Writing in First Draft
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Why One Performance Was Seen—and Another Wasn’t
Two films, two transgressions, one hierarchy
Jan 13
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First Draft Thinking
3
2
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The Good Soldier: Marco Rubio and the Paradox of Control
This past weekend, Donald Trump stood at Mar-a-Lago and spoke casually about the U.S.
Jan 7
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First Draft Thinking
1
An End of Year Interview
I’m writing this from my basement, the morning after Christmas, drinking coffee quietly, trying not to make too much noise in case the kids hear me and…
Dec 26, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
2
1
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The Upside of Collapse
Sep 14, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
15
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Field Notes on Generational Shame
Nov 23, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
8
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The Reckoning Progressives Still Owe Each Other
Oct 12, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
6
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RIP, RFP
Dec 14, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
5
2
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An End of Year Interview
Dec 26, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
2
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The Disbelief I Didn't See Coming
Nov 13, 2024
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First Draft Thinking
3
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RIP, RFP
What My Year of Rejection Revealed About Our Broken Procurement Ritual
Dec 14, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
5
2
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Where the Work Needs Us to Go
Leadership as the Practice of Understanding How People Need to Be Led
Dec 4, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
2
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Field Notes on Generational Shame
Leading my first men’s retreat on sacred ground revealed the distance I feel from my generation — and affirmed my commitment to the young facilitators…
Nov 23, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
8
2
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The End of Elite
In Post–Affirmative Action America, Black Exclusion Has Become a Feature, Not a Bug
Nov 12, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
3
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How Our Feedback Cultures Can Starve Resilience — and What It Takes to Feed It
This essay continues my exploration of resilience that began in The Upside of Collapse. There, I wrote that resilient systems aren’t the ones that avoid…
Nov 3, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
1
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The Games They Play
Basketball, Betting, the FBI, and the Politics of Distraction
Oct 26, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
2
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The Talk 2.0: A Bedtime Lesson for My Daughter
On words, worth, and what it takes to raise a Black child who knows her power.
Oct 19, 2025
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First Draft Thinking
2
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