Hey, it’s me. Well, me and Anna Faris. If you’d told me, when I embarked on a career as a serious technology writer two decades ago, that one day I’d be sitting in a study in Pacific Palisades, knocking back a glass of wine with the Scary Movie star (am I dating myself?) and recording an episode of Hello Monday, I’d have laughed you out of the room….after I asked you what a podcast was.
And yet here I am, kicking off a second season of Hello Monday, a podcast that began as an investigation into the changing nature of work—and has become a show about how that work is changing us.
This season promises to be fun. Next week is Jerry Colonna, a career coach who many of you know. I’ll talk to former Google exec Jessica Powell about leaving a career she liked to pursue one she loved. I’ll interview Harvard Business School professor Arthur Brooks about his decision to leave his post as the head of the American Enterprise Institute before he lost his edge, a stage he calls professional decline. I’ll talk to writer Roxane Gay about how to try new things.
This year has marked a change in direction for me: until now, I wrote about technology through the lens of business. My filter bubble grew so thick that most of what I understood about the world was shaped by that small-but-critical group of companies and people. But my curiosities had evolved, and as I’ve pursued them, my thinking has, too.
It’s left me at a crossroads with my newsletter. Many of the OG among you signed up for incisive insider perspectives on technology. But right now, I’m more interested in technology’s impact on people—how we make a living in and making meaning out of lives infused by the tools that didn’t exist when I began.
Like podcasts. Why talk to Anna Faris? Because she was already incredibly successful in her traditional career—17 movies in 19 years plus a seven-season CBS sitcom—when she dipped into a new format made possible by technology. It changed everything for her. Her podcast, Anna Faris is Unqualified.
So, I’m bringing back the newsletter—on a different platform, Substack. Expect to hear from me a couple of times a month. Send me your news, and I’ll include it because I *love* personal news. And, I’ve still got two episodes of Hello Monday to program this fall, so send me your suggestions for guests and topics.
Things I’ve made: You can catch up on Season One of Hello Monday here.
Obsessions: I’m following the CEO drama at the company formerly known as WeWork. It has me wondering when supervoting structures for founders actually serve companies? I’m pretty sure Mark Pincus first introduced the structure, and he canceled his supervoting shares at Zynga last year, bringing his control of the voting power of the company’s board from 70% to 10%. In the 12 years since Zynga was incorporated, are there any examples of companies that truly benefited and became more successful (not more enriching, but more impactful) as a result?
Things I’ve read:
Airbnb’s employees want it to go public already.
Some We board members hope to push CEO Adam Neumann to step down.
Your professional decline is coming much sooner than you think.
Engineers sprint ahead, but don’t underestimate the poets.
On Facebook’s new oversight board.
A Brutal Murder, a Wearable Witness, and an Unlikely Suspect.
Things I’ve heard:
Planet Money Episode 939: The Working Tapes of Studs Turkel
Kudos: New Humans! A heck of a lot! Baby bios in the next letter.
Kudos: New Jobs! So many since I last wrote! Herewith, just a few:
Kim Kelleher started earlier this fall as President of Advertising Sales and Partnerships at AMC Networks.
Former Meetup CTO Yvette Pasqua has signed on as a vp of engineering at Haven, the healthcare joint venture backed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathway, and JP Morgan Chase and helmed by Atul Gawande.
Former WeWorker Kyle Ranson-Walsh starts at Luminary next Monday as the head of brand development.
PS: If you’d like to help me out, please 👍rate & review 👍Hello Monday on Apple’s podcast app. It takes mere seconds, and helps us an irrational amount with discovery.
***So maybe you’re asking, what’s this about again? You're my brain trust. I don't write for thousands. I write to exchange ideas with the small group of people I've met and who matter to me, in hopes that together we can figure out something more about where the world is going and how it gets there. This is a team sport. This note will occasionally include gossip and half-baked ideas, and so it'll be invitation-only. I'm keeping this community very small. If you decide it's not for you, please unsubscribe.