Here is what they said — When it comes to articles that completely miss the mark, you can’t go past Josh Butler’s piece on the Gospel Coalition website, where he attempts to explain why former Christians walk away from their faith. The article, entitled “4 Causes of Deconstruction,” likens faith deconstruction to a disease, and makes…

We know what anti-woke really means — The anti-woke cruscade is rooted in fear and ignorance, a mnemonic placeholder for the bigoted things most people wouldn't dare say aloud. Black Americans have been using the term "woke" since the 1940s to describe a state of awareness toward racist policies and worldviews that negatively impact the Black community…

Isn’t everyone obsessive about music? — I thought everyone spent hours hunting through record and charity stores for vinyl and CD albums. I was certain everyone has their shelves at home crammed with physical discs and allocates specific corners of the house for specific artists’ discs. And I assumed everyone kept their vinyl records and decks…

Censorship, gatekeeping, and corporate propaganda. — When the MCU first came onto the scene, it was praised as a bold new direction in storytelling. "The Narrative Experiment That Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe" went the title of an article by Maya Phillips in the New Yorker. "…the MCU can't forget the secret formula that made Phase…

His Words They Never Bring Up — There is the Martin that America claims as one of its greatest heroes, and the Martin that was for America to revere MLK as it now does. It had to forget what they thought about him while he lived and dilute and distill his message to reflect what is convenient. …

Has viral validation ended the long game? — When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN on April 4, 1968, he was likely the most hated man in America. He was certainly on the short list. Don’t be fooled by the historical fiction peddled in American classrooms, in which an entire nation rallied around a docile…

Discover proven techniques for writing engaging and persuasive introduction paragraphs — Writing essays can be hard. Writing an essay introduction is even harder, but perhaps not for the reasons you think. I want you to imagine you’ve been assigned to read and grade 30 essays next week. You sit down, grab the first paper off the stack, and start to peruse. …

They’re not what you think. — Recently I found myself asking this question: “Why aren’t you more successful?” Everyone defines success in their own way, but most definitions have a few things in common. They share a degree of recognition and financial independence. Even if they talk about meaning and purpose, most of these people still…

Even when we veer wildly off-course — As kids, many of us dreamed of secret worlds whispering and beckoning us to their doors. We knew we had a specific purpose yet to be realized. Sweeping epic stories were ours for the taking … we just needed to know where to find them. We harbored hopes and dreams…

My dad told me almost everything to prevent me from finding out one thing — As I wrote the title of my story, I feel his anger from beyond. He did everything he could to keep me from knowing this, let alone the world. The world has changed since you left. The shame you carried with you all your life might not have been why…

Looking back at the start of a 45-year-long adventure — I can personally guarantee you that every comedian you’ve ever seen feels they don’t have as much good material as they wish they had. The biggest comedians you can name still go onstage with a little worry in the back of their head, that whatever they have might not be…

For some of us, it works. — “Honestly, I couldn’t stand you at first.” I’ve heard that a few times, usually from people I barely knew. A while back, there was this one woman who kept thanking me for a favor I did. It felt weird. I asked her what was up. At last, she dropped her…

It’s not as hard as you think. — Imagine you’re an Asian woman. I know that’s a weird way to start off an article about making tons of money. Work with me here. Okay, so… You’re an Asian woman. You’re also an assistant professor of medicine, and a highly respected writer. You get invited as a keynote speaker…

How One of Fashion’s Great Names Turned to Spite and Contempt — Only to Find Itself Devoured by Them — We’re going to do something a little different today. I’m going to attempt to tell the story of how the global economy went wrong — unleashing a fascist mega-wave upon the world — by way of…a fashion brand. Now, if you’re into fashion and culture, this should be interesting, and…

Get your project off to the right start and into people’s inboxes — I’ve written a newsletter in various forms for almost three years. And while I don’t claim to be any kind of expert (sorry, there will not be a “masterclass”), I’ve learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. I’m writing this to help you avoid some of the traps…

We have reached peak mediocrity. — For a good while I thought I was too old for TikTok. I just kept to media consumption’s legacy means thinking “You’ll never get me, China!” up until the moment YouTube launched its knockoff feature. Now I wake up to a mind-numbing thumb cardio session, swiping past a clip or…

The basic strategy I use to get a million impressions and 900 link clicks a month — This guide should be a game changer for anyone looking to increase their visibility on Twitter. I will show you how to leverage popular tweets to increase your drop your link in a place where it will be seen by thousands. Note: best viewed on computer

Great articles just waiting for you to write them — If you’re like me, you likely have a pot of ideas known as your Drafts Folder. Some of those rise to the top and become great stories. Some become a great story, but for whatever reason, never really take off the way you’d hoped. …

It’s home. — In 2016, I was promoting Tiered Democratic Governance (TDG) on an internet forum called “Writerbeat.” This forum was a nice community with original articles creating 20 or more responses. I still maintain contact with some of these people even though Writerbeat is now defunct.