Today we released the final episode of Call Your Girlfriend. It's the end of a professional era for me, and I still can't believe that this fun side project I started with two dear friends has made such a lasting impact on my life and career. If you've ever counted yourself among our listenership, thank you for giving us your attention all these years. It feels really good to end on a high note. And to feel a fresh breeze blowing through my creative life.

And speaking of fresh starts... Have you ever heard someone ask a writer or artist, "Where do you get your ideas?" My friend Jade Chang and I have long considered this the wrong question. We should all be asking, "How do you develop your ideas?" Or, to be more specific about it: How do you narrow down a bunch of half-baked ideas to the one you want to pursue? How do you translate your interest in a broad topic to an actual podcast or TV script? What separates a clear, actionable essay idea from a vague thought that's destined to wither in your notes app? And is it possible to get better at honing your ideas? 

A few years ago, Jade and I put together a workshop that addressed these questions, with examples from our own careers and from other creators'. The people who attended called it "a transformative experience" and "the best professional workshop I've ever attended." So we decided to bring our ideas workshop back this spring. We'll be doing it over the course of two Saturdays—March 26 and April 2—on zoom. We're calling ourselves the Midwives of Invention because we want to guide and cheer you along as you birth your ideas. Click here for all the details. 

Wesley Morris with a stunner of an essay on the power of a good cry—personally and politically—in this moment.  

Madiba K. Dennie on what it really means to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. And Tamar Sarai Davis reports on the false promise of the Black police chief.

A damning takedown of "sustainable" fashion. And some tips for retraining yourself to buy less. My personal strategy is to bookmark everything I'm tempted to buy. Clicking "save to Pinterest" instead of "add to cart" tends to curb my impulses, then the board serves as a reminder of things to keep an eye out for when I'm thrifting.

An absorbing personal history of Reverend Mother, the cultish leader of a Pentecostal church in 1940s Brooklyn, by Christine Grimaldi—whose grandmother was among her acolytes. And a modern grift warning: How Forbes became a platform for scams and bad journalism.

How doctors fail people who have miscarriages and people with relatively common postpartum conditions. And how Pfizer positions its vaccine as private intellectual property, ignoring the fact that it relied on decades of publicly funded research.

A wide-ranging look at Harriet Tubman's life and legacy, 200 years after her birth. Start with Deirdre Cooper Owens' piece about the fact that Tubman was disabled, and "how power and vulnerability can not only co-exist but work together in liberatory ways."

Pie charts appear courtesy of my paying members, who each contribute $15/year. Thanks, members! You keep this whole operation afloat.

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Love Thy Neighbor, a new podcast about a car accident that set off four days on unrest in Brooklyn and ended up changing the city. I'm absolutely loving Bridget Everett's "Somebody Somehwere."A new documentary about Poly Styrene. And how different dips would dance.

Rest in power, Betty Davis. Here's the NYT in 1974: "Miss Davis is trying to tell us something real and basic about our irrational needs, and western civilisation puts its highest premiums on conformity and rationality and rarely recognises the Bessies or the Bettys until they’re gone." You can read a discussion between Erykah Badu and Joi about her influence, and rent the documentary about her, They Say I'm Different.

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The Anti-Transgender Legislation Tracker. Use it to wrap your head around the sheer number of hateful bills moving through state legislatures that would ban trans youth from playing sports, prevent trans people from accessing health care, prohibit incarcerated people from changing their name to match their identity, and more. Then head to the National Center for Transgender Equality's action center to find out which of these bills are at a point where you should be contacting your legislators.