the examined family

2 weeks ago | courtney.substack.com | Courtney Martin |Amanda Ripley |Anna Sale

Thank you so much to all of you that became paid subscribers last week in response to my little plea. Interestingly, right after writing it, I found out that I didn’t get a fellowship that I applied for—something that would have given me more space and time to write about eldercare—so it was especially sweet to see that my paying membership scooted upwards. You cushioned my rejection with your generosity. I am now at 826 and I’m still shooting for 1,000.

3 weeks ago | courtney.substack.com | Courtney Martin |Amanda Ripley |Katherine Goldstein

If you read this newsletter (and over 20,000 of you do! How thrilling!) then you know that I pour my heart into delivering essays on the personal, the political, and the ethical every single week (sometimes in the midst of some pretty intense caregiving). In the last year, I’ve been really leaning into voicing what it’s like to be someone caring, not just for two beautiful, small weirdos, but my parents, and most especially, my dear dad, whose dementia is very advanced.

1 month ago | courtney.substack.com | Courtney Martin |Anya Kamenetz |Twilight Greenaway

It seems like everyone is having a sort of come-to-Jesus with themselves about news consumption. Glennon Doyle and her crew are talking about “calm news.” has a new series called “What Really Happened Last Week” in an attempt to protect her readers from all the sturm and drang. And The Harvard Business Reviewis worried about the elite getting overwhelmed.

1 month ago | courtney.substack.com | Courtney Martin |Sarah Wheeler |Garrett Bucks

It hasn’t been a big movie-watching year for me, truth be told, but I still enjoyed hearing my very smart, very funny palstalking about the Oscars tonight. I’ll be watching, clueless about the movies but very much enjoying the vibes, I’m sure.

1 month ago | courtney.substack.com | Courtney Martin |Elissa Strauss

Hey y’all, don’t miss new episodes out this week from The Wise Unknown and The Greenroom. Do you like these little audio essay experiments? Let me know. And as always, when you subscribe to this substack, or even more, become a paid subscriber, you signal to me that this work matters and is useful and beautiful to you. That’s my whole thing. Thank you so much for being here and creating such a gorgeous example of humanity really showing up in the comments section.