In Case You Missed It: September 2016
Some of the best stuff on Medium, month by month
Election o’clock
Voices from the tech, business, and media worlds told readers where they stand in powerful ways during debate month.
Two internet innovators took out their wallets to go to bat for the blues. LinkedIn founder and executive chairman Reid Hoffman offered up to $5 million to aid the efforts of a Marine Corps veteran looking to raise money and incentivize Donald Trump to release his tax returns before the debate. (He also announced that his card-game creation, Trumped Up Cards, is now on sale to all — for $20.16.) Facebook and Asana cofounder Dustin Moskovitz revealed that he and his wife were breaking their nonpartisan rule to endorse Hillary Clinton and donate $20 million to Hillary’s campaign and a number of democratic organizations.
Power players in media spoke to their opinions of and hopes for HRC. Elizabeth Spiers identified with Hillary’s perceived “coldness,” while Jill Abramson addressed the candidate in a pre-debate letter. Others expressed their dismay at both candidates; former deputy White House Press Secretary B. Jay Cooper (bjaycooper) focused on Clinton’s lack of transparency, while Glenn Beck expounded on his general disappointment post-debate.
It comes as no surprise that voices collided on this topic, too — when the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore tried to get a theater to host his one-man-show about the presidential race in the red state of Ohio, Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselić responded that ingrained political bias can go both ways.
On more neutral ground, theSkimm shared the results of their most recent Skimm Study on how their female millennial audience is voting in 2016, and Y Combinator president Sam Altman announced a sweepstakes offered by VotePls, an organization he started to encourage young people to vote. And Late Night w/ Seth Meyers provided some comic relief with its visions of the candidates’ debate prep.
Speaking for themselves, the Democratic running mates got personal. Hillary Clinton took a moment to reflect on the women who have changed her life and on being a working mother, and Senator Tim Kaine wrote on Labor Day about memories from his dad’s ironworking shop.
Elsewhere in politics on Medium, Bernie Sanders gave his two cents on Wells Fargo, Vice President Biden appraised 22 years of the Violence Against Women Act, and (parody) President Richard M. Nixon set the record straight with a few words on Chris Christie. The Foundation for Research and Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) launched its FREOP publication, dedicated to sharing their progress on expanding opportunity to the economically disadvantaged.
Read on for more in politics on Medium.
Big issues in business & tech
Major figures in business and tech took stands on hot-button issues surrounding racism and sexism. In another post, Reid Hoffman made his case for recalling the judge who sentenced former Stanford student Brock Turner to an “unusually lenient” six months, earning a pair of grateful responses from the actor and activist rose mcgowan. Nita C. and Shaunna T., cofounders of UltraViolet, jointly wrote on how to improve the progressive movement through eliminating secondary victimization of sexual assault survivors. Anil Dash weighed in on John Greathouse’s inflammatory Wall Street Journal article suggesting that women in tech use their initials rather than full names to meet greater success. Ellen Pao explained the benefits of disagreement as they related to her diversity organization Project Include. Google engineer Ali Afshar told the shocking and traumatic story of his firsthand experience with police violence, and his plan to fight back.
Leaders zoomed out and took stock of pasts and futures of their industries. Lyft cofounder John Zimmer shared the company’s longterm vision while looking back at transportation revolutions of times past. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari laid out an explanation for the economy’s slow recovery and a plan for treating what ails it. Philz Coffee CEO Jacob Jaber announced the closure of their Series C funding round by taking a look back at the company’s history and forward to its next steps. And Spotify CTO Jeff Levick described the decision making behind his bittersweet departure from the company.
Notable members of the business and tech community shared more personal insights as well. Venture capitalist and Mediabistro founder Laurel Touby wrote a handbook for her tried-and-true recipe for success in work and in life. CTO of Redfin Bridget Frey imparted advice about learning how to get strategic. And Uber New York GM Josh Mohrer chimed in with hot takes on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Mixing up media
It was a lively month for professional writers and media figures on Medium. Investigative journalist and author Ethan Brown published the start of his new book, an investigation into a series of True Detective-style murders in Louisiana. Blogger, podcaster, and Youth Without Borders founder Yassmin Abdel-Magied expressed disdain for the Brisbane Writers Festival Keynote Address delivered by Lionel Shriver. And in an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Jarvis reiterated his opinion that Facebook needs to start acknowledging its influence on media even if it declines to define itself as such.
In pop culture commentary, TV writer Brian Moylan recapped the pilot of Dawson’s Creek, 18 years late — and New York Times tech correspondent Conor Dougherty entreated readers to band together in hopeful superstition to help the San Francisco Giants prevail.
Writers marked milestones and penned fond farewells. Publisher, editor in chief, and cofounder of Politico John Harris reflected on choosing journalism and the future of media. Foster Kamer, executive editor of Mental Floss, mused on the end of the magazine’s print life, and Anand Giridharadas signed off on his last “Letter from America” in the New York Times.
It was a month of beginnings, as well. Former executive editor and cofounder of Politico Jim VandeHei broke news that his new media venture secured funding and has plans to launch early next year. Jose Antonio Vargas and his team launched #EmergingUS, a publication about race, immigration, and American identity, on Medium. Steven Johnson and Nick Denton migrated their websites to Medium, and Quartz moved its blog here, too.
Taking a stand
Figures in the world of entertainment made headlines this month. In an open letter to Colin Kaepernick, football player and U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Nate Boyer joined the conversation about protesting the national anthem. Soccer legend Abby Wambach riffed on truth, fear, and writing the day before the release of her memoir. Former Knicks coach and hall-of-famer Derek Fisher congratulated Shaq on his own Hall of Fame induction.
In dispatches from Hollywood, actress ashley williams recounted the story of her miscarriage and invited readers to do the same, Anthony Bourdain remembered shooting an episode of Parts Unknown in Hanoi with President Barack Obama, Imitation Game writer Graham Moore argued for the essential link between invention and collaboration, and Wikipedia editors collected top tweets about the Emmys leading up to the awards.
Addressing the globe
From Syria to Brazil, leaders explored and explained global issues. Malala Yousafzai zeroed in on where young women fit into the refugee crisis, writing on her first day of school to implore readers to join the fight to ensure education for refugee children worldwide. Former President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff condemned the coup that removed her from office. Robert Harrison, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative, marked the foundation’s final annual meeting as it winds down its bigger initiatives. And Barack Obama remarked on the U.S. entering the Paris Agreement and taking another step toward global responsibility in the face of climate change.
