Sam Liebeskind

A thousand-plus years ago our ancestors's need for safety and context sparked the rise of cities, guilds, and universities. Our current needs as internet-liberated individuals are sparking a similar burst of organizational experiments, including the maturation of Reddit boards, Discord channels, WhatsApp and Telegram groups, and newer and... See more

people fail to anticipate how much learning happens in conversa-tions with strangers. In a series of studies, Atir and colleagues [9] brought strangers together for 10-min conversations. Compared with how much participants expected to learn from a conversation prior to having it, they consistently reported learning more inter-esting, useful, and... See more

In 2026, journalism’s theory of change will be reinvented by practitioners exploring what service means beyond the article. For The Jersey Bee, that means newsletters, directories, guides, zines, text messages, resource fairs, comedy shows, and community media training — in addition to narrative reporting.

Now in our fifth year, The Bee envisions... See more

Local journalism shouldn’t just close gaps. It should help residents understand how to show up better at public meetings. When people know the backstory, civic participation closes the loop.

But it also seems clear that reinforcing local community structures should not be the only approach. So many towns and neighborhoods in the United States are effectively mini-one-party states. With the demographic sorting that has taken place over the last 40 years, focusing our attention primarily on local politics and participation in local... See more

The illusionary perception that social media has brought us closer has faded. Living a performative life for the Internet is a recipe for emptiness. What has been revealed is that we are alone. We crave connection. Wherever we end up going, we want it to be more real. This means we should probably stop supporting centralized platforms, even if they... See more

We agree with those who think revitalizing place-based identities and local engagement may help to break down these walls. If we redirect people’s attention back to local politics and working with fellow community members on projects that have a tangible impact, perhaps we can restart a positive feedback loop and regenerate the crosscutting... See more

How to create a memo or deck for your startup by @gokulr A great pitch is not hitting the right buzzwords or showing the right credentials A great pitch is a strong conclusion that is supported by uncontroversial, logical, achievable statements that require no magical thinking... See more