. Plus you’ll gain access to our monthly discussions, our monthly quiet reading hours, and my personal audio letters from me to you. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.
On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT.
Hi Arlo! Looking great!
arlo is adorable!