Katie Roiphe, The Wall Street Journal Journalist Profile

Articles

My Husband Is a Big Spender. I’m Frugal. This Is How We Make It Work.

6 days ago | tovima.com | Katie Roiphe

On one of my first dates with my now husband, he ran out of dog food for his dog and ordered her a hamburger. As the dog wolfed it down in three seconds, alarm bells went off in my head. What kind of person would order a hamburger from an upscale bistro for their dog? I was getting an early premonition of his extravagance, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me. When you really like someone, these sorts of red flags, if you notice them at all, can seem almost festive.
My Husband Is a Big Spender. I’m Frugal. This Is How We Make It Work.

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Katie Roiphe

He’ll tease me about his splurges, but I think my love of a good sale is rubbing off on him. On one of my first dates with my now husband, he ran out of dog food for his dog and ordered her a hamburger. As the dog wolfed it down in three seconds, alarm bells went off in my head. What kind of person would order a hamburger from an upscale bistro for their dog? I was getting an early premonition of his extravagance, but for some reason it didn’t really bother me.
I Was Terrible at Money. My Daughter Should Learn From My Mistakes.

4 weeks ago | tovima.com | Katie Roiphe

As everyone contemplates the wreckage of their retirement accounts, I figure it is as good a time as any to reflect on my financial problems. I have always been bad at money. While generally competent and highly functional, I am somehow terrified of anything to do with finances. I would basically summarize my approach to all practical money matters as some combination of hope and avoidance.
I Was Terrible at Money. My Daughter Should Learn From My Mistakes.

1 month ago | wsj.com | Katie Roiphe

Having grown up believing it was crass to talk about finances, I got my own education the hard way. As everyone contemplates the wreckage of their retirement accounts, I figure it is as good a time as any to reflect on my financial problems. I have always been bad at money. While generally competent and highly functional, I am somehow terrified of anything to do with finances. I would basically summarize my approach to all practical money matters as some combination of hope and avoidance.
I Was Terrible at Money. My Daughter Should Learn From My Mistakes.

1 month ago | fnlondon.com | Katie Roiphe

I Was Terrible at Money. My Daughter Should Learn From My Mistakes. Having grown up believing it was crass to talk about finances, I got my own education the hard way. Published May 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM ET As everyone contemplates the wreckage of their retirement accounts, I figure it is as good a time as any to reflect on my financial problems. I have always been bad at money. While generally competent and highly functional, I am somehow terrified of anything to do with finances.
Andrew Cuomo’s Resurrection and the Death of #MeToo

Mar 27, 2025 | wsj.com | Katie Roiphe

If you had told anyone at the time that in just a few years, Cuomo would be an early front-runner in the mayoral race, they would have laughed at you. It seemed like he had irreparably damaged his reputation, that he would slink off to wherever shamed #MeToo’d men slink off to. At the time, it felt like the men disgraced in the fevered heights of #MeToo would be forever disgraced, that the exiled would be always exiled.
Parents Who Hire Elite Tutors Are Setting Up Their Kids for Failure

Feb 20, 2025 | wsj.com | Katie Roiphe

At a curriculum night, my son’s English teacher told the gathered parents that tutors should not be writing papers for students. Maybe I am naive, but I was a little shocked. This was a Brooklyn school, not a place with billionaires taking private jets to St. Barts for the weekend. I knew ChatGPT was an issue, which also came up, but this seemed somehow more corrupt and orchestrated.
Parents Who Hire Elite Tutors Are Setting Up Their Kids for Failure

Feb 20, 2025 | wsj.com | Katie Roiphe

At a curriculum night, my son’s English teacher told the gathered parents that tutors should not be writing papers for students. Maybe I am naive, but I was a little shocked. This was a Brooklyn school, not a place with billionaires taking private jets to St. Barts for the weekend. I knew ChatGPT was an issue, which also came up, but this seemed somehow more corrupt and orchestrated.
The Writer Who Understood the Power of Not Being 'Nice'

Feb 12, 2025 | nytimes.com | Katie Roiphe

The writer Janet Malcolm once joked to her editor Ileene Smith, "People are disappointed when they meet me because I don't look like a dominatrix." An image of Malcolm as brutal had been looming over her for decades.
How to write a great dating profile

Jan 24, 2025 | livemint.com | Katie Roiphe

When people are nervous or self-conscious, as the dating profile writer likely is, they write toward what is expected, toward clichés and platitudes and predictable tropes. “Looking for someone sweet and funny." “Looking for someone sensitive and kind." But if you are trying to distinguish yourself from a sea of people, you don’t want to use the exact words everyone else is using. In dating profiles, as in all writing, generic is bad; specific is good.