Nancy Kathryn Walecki

Best part of writing this was interviewing a 9-year-old who’s already 10x funnier than I’ll ever be

Oh thank God, Nancy Meyers has returned to save the American rom com 💪

Any parents or others out there encountering wellness products aimed at the kids in your life? Like skincare masks for kids, baby indoor bikes, toy weight lifting sets etc? I’d love to chat w/ you for an Atlantic article about how kids are/are not using them! Pls DM me :)

Yes tbh I am this normie.

The Place Where I Grew Up Is Gone And so is the man who made it magical

A year ago today, Arthur, a loved one of mine, died in the Palisades Fire. Thinking extra today about what a wonderful and bizarre and special person he was. Here's a tribute I wrote to him last Jan: www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...

OMG!!!! YAY! Wow this is the coolest news. Only the BEST for one of our BEST !!!!

The View From the Palisades A year is only the beginning of recovery from disaster.

There are many “For Sale” signs in the Palisades—as well as ones instead promising, “This home will rise again.” @nancywalecki.bsky.social reports on how long a year can feel after a fire:

The View From the Palisades A year is only the beginning of recovery from disaster.

In the Palisades burn scar, I saw many banners and signs the community had placed where their homes and businesses used to be. I keep thinking about one on an elementary school: "Returning January 2028." My report on what my hometown looks like, one year later: www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...

ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell AI struggles to write a good jingle.

I had a blast with this piece, interviewing such talented jingle writers—including the man who is literally the reason Blue Öyster Cult put more cowbell on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell AI struggles to write a good jingle.

There is something ineffably human about commercial jingles that AI doesn’t seem able to replicate; people just seem to know the difference somehow. Fascinating and fun piece by @nancywalecki.bsky.social

YouTube video by Harley Walton Milo gets his Nativity part!

Happy Milo & the Nativity play season to all who celebrate. Has to be one of my favorite videos on the Internet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhB6...

Fun fact: Desi Arnaz (of "I Love Lucy") is credited with introducing the conga line to America ❤️
[The things you learn while delirious with flu and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes 🫠]

My Quest to Find the East Wing Rubble An entire part of the White House can’t just disappear.

All that stucco, molding, and wood from the East Wing of the White House had to go somewhere. So @nancywalecki.bsky.social tried to find it.

My Quest to Find the East Wing Rubble An entire part of the White House can’t just disappear.

I went on a quest to find the East Wing remnants and turns out some of it may be being turned into a new hole at a golf course?? Enjoy my misadventures for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

About to hit subscribe to this substack with every corpuscle of my being

Can Gen Z Get Rid of Its iPhones? My dumbphone does what an app could never do.

Read Elias Wachtel's debut in @theatlantic.com--nuanced + delightful piece about Gen Z switching to dumbphones that somehow also contains a beautiful meditation on the process of religious conversion ?! BRAVO! www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

L.A. Might Finally Know Who Started the Palisades Fire But it still doesn’t feel like closure.

L.A. announced that it has arrested a suspected arsonist for January's Palisades Fire. But that's changed little for residents, and it hasn't changed how much I miss my loved one who died in the fire. My latest for @theatlantic.com: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

Thank you very much for reading!

What a beautiful man, what a beautiful story, an oasis in the dark, and I still have three pages to go. A big thank you for the telling. At one point, it felt like your father was that man in the wizarding world, matching wands to upcoming magicians, except this is music, and utterly more magical

Ahhh thank you so much for reading and for your kind words!

My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.

This is fantastic from @nancywalecki.bsky.social & @theatlantic.com. The kind of piece that should exist more in the world. I don't have access to a gift link, but if you've got access to an Atlantic sub I highly recommend. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

What Happened to Cameron Crowe? He Has Answers.

What! An! Interview!!!! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/m...

I enjoyed this. And what an infectious laugh. ❤️

"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"

Shrieked and told my mom, “MY STORY WAS FEATURED BY LONGREADS!!!!” Big Longreads fan.

Inside the USAID Fire Sale Around the world, defibrillators, motorbikes, and water towers are being donated, sold, or simply abandoned.

Quite something to see this all laid out in such stark detail. Excellent reporting from @hana-kiros.bsky.social.

Gift link here because everyone should read this: www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...

Claire's was once a place where tween girls went to be tween girls. Now it's in trouble, @elcush.bsky.social writes: https://theatln.tc/8D1ts6RS

You can like HEAR the sunlight and smell the eucalyptus. Ok I’ll stop now.

I just really think everyone should listen to this because it’s like love got recorded in real time.

YouTube video by Graham Nash - Topic Our House (Demo)

youtu.be/NYjRzQc_ch4?...

And all their giggling during it!