These are a few of my favorite things, on Medium
10 to be precise
My brother Seth created a Top 100 movies list a number of years ago. All too often he heard friends proclaim when films achieved “top ten” status, without having to articulate the other nine or which ones didn’t make the cut. So he took on the challenge himself.
“These are not the best movies of all-time,” he said. “These are defined as the most entertaining, to me.”
He inspired me to cobble together a list of my own, which — along with a few friends, a bottle of whisky and much iteration — turned out to be quite an experience. [The Hudsucker Proxy, widely panned, remains atop my list to this day.]
I find myself being asked what “the best” Medium posts are with surprising frequency these days. I suffer from recency and other biases nearly every time I answer that question. After a conversation with my colleague Carrie and a nudge from katie, I decided to apply my brother’s challenge to Medium posts.
These are the ten best — the most inspiring, provocative, moving and entertaining — to me. It’s neither comprehensive nor objective. It does feel, however, rather reflective of Medium as a whole: a vibrant mix of rigorously reported, profoundly personal, and just plain entertaining. Here goes, in no particular order.
Why Libraries Still Matter by Jonathan Zittrain
I knew libraries were the most trusted sources of information, but that’s about it. Who cares about libraries anymore? We all should. Zittrain made me a believer with this post.
A New Testament of Hope by Darren Walker
Darren’s writing brought me to tears, and helped frame the great social issue of our time with unmatched approachability. I feel as though everyone in our country should read and be moved by this as I was.
Defusing an F-Bomb by Edward Lichty
It’s worth noting that Edward, also a father of two daughters, is functionally my boss. So before throwing this on the list I re-read it twice just to make sure — and confirmed its profundity. [I now see that his wife and best-selling author Kelly Corrigan helped him with it — h/t to her as well.]
When Purple Rain Came Falling Down by Alan Light (in Jonathan Shecter’s Cuepoint)
Prince was always an enigma to me. This piece provides both perspective on the man while zeroing in on a key cultural moment in time that I knew little about. It’s a wonderful read, poetic and tragic.
How to Die in 5 Easy Steps by Shoshana Berger
Shoshana is a friend, and I’d been bothering her to write something. Then she dropped this out of nowhere. It’s difficult to read and subsequently not reflect on your own family, your own mortality. And it’s beautiful. And gut-wrenching. And amazing.
Everything is Yours, Everything is Not Yours by Clemantine Wamariya
You will sit down and become so engrossed in this story you won’t notice the 35 minutes you spent reading it. This is as deep, as human, as real as it gets. Read it.
Are you afraid to write on the internet? by dex digital
I might be suffering a bit of recency bias on this one, but Dexter so eloquently and casually articulates why I work at Medium. It demonstrates the promise and perils ahead of us all. I simply love it.
Dear Guy Who Just Made My Burrito by Darin Ross
It’s over two years old and one of the most successful posts in Medium history, for a reason. My colleagues might roll their eyes at this entry, but c’mon — it’s downright hilarious. And holds up.
The Perfect Classroom, According to Science by Sarika Bansal
I love this. It’s a blueprint for how every classroom should be constructed, rooted in science. Science! I plan on showing this to every principal, facilities manager, teacher and other parent I encounter over the next 17 years. Or I’ll just build one myself.
That’s it for now. Onto the next 90 posts…
