We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Sheet Cake

The Debbie Downer and Negative Nancy of newsletters is too tired to tapdance.

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Spread Nation,

Last week, we promised we’d be back in the “after,” meaning our usual Spread Wednesday. But once yesterday actually came, we figured you didn’t want to hear from us. Honestly, we didn’t want to hear from us. We’re not here to try to comfort, distract, entertain, rally—and we’re certainly not going to pretend to make sense of anything. Eight years ago, we were fueled by outrage, hot to hit the streets; this time, we just want to pull the covers over our heads—an instinct that, at the very least, Michelle Goldberg made us feel better about in today’s op-ed. “I expect the next few months to be a period of mourning rather than defiance,” she writes. “My own instinct — which conflicts with the demands of my job — is to retreat into my family, to look for solace in time with friends, in theater and in novels, to block out the humiliating truth about what my country has decided to become.”  

There was truly only one productive thing we could think of to do from the safety of the duvet: to make a donation to Whole Woman’s Health Alliance in the name of our passionate, defiant, undoubtedly heartbroken but also resilient Spread Fam. Thank you to the paid subscribers whose contributions enabled us to do this. It’ll never be enough, but at least it feels like something. Join us here, if you feel so inclined. 

We’re more grateful than ever for this community. Do what you need to do to get through these long, bizarre days—no judgment. We’ll be back next week. 

Love,

Rachel & Maggie

PS: COMING UP… 

• The Agents’ side of the story. 

• Need a break from thinking? In a total “women’s mag” test drive, she got a new haircut, new clothes, and picked a new wall color all because A.I. chatbots told her to. Read “I Took a ‘Decision Holiday’ and Put A.I. in Charge of My Life,” in the New York Times here. 

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