Here’s What’s Trending on Medium This Week: August 27–September 2
Your window into what’s resonating with readers across Medium
Every day, thousands of writers turn to Medium to share their stories and ideas — from congressional statements to productivity advice and beyond. Here, anyone with an insightful perspective can potentially reach thousands (or millions) of readers, helping us learn more about ourselves and each other.
To give you a sense of what’s having that kind of impact, here are a handful of stories resonating widely across the platform right now. They’re each among the top 100 Medium posts ranked by views and reads this week; we’ve curated a handful we hope you enjoy.
Curious what else is resonating widely across Medium? Browse the “trending” tab on any tag page (e.g., medium.com/tag/photography).
1. “One year in, parenting has taught us about vulnerability and gratitude” by Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation
“They grow up so fast,” the saying goes. But so do you. It is miraculous for an infant to grow, in one year, from lying swaddled and helpless to nearly walking, from seeing nothing but blurred shapes to smiling with delight and waving as they recognize you coming home after a long day. But it is also an extraordinary transformation for you — it certainly was for me and for Chasten. In one year, you go from someone absorbed in your own worries, hopes, and career, to having fully faced just how much in life is outside your control — and how magical it is to spend every day with someone who matters more to you than your old self could possibly have dreamed of.
2. “Go Join the Startup” by Julia Wu, engineer/manager at Brex, Apple, and Microsoft
If you take one thing away from this post: Go after people who blow your mind in terms of intellect and integrity, who happen to be building something very big. They will inspire you to grow, and you will want to be your best self and end up creating value for those around you. Of course, you will also get to learn about the business and in the best-case scenario, be part of a generational company in its early days. But even if the startup doesn’t work out, you will still have learned and grown substantially if you got the people right.
3. “The Most Important Skill Set in Mental Health” by Steven C. Hayes, psychology professor at the University of Nevada
About five years ago, my colleagues (Stefan Hofmann then at Boston University; Joe Ciarrochi at Australian Catholic University; and our associates Baljinder Sahdra and Fred Chin) and I decided to look at all successful mediational studies ever done on any psychosocial intervention in a randomized controlled trial targeting a mental health outcome.
We had no idea what we were in for.
It turned out to be a huge effort that took the work of nearly 50 people over the next four years to complete. We jokingly called it the “DeathStar Project” because, just like the space station in the Star Wars movies, the project was gigantic, took forever to build, and (we hoped) would have a major impact on how we think of psychotherapy.
4. “When Does a Trip End?” by Audrey Stimson, essayist
Floating 156 miles down the mighty Yukon River, with the slush of the paddle and the hiss from the glacial sand echoing off the side of the fiberglass canoe, I felt as if she guided me with a gentleness I have never experienced. The hard, cold, crisp, brittle space of Alaska filled me with a softness. Mother Nature cradled me in her arms and carried me through a magical quiet place, a place with no answers because there were no questions.
5. “Graphic Trends, 2022–2023” by Anastasia Cathvader, CEO of graphic design marketplace Covatar
For those who are in search of their ideal graphic style, here’s a list of trends for this current and upcoming year my design team and I found most noteworthy. We made sure you won’t miss a thing…
6. “Seeking an Autism Diagnosis? Here’s Why You May Want to Rethink That” by Devon Price, social psychologist and author of “Unmasking Autism”
I know that many masked Autistic people seek a diagnosis because they assume a trained professional will be able to give them an objective answer about who they are. But the data is clear: Autism assessments are not objective, and are influenced more strongly by racism, sexism, transphobia, and ableist ideas of what Autism must “look like” to an external observer than they are by how a person actually experiences disability out in the world.
7. “The Great Puzzle of Growing Organizations” by Nir Zicherman, global head of audiobooks at Spotify and co-founder of Anchor
Someone once told me that the hardest transition a team or organization of any kind goes through is the growth from around 30 people to 60 people.
At the time, I remember thinking, “Well, that’s pretty arbitrary. Surely every organization is different.” And in some ways, every organization is different. Yet, I’ve seen teams of all kinds go through growth periods like this and face the same challenges over and over. With the plethora of new companies forming every year, one would expect us collectively to have gotten better at navigating these growing pains. Yet they still occur.
It’s a classic conundrum that as any team grows, its processes and systems begin to break down, and the team is often forced to reorganize or see diminishing returns. Why does that happen every single time? Why isn’t there a perfect model that actually scales every single time? Why haven’t we found that yet?
8. “Car Wars” by Cory Doctorow, science fiction author and journalist
Dear Parents,
I hate to start the year with bad news, but I’d rather it be this than a letter of condolence to a parent whose child has been killed in a senseless wreck.
As you were notified in your welcome packet, Burbank High has a zero-tolerance policy on unsafe automotive practices. We welcome healthy exploration, and our ICT program is second to none in the county, but when students undertake dangerous modifications to their cars, and bring those cars to campus, they are not only violating Board of Education policy, they’re violating federal laws, and putting other students and our wider community at risk.
Though the instructional year has only just started, we’ve already confiscated three student vehicles for operating with unlicensed firmware, and one of those cases has been referred to the police as the student involved was a repeat offender.
9. “Coming Home, Traveling Abroad” by Josh Rose, photographer and filmmaker
When I’m on vacation, I have a slightly different mindset these days. It wasn’t long ago that my day job was as an agency creative director, so when I’d go on vacation, I’d take the opportunity to practice my skills with a camera. I brought a lot of gear, not really having a sweet spot for my work. These were exciting but insecure days of shooting — my camera body was changing with every advancement in technology and I couldn’t decide if I was a zoom or a prime guy. The shots I took were, predictably, as all over the place as my gear. I don’t regret those days at all, but it’s different now. Better, I believe. At least calmer…
10. “It Happened on Medium: The First 10 Years” by Medium Staff
Medium turned 10 this month. A decade ago, we built a place on the internet for stories that aren’t too long or too short, but… that in-between length. Our simple, beautiful publishing tools gave you the freedom to focus on your words, and our platform connected you with other readers, writers, and thinkers. Our goal, from the beginning, was to help you share ideas that matter.
More than 18 million posts later, we’re a little older and wiser, but we’re just as committed to our mission as we were in 2012. And, because birthdays are a time for reflection, we wanted to share a (highly incomplete) list of stories and moments readers rallied around over the last decade…
Want to write a story that resonates with readers? Browse our starter pack to find advice on sharing your unique perspectives and expertise — and building your audience in the process.
