Hi everyone —
Happy December??!
I wanted to share with you my new feature story on “tiny home” shelters I’ve been working on for the last few months. I learned a lot about homelessness while reporting this, and spoke with researchers, advocates, manufacturers, critics, politicians, and ‘tiny home’ residents themselves. It’s a topic that challenged me, with don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good and how low are we really willing to go? echoing constantly throughout the reporting.
I was lucky to be joined by two photographers while reporting in California, who I think took really powerful photos to accompany the story.
You can read the story here.
Here’s my Dad’s review!
I wanted to share one other thing. Yesterday my company had layoffs. My job is fortunately safe, but we’re losing some really talented, kind colleagues and to lose your job before the holidays is particularly bitter. Our union has organized a layoff fund here, if you’re inclined to contribute anything. I remain excited about upcoming things at Vox, including something I have coming out next week, but I understand at the end of the day, digital media is a brutal industry and journalism is increasingly under attack from all sides. It’s also partly why I keep this newsletter going. I think it’s important to an independent relationship with my readers and sources, because who knows what will happen in the future and I want to be able to continue to share with you work, no matter where I go. This newsletter started when I was full-time freelancing, and it’s of course totally possible I’ll be freelancing again one day.
I so earnestly believe in journalism and its necessity for democracy and empowering people, and I also know every news organization is trying to figure out how to make the economics work. So please, if you’re able, subscribe to media outlets. One of my favorite things about working at Vox is there is no paywall. That’s unlike most of my other most-read news sources, and it’s something that really makes me proud, because I like knowing that someone curious out there may be googling a question, and no matter their background or economic situation, they can read the information I’m working to gather, which isn’t true for many other top outlets. I don’t begrudge outlets for enacting paywalls, but I’m glad Vox doesn’t have one and hope it stays that way. Vox has a membership + contribution program though, for those who are able and willing to pay to help keep it free for others. So I hope maybe you’ll consider that, and/or consider subscribing to your local papers, alt-weeklies, or just the big newspapers you have avoided paying for up to this point, but find ways to read. No judgment. Today’s a new day!