Hi Loyal Readers. I have two pieces of good news to begin this week’s newsletter:
Many of you reached out after last week’s issue to say kind things. Thank you.
Several of you signed up for our discussion of “The Egg” on April 27
That’s what Article Club is all about. We’re a kind, thoughtful community that likes to read and discuss the best articles on race, education, and culture. Whether you’re a new or not-so-new subscriber, thank you for being here.
Over the last 5 ½ years, one consistent feature of this newsletter has been its monthly interviews with authors. We launched with Jia Tolentino back in January 2020 and have never looked back. This week, I’m excited to share a conversation that my co-host
had with Susan Berfield, who co-wrote “The Egg” with a team of investigative journalists at Bloomberg. My hope is that you’ll listen to the interview and then sign up for our discussion on April 27.
If learning more about the human egg trade is not your thing, scroll down past the fold for two other pieces that I feel are worthy of your time and attention. They’re about:
A librarian in New York who reminds us there was a time before Google
A college student who wanted to fit in at his fraternity, no matter the cost
As always, thank you for trusting me to supply you with things to read. My hope is that they spark new thinking, expand your empathy, and bring you joy.
An interview with Susan Berfield, author of “The Egg”
The more I re-read “The Egg,” the more I respect Susan Berfield and her colleagues at Bloomberg who brought us this robust report on the human egg trade. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I highly recommend you do:
Original Article • Gift Link • Google Docs version • Audio version
Sadly, this kind of journalism — big investigative journalism — rarely exists anymore. That is why I am so grateful that Susan Berfield generously said yes to sharing her thoughts with us at Article Club.
In her interview with Melinda, Ms. Berfield shares the impetus for the article, how she and her team went about reporting it, and the lessons she learned along the way. I appreciated how Ms. Berfield characterizes the tension between the opportunity and the exploitation that women experience in selling their eggs.
It’s a thoughtful conversation on an important topic — one that seems to be receiving a lot of attention lately. I hope you take a listen and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks again to Ms. Berfield. Here’s more on her work:
Susan Berfield is an award-winning investigative reporter and editor for Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg News where she’s exposed how Walmart spies on its workers and McDonald's made enemies of its Black franchisees. She uncovered a con man who talked a small Missouri town out of millions and revealed how Beverly Hills billionaires bought up an enormous water supply in the Central Valley. Her story about the biggest food fraud in U.S. history was the basis for an episode of the Netflix documentary series, Rotten.
This is loyal reader Anne’s morning walk in Marin County, California. Not bad, Anne — not bad! Fellow readers, where do you find your peace?
This is loyal reader Anne’s morning walk in Marin County, California. Not bad, Anne — not bad! Fellow readers, where do you find your peace?
2️⃣ The Department Of Everything
Stephen Akey: “How do you find the life expectancy of a California condor? Google it. Or the gross national product of Morocco? Google it. Or the final resting place of Tom Paine? Google it. There was a time, however — not all that long ago — when you couldn’t Google it or ask Siri or whatever cyber equivalent comes next. You had to do it the hard way—by consulting reference books, indexes, catalogs, almanacs, statistical abstracts, and myriad other printed sources. Or you could save yourself all that time and trouble by taking the easiest available shortcut: You could call me.”
By Stephen Akey • The Hedgehog Review • 8 min • Gift Link
3️⃣ Greek Tragedy: A Drowning At Dartmouth
Susan Zalkind: “Signs of Won Jang’s mounting distress appeared almost immediately after he pledged the Beta Alpha Omega fraternity in the fall of 2023. During calls and visits home, his parents noticed their once-confident son had lost his spark, increasingly preoccupied with his standing among fraternity brothers. He worried about how he fit in — or didn’t — with the brothers and about the ‘vibe’ of his house. ‘I could see that it was very stressful because he didn’t feel like he fit into the mold of what a person from that house would be,’ a college friend later explained, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of student blowback. ‘He wasn’t a white athlete. He wasn’t tall. He wasn’t from an affluent family. And he felt like he had to compensate for that.’ ”
By Susan Zalkind • Boston Magazine • 26 min • Gift Link
Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀
To all of our 8 new subscribers — including Vicky, Niko, Mikee, Jennifer, Sophia, and Danielle — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Mandy! Mindy! Mony!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Annalise, thank you for getting the word out.
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 or 72 cents an issue. I am very appreciative of Gina, our latest paid subscriber. Thank you!
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