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 ClubThis 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 (expensive! controversial!)* Ms. Zhang asks a provocative question and examines it from all sides* Even though the article is about pets, it’s really about human relationshipsWhere’s the line between being a caring pet owner and doing too much? If you consider your pet a part of the family — or if you judge people who consider their pet part of the family — you’ll love this article.I hope you’ll sign up to discuss the piece on Sunday, June 25, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom. Article Clubbers are kind and thoughtful and welcoming. Our conversations are always in small, intimate, facilitated groups. Reach out if you have questions or if you want to participate in the conversation but are secretly shy or nervous.2️⃣ My interview with Sarah ZhangOne of the best parts of Article Club (in addition to our monthly discussions) is the generosity of journalists and how they share their insights on the outstanding articles they write. Ms. Zhang (who has two cats herself!) was kind and thoughtful, and it was a delight to chat with her. We talked about a number of topics, including:* why this topic — how much we are willing to spend on our pets — is fraught with judgment (what’s too much? too little?)* how cat kidney transplants raise major ethical questions (namely: the kidney comes from another cat, who can’t consent)* how pets serve an “in-between” role in our lives — how they’re not exactly our children, but they’re not exactly our property (and how that’s confusing)I hope you take a listen! (You can click the player at the top or subscribe to The Highlighter Article Club on your favorite podcast player.)3️⃣ Issue #400 is coming! What do you think about all this?We’re coming up on eight years and 400 issues of this newsletter, which is a mild marvel, and to celebrate the occasion, I’d love to hear from you. What has been your experience of reading The Highlighter Article Club or participating in the discussions? Do you have any kind words, or words or wisdom, or requests for the next eight years? Feel free to leave a comment or reply privately. Thank you!Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀To our new subscriber Susan – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (July! Julio! Julia!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Brett, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter 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 Susan, Courtney, and Sara (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. 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. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 ClubThis 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. Bazelon — staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, senior research fellow at Yale Law School, and co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest — knows how to write and knows what she’s talking aboutInstead of focusing on the current politics of the Court, Ms. Bazelon takes us back in time, helping us understand the history of affirmative action through a close study of the Bakke decision and the legal strategy of attorney Archibald Cox — which won the case but ultimately left affirmative action vulnerable.I hope you’ll sign up to discuss the article on Sunday, May 21, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom. Article Clubbers are kind and thoughtful and welcoming. Our conversations are always in small, intimate, facilitated groups. Reach out if you have questions or if you want to participate in the conversation but are secretly shy or nervous.2️⃣ My interview with Ms. BazelonI can’t stop thinking about how much fun it was to chat with Ms. Bazelon. She was a total pro: generous, thoughtful, and deeply knowledgeable. (My friends have told me to stop gushing.) We talked about a number of topics, including:* how Mr. Cox cobbled together a victory by wooing a segregationist justice* how the justices have wildly different interpretations of the 14th Amendment* how white people have a very short amount of patience for thinking about the harms of race discriminationThere is a fundamental American tension between prizing individual achievement and promoting the collective spirit of the nation’s egalitarian promise, between the call to be colorblind and the call not to be blind to racism.I hope you take a listen! (You can click the player at the top or subscribe to The Highlighter Article Club on your favorite podcast player.)3️⃣ Article Club author Eli Saslow wins another Pulitzer PrizeWhen I spoke with Eli Saslow last November about “An American Education,” I asked him how it felt to win a Pulitzer Prize. He shared his complex feelings: both that he was “hugely gratified” for the acknowledgment but also “a little conflicted” given that he writes about people’s worst moments and our country’s deepest problems.I appreciated the thoughtfulness of that answer, and I have continued recommending Mr. Saslow’s work to my colleagues. For those reasons and more, I was delighted to hear that he won yet another Pulitzer Prize this week. Here’s a clip:Congratulations, Mr. Saslow! You are further evidence proving my bold claim — that writers who participate in Article Club go on to win Pulitzers. My other evidence? Mitchell S. Jackson. (Sadly, I can’t take credit for Kathryn Schulz or Stephanie McCrummen; they won their Pulitzers beforehand.) 4️⃣ Meet other thoughtful readers at HHH on June 1Highlighter Happy Hour has been one of the most joyful ways for us to gather, connect, and celebrate our reading community. We’re heading into the 20th HHH! Can you believe it?We’ll be meeting up at Room 389 in Oakland on June 1 beginning at 5:30.If you live or work not too far from Oakland, it’d be great to see you there. If you get a free ticket, you’ll get a prize at the door. And just in case you’re nervous: Yes, we do chat about the articles — but only sometimes, and usually just tangentially.Thank you for reading this week’s issue and for listening to the interview. Hope you liked it. 😀If you like The Highlighter 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 Brad (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. 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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 their mind, affirmative action might be dead.I deeply appreciated Ms. Bazelon’s article because she offers context for the upcoming decisions. Instead of discussing the current cases in detail, Ms. Bazelon explains the history of affirmative action and tells the story of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the 1978 landmark decision that still serves as legal precedent.Today’s issue is a three-parter. You get:* an introduction to this month’s article* a podcast episode with me and fellow Article Clubber Melinda, where we share why we liked the article so much* an invitation to join this month’s discussion on May 21Before that, though — a little bit about the author: Ms. Bazelon is a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine and is the Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School. She is also the author of Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the current-interest category, and of the national best-seller Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. She is a co-host of Slate’s Political Gabfest, a weekly podcast. Ms. Bazelon has generously agreed to record a podcast interview.I hope you’ll read the article and join our discussion on Sunday, May 21, at 2 pm PT. You can find out more information about the article and discussion below.Why Is Affirmative Action In Peril?The Supreme Court most likely will strike down affirmative action in June. This article explains why. According to journalist and law lecturer Emily Bazelon, it all comes down to understanding Regents v. Bakke, the 1978 decision that banned racial quotas but preserved affirmative action. In order to lure enough justices, lawyer Archibald Cox devised a strategy that centered the benefits of diversity, rather than the responsibility of reparations, as the reason affirmative action should continue. In other words: Let’s forget that the 14th Amendment’s purpose was to give equal rights to Black Americans. In the short term, the tactic worked. The Court sided with Mr. Cox 5-4, and affirmative action has endured despite many challenges, including in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) and Fisher v. Texas (2016). But now with a much more conservative court, Ms. Bazelon suggests that affirmative action’s “diversity” rationale may be similar to abortion’s “privacy” rationale — way too flimsy to survive. (35 min)This month, I warmly invite you to read, annotate, and discuss “Why Is Affirmative Action in Peril?” as part of Article Club.If you’re interested, this how things will go:* This week, we’ll read the article* Next week, we’ll annotate the article as a group* The following week, we’ll hear from Ms. Bazelon in a podcast interview* On Sunday, May 21, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT, we’ll discuss the article on Zoom.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. Feel free to reach out with all of your questions.Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀To our 6 new subscribers – including Montessa, Eric, Cory, Lisa, and Josette — I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Fern! Fred! Faith!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Kathy, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are two ways you can help out:❤️ Become a paid subscriber, like Xavier (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. It’s $5 a month or $36 a year.📬 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.☕️ Buy me a coffee. If subscriptions (or commitments in general) stress you out, you can share your gratitude by making a one-time donation. Coffee helps me find the best articles and supports my overall reading stamina.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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 memoir to fantasy novels, she’s normally reading several things at once and hunting for her next read at her favorite local bookstore, Solid State Books.This time, we’re talking about this month’s selection, “The Sunset,” by Lisa Bubert. It’s a personal essay about Ms. Bubert’s time working in a nursing home when she was a college student. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend that you do.Here are some topics we talked about:* how Melinda experienced her first AC discussion last month* how impressed we were with Ms. Bubert’s writing and structure* what we got out of the essay and what we most valued* what questions we want to ask Ms. Bubert at our discussion (she’s joining us!)Hope you appreciate this conversation with me and Melinda. I’d love to hear your thoughts!Also, last thing: There’s still room if you want to join our discussion of “The Sunset” on April 30. We’re meeting up 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT via Zoom. All you need to do is sign up below, and once you do, I’ll send you more details. Have a great week, and see you this Thursday for Issue #390 of The Highlighter Article Club. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 still time to sign up. Article Clubbers are kind and thoughtful and welcoming. Our conversations are always in small, intimate, facilitated groups. Plus there’s a bonus: Ms. Bubert will be joining us!I’m excited to share that I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Bubert a couple days ago about her brilliant essay. We talked about a number of topics, including:* how we care about our grandparents but not our elderly* how we don’t care about the people who care for the elderly (i.e., Black women)* how death is the most vulnerable act* how “there is no act of love greater than to sit with someone as they face their deepest moment of vulnerability”* how the elderly deserve our dignity, and how “dignity requires witness”I hope you take a listen and share your thoughts in the comments.Thank you for listening to the interview. Hope you liked it. 😀To our 8 new subscribers – including Pamela, Jessica, John, Abbie, Madison, Bianca, and Albert – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Dave! Danny! Derek!), you’re pretty great. Loyal reader Nancy, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are two ways you can help out:❤️ Become a paid subscriber, like Venus and Yolanda (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes.📬 Invite your friends. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? Share with them today’s issue and urge them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you very much for spreading the word.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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 upcoming top surgery. It’s outstanding.Also: I hope you’ll join us to discuss the article on Sunday, February 26, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom. There’s still time to sign up! Article Clubbers are kind and thoughtful and welcoming. Our conversations are always in small, intimate, facilitated groups.I’m excited to share that I had the opportunity to interview Naomi a couple days ago about her brilliant essay. We talked about a number of topics, including:* how it feels to be on the other side of her top surgery* how there’s no one monolithic experience of being trans* how trans people deserve stories of nuance and complexity* how writing is like going down to the bottom of the ocean and noticing what you’re seeing along the way* how educators should treat trans kids (and all kids) in the classroomI hope you take a listen and let me know what you think.Thank you for reading this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀To our 65 new subscribers – including Faith, Francis, Jessica, Sarah, Mary Lou, Adrienne, Hilary, Jenn, Maria, Kate, Tracy, Marilyn, Paula, Kellie, Abby, Laura, Tim, Dakota, Lauren, Shannon, Erin, Dolores, Colleen, Carly, Nicole, Lorna, Heidi, Paula, Kat, Emma, Kelsey, Kim, Alex, Terri, Hallie, Jodie, Carolyn, Tiffany, Marian, Melinda, and Jillian – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Venus! Vard! Violet!), you’re pretty great. Loyal reader Mike, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are two ways you can help out:❤️ Become a paid subscriber, like Lorna and Jack (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. (The hoodie is next!)📬 Invite your friends. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? Share with them today’s issue and urge them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you very much for spreading the word.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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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. Butler. Now, thanks to Mr. Jung, we have one.Also: I hope you’ll join us to discuss the article on January 29, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom. There’s still time to sign up! Article Clubbers are kind and thoughtful and welcoming. Our conversations are always in small, intimate, facilitated groups. I’m excited to share that Sarai and I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Jung a couple weeks ago about his brilliant article. Sarai took the lead this time – which I was very happy about, given that she’s an expert of Ms. Butler’s work. We talked about a number of topics, including:* why Mr. Jung decided to focus on Ms. Butler as a subject* how reading her personal journals influenced Mr. Jung’s approach to the piece* why contracts (professional and personal) were so important to Ms. Butler* manifesting (of course)* how Ms. Butler pushes us to imagine a better worldI hope you take a listen and let me know what you think.Thank you for listening to this week’s issue. Hope you liked it. 😀To our 3 new subscribers — James, Rachel, and Bria – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Ronald! Reginald! Ryan!), you’re pretty great. VIP Camille, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are two ways you can help out:❤️ Become a paid subscriber, like Rachel and Helene (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. (The hoodie is next!)📬 Invite your friends. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? Share with them today’s issue and urge them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you very much for spreading the word.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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 educators from the Philippines. It’s also about one of those top-notch educators – Rose Jean Obreque – whose skills and optimism and high expectations and growth mindset unfortunately are no match for American middle school students and their shenanigans. It’s a depressing story, no doubt, but it nonetheless tells the truth of what teachers and students are currently experiencing in schools across the country. I hope you’ll join us to discuss the article on November 20, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT on Zoom.I’m also very happy to share that I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Saslow yesterday about his brilliant article. We talked about a number of topics, including:* how writing the piece reaffirmed his deep respect and appreciation for teachers * how it felt to be in a chaotic classroom, especially as a parent* how of course it’s hard to recruit teachers when you’re paying them $38,000* how he approaches writing about what it’s like for people who are “in the swirl of our country’s biggest problems” * and yes, spoiler alert, that ending (wow)I hope you take a listen and let me know what you think. Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter Article Club. Hope you liked it. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback. I’d love to hear from you.To our five new subscribers – including Chris, Daniel, and Rebecca – I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Irene! Izzy! Isis!), you’re pretty great, too. Loyal reader Janet, thank you for sharing the newsletter and getting the word out.If you like The Highlighter Article Club, please help it grow. I really appreciate your support. Here are some ways you can help out:📬 Invite your friends. Know someone who’s kind, thoughtful, and loves to read? Share with them today’s issue and urge them to subscribe. Word of mouth is by far the best way to strengthen our reading community. Thank you very much for spreading the word.❤️ Become a paid subscriber for $3 a month, like Chris and Cal (thank you!). You’ll join an esteemed group of readers who value the mission of The Highlighter Article Club. Plus you’ll receive surprise perks and prizes. (A new T-shirt is coming at HHH.)☕️ Buy me a coffee to express your appreciation of the newsletterOn 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! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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 Prize-winning author of “Twelve Minutes and a Life” (please read it if you haven’t) — generously said yes to participating in an interview about his masterful recent article, “Looking for Clarence Thomas.” We’re discussing it on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 pm PT. Join us!What do you do when you get to talk to someone whose work you deeply admire?In my case, I get nervous. And prepare. And re-read. And annotate. And reach out to my friend and colleague Sarai Bordeaux and ask her to join. (She said yes, too.)But it turns out, I didn’t need to be afraid at all. Mr. Jackson was kind and gracious from the start. He laughed that I insisted on calling him Mr. Jackson. And right from the first question, everything felt natural, like we were talking to a friend rather than to a famous writer whose prose is changing the canon (Sarai’s words) of longform nonfiction.We talked about a number of topics, including:* how he didn’t want to write about Clarence Thomas* how his editor persuaded him* how his trip to Pin Point inspired the piece’s opening* how James Baldwin’s writing helped him understand Mr. Thomas, and* how Mr. Thomas is a man of deep contradictions, whose time on the Supreme Court has caused “dramatically malevolent things to wide swaths of Americans”Most of all, though, Mr. Jackson talked about the craft of writing, how if he’s going to spend months on a feature story, he wants to push himself, he wants to break convention, he wants to do something new with form.He said, “I’m very much concerned with the sentence. I’m almost concerned with the sentence over the story. And so the benefit of writing nonfiction is, You don’t have to invent the scenes, but the kind of ethos of wanting to make beautiful sentences, that’s really what I want to do.”I hope you take a listen, whether or not you’ve already read “Looking for Clarence Thomas.” I’d love to hear what you think of the conversation! Feel free to leave a comment here. What was thought provoking? What surprised you? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe

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. 25 at 2 pm PT.I’m very honored to announce that this week’s issue of The Highlighter is dedicated to a conversation I had with Mr. Arax a few days ago. We talked about a range of topics, including: his love-hate relationship with California; how water politics determine who succeeds and who suffers in the state; how meeting William Saroyan influenced his writing; how he approaches reporting with compassion and nuance; and what we need to do to make sure California survives.I hope you take a listen, whether or not you’ve already read “A Kingdom from Dust.” Hearing from Mr. Arax made me proud to be a Californian, even if our state is facing potentially catastrophic climate calamity.The interview also got me excited to order Mr. Arax’s latest book, The Dreamt Land: Chasing Water and Dust Across California, which received rave reviews, including recommendations from Linda Ronstadt and Mark Bittman.I’d love to hear what you think of the conversation! Feel free to leave a comment here. What was thought provoking? What surprised you? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit articleclub.substack.com/subscribe