Our need to make sense of the world

Why you shouldn't buy your groceries online (even though I do)

My two year old is in the “what” phase. He wants to know the names of everything: trucks, animals, dinosaurs, articles of clothing. “What is this, mommy?” is asked dozens of times a day.

My best friend’s three year old is in the “why” phase. There are, of course, the questions that make you realize how little you know, like how electricity works. Then there are the questions that would require making assumptions unless you talk to others. Why is he wearing a hat? Why is she walking that way? Why is that truck fixing the road?

I can’t help but notice that the way toddlers begin to understand the world are the same building blocks for journalism. First, what are the important people, organizations, or things? Then, why is this happening?

When I’m coaching early career journalists, I encourage them to order fewer things online and go out into the world and pay attention to what others are talking about. If you buy your groceries online, you miss the opportunity to overhear the person in front of you wonder aloud about a new median in the road or share that their mail hasn’t been delivering consistently. Our need to make sense of the world around us is lifelong, and I love that journalists have the opportunity to dig into those answers to provide that for others.

What I’m reading

• Nieman Lab: Why does the Wichita Beacon keep losing reporters?

• Harvard Business Review: Rethink What You “Know” About High-Achieving Women

• Refinery 29: How To Use The September (& October) Surge To Score A Job

• Vox: Why do we say “like,” like, all the time?

• ESPN: Anna Wolfe won a Pulitzer for a Favre scandal story, now she could face jail

• Waves of Interest: Tracing Google Search Interest in US Election Years

• The Cut: Abortion Wins Elections? I’m Not Sure After Visiting Florida.

• Parent Data: Are Parents Really More Stressed?

• Charter: The adoption rate for generative AI has been faster than that of the personal computer or the internet

And a bonus link: I’ve been using this balm on bug bites, and it works pretty well!

One more thing

I recently took a negotiation course with Alex Carter, and there’s a quick thought I want to share. Too often, and we see this more in women than men, we negotiate from our baseline, the bare minimum of what we would accept. Try flipping this around. What would make me thrilled to show up?

See you next week,
Rachel

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