This story was a welcome reminder that true vulnerability—the kind that facilitates growth and connection—requires us to share ourselves without knowing what the outcome will be. —Steph @ Medium

Carlos Arguelles, a principal engineer at Amazon, shares his favorite question to ask prospective hires. He’s run over 1,000 interviews (800 at Amazon alone!) and asked this one ~500 times. I love how much detail he includes here about what great (and meh) answers look like. —Harris @ Medium

Today in the Medium Newsletter: Your favorite writing tips + how the co-founder of Ethereum defines "decentralization"

Somehow, this story about a very rough gymanstics injury manages to be self-aware, wise, and even... funny? I highlighted: "Changes will always be made without our permission, and that is one of the few things in life where I advocate for blind acceptance." —Harris @ Medium

Journalist Andrew Jazprose Hill shares first-hand insights on the life and family of veteran actor James Earl Jones, who died on September 9 at the age of 93. —Pax @ Medium

I appreciated this: A quantum physicist asks us to re-examine our assumption that science is a purely objective way of understanding the world. I highlighted: "Science, at its best, is an evolving dialogue—a process that thrives on curiosity, skepticism, and the exchange of ideas." —Harris @ Medium

This negative review of a Michelin-rated restaurant is rather delicious. —Terrie @ Medium

Law professor Lawrence Lessig reveals how U.S. law inadvertently set us up for contested elections, and proposes how an addition to the Election Count Reform Act could fix the problem. —Harris @ Medium

As someone who's participated in NaNoWriMo twice, I was really disappointed to see their recent pro-AI stance. This writer shares my feelings and explains why NaNo's "being anti-AI is ableist and classist" framing is especially frustrating to disabled writers. —Zulie @ Medium

In the wake of the latest mass school shooting in the U.S., a professor of medicine and public health analyzes statistics about gun storage and safety in the home. —Pax @ Medium

I learned a lot from this! It's framed as advice for technical interviews but is relevant to any type of interview, or even any kind of career conversation. I highlighted: "Too often people think about hiring outcomes as good hire -vs- bad hire, but really it’s much more productive to think about bad hire -vs- no hire." —Harris @ Medium

'Atomic Habits' was the #1 bestselling book of the year on Amazon in 2023. And for good reason! The right habits can change your life, but they can also become a crutch if you're not interrogating them constantly. That second part is what people often miss, which is why I appreciated this perspective. —Harris @ Medium

This essay really moved me—it's a perspective I don't often see, written by the daughter of an FDNY first responder. Claudette Scheffold writes: "Recently, it struck me that my experience visiting the 9/11 Memorial now must be similar to what the Vietnam Memorial is like for those who lived through that war." —Harris @ Medium

Drake just released an album via a burner Instagram account and a good old-fashioned website: 100gigs.org. Lyrically it’s a response to Kendrick Lamar, but business-wise, as Chris Harihar explains, it’s a rebellion against Big Streaming. —Harris @ Medium

If you find yourself howling into the void of this current election season, you can’t find a better observer with a sharper eye and more-attuned BS radar than AP. This deep dive into the consequences of a political system built on clout doesn’t help anxiety, but it sure does give you another framing with which to examine it. And if there’s one takeaway I share from this, it is, "It’s important to note at this juncture Democracy is not sufficiently future-proofed.” —Amy @ Medium

Katharine Esty PhD, who turned 90 this summer, looks backwards and forwards in time. Her life story is a tribute to reinvention, and it inspired me deeply! —Harris @ Medium

Eric Sentell writes about the thing most on his mind as he starts his 16th year as a college English teacher: the link between the decline of reading skills and the rise of AI. —Scott @ Medium

Valve is one of the highest-earning gaming companies around today (~$6.5 billion in annual revenue, up there with Electronic Arts). They’re the creators of Half-Life and Counter-Strike, plus Steam—the dominant platform developers use to distribute their own games. Even though I'm not really a gamer, I was engrossed by this retro from Monica Harrington, the company’s former marketing lead. —Harris @ Medium

I appreciated this story about a (great) song and time passing: "The realization that 'your mama’s' Saturday morning music is your music, is practically a rite of passage." —Sophie @ Medium

A great story of a failure that everyone can learn from. —Curation team member @ Medium