Happy Monday, all! I'm hoping you had a weekend full of connection and rest. Two interesting pieces for you this week: 

In the first, author Esmé Weijun Wang gives an interview about psychosis, fiction, higher educational institutions' response to mental illness in their student bodies, and the self-protection possibilities of glamour in the form of fashion. One of the ideas Wang plays with in her work is that illness can't be separated from the self; I'll have to read her book of essays to decide if I agree with her take. The quote from this interview on Electric Lit that gave me goosebumps: "There are things good costuming can't hide." Read the whole interview here.

Product chief and technology thinker Eugene Wei's lengthy essay about "Status as a Service (StaaS)" is one of those reads that attaches itself to my thinking about almost everything else for a few days. "How do such companies capitalize, either consciously or not, on the fact that people are status-seeking monkeys, always trying to seek more of it in the most efficient way possible? [...] That many of the largest tech companies are, in part, status as a service businesses, is not often discussed. Most people don't like to admit to being motivated by status, and few CEO's are going to admit that the job to be done for their company is stroking people’s egos." Very thoughtful, balanced analysis. You can read it on Wei's blog, Remains of the Day.

Last time: Bemushroomed linguistics, and warm, ashy hearts tucked in pockets.

Onward,

Katelyn Reilly
COO, Steyer Content
(206) 409-2948