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“Do you think we should get a work divorce?” I asked Cody, furiously scribbling in my notebook about a client meeting.”What do you mean?” he said as he flushed and looked up at me. “Honey, we literally just got the LLC paperwork filed with the IRS. We can’t quit now.”It…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brian Winch, the founder of Clean Lots. The following has been edited for length and clarity.As a young kid, I watched my parents work hard to keep food on the table. What is now called picking up a few side hustles…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lee Rhodes, founder of Glassybaby. It has been edited for length and clarity.When my youngest child was born in 1991, my chest would cramp in the oddest way when I was nursing him. I was only 32 and had three children…
By the time DOGE quietly disbanded in late November, Elon Musk had returned his attention to his companies. President Donald Trump was focused on his immigration crackdown.For Alex Zhu, though, the impact of those months of frenzied job cuts lingered.Zhu’s friends and neighbors were among the more than 260,000 federal…
Steven Spielberg, 79, said he only agreed to start DreamWorks if it would be a 9-to-5 job.Speaking to Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on the latest episode of the “IMO” podcast, Spielberg said that balancing family life with filmmaking was difficult.”One of the biggest challenges is just running out of…
This story is based on an interview with Barbara Phillips, 75, a former tech writer who splits her time between Seattle and Saxony, Germany. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… In March 2025, I was recovering from a serious complication to my second hip replacement…
As I get older, I’m surprised by how viscerally I react to my own reflection. My face distracts me on Zoom calls. I angle the camera just so to sharpen my jawline and soften the “marionette” effect. I understand that aging is not a personal failing, and yet, a familiar…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Evan O’Dowd, business development manager at Avery Insurance. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… When I was about 10, my younger sister lost one of her Webkinz — popular stuffed animals at the time. I offered…
I was a 90’s kid in San Diego. That meant playing outside or at the park alone, walking our dog around the neighborhood, and going to the nearby store to buy snacks and treats when our mom was at work. Loading audio narration… While we weren’t exactly latchkey kids, we…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lee Tze Gwen, a 32-year-old animator and artist from Singapore. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I’ve been drawing since I was 10. It’s always been a hobby for me, but I found my true calling…
