Heather Schwedel

STORE — I AM SPRING STUDIOS

alanna bennett's classes are great...unfortunately it doesn't look like she has a screenwriting one coming up but i bet that will change soon www.iamspringstudios.com/shop

It Has Become the Most Beloved Halloween Decoration in America. But I Have a Bone to Pick. In a world full of intractable problems, this is the rare one with a clear solution.

Why aren't there any female Halloween skeletons? I wrote about my realization that skeletons are pretty much all male, spiritually if not anatomically slate.com/life/2025/10...

It Has Become the Most Beloved Halloween Decoration in America. But I Have a Bone to Pick. In a world full of intractable problems, this is the rare one with a clear solution.

Why aren't there any female Halloween skeletons? I wrote about my realization that skeletons are pretty much all male, spiritually if not anatomically slate.com/life/2025/10...

The Biggest Difference Between the Trump Era and the Obama Era How did literally everything go up for debate?

congrats to @benmathislilley.bsky.social for capping off a legendary 11-year run at Slate. it's been an honor and a pleasure, and I'll very much miss working with you slate.com/news-and-pol...

pinky*

A niche problem of fracturing your fourth toe is that the treatment is to "buddy-tape" it to your pinkie toe, but my pinkie toe is not a girls' girl and keeps wiggling free

There is a certain movie theater I have become constitutionally incapable of visiting without spilling a soda. "This time will be different," I've thought at least twice now when placing my drink in the cupholder, seconds before doing it again.

screenshot of text from the James Beard Foundation website: Beverage This award recognizes distinctive style, thorough knowledge, plainspoken prose, and innovative approach in a single article on alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages. “The best coffee for the planet might not be coffee at all” L.V. Anderson Grist and Slate “Detroit’s Third-Shift Bars Were a Lifeline. Now They’re a Dying Breed.” Mickey Lyons Punch “Want to Make Spirits in Thailand? Good Luck.” Craig Sauers Punch

I am thrilled and bewildered that the story I wrote for @grist.org and @slate.com last year about "beanless coffee" has been nominated for a James Beard Media Award! grist.org/food/beanles...

The Slate Union logo—the Slate S featuring upward fist and surrounded by pink and white stripes—is seen above a statement: We, the Slate Union, are united in our belief that management’s decision yesterday to lay off three editorial employees—along with three of our coworkers in other departments—was misguided, foolish, and cruel. The cuts are not these employees’ failures; they are the result of the failure of this company to follow its obligations to its workers. When you can’t find a way to make the most out of smart, talented journalists, that’s a failure of management—and Slate staffers are right to believe it’s incumbent upon management to find ways to solve that problem that don’t involve job losses. Otherwise, what are we investing in journalism for? What are we asking Slate Plus members to invest in us for? There are particular aspects of these layoffs that we in the union find particularly outrageous. Eliminating three editors with their hands on politics and business will put an unbearable strain on others in the department, at the precise moment when coverage of these two subjects is crucial to the magazine’s success. One of the laid-off editors had union-negotiated parental leave approaching—as did another union member who was laid off just months ago. Another one of the laid-off employees was about to go on a honeymoon, and yet another was about to meet the qualifications for their pension benefit. The affected worker will be paid out for their parental leave, but the timing of these departures appears to be designed to make other union members think twice before utilizing the leave they have the contractual right to take. Not to mention, that one of the laid-off editors was hired not even a year ago—after a protracted search—calls management’s strategy into question, to put it lightly.

Slate has had two consecutive years of profitability. The fact that management views employees as chits to be discarded at any hint of trouble, instead of valuable people whose work makes our shop successful and profitable, is an enormous mistake. We insist that, in the upcoming contract negotiations, Slate commits to policies that treat layoffs not as a hair-trigger response to adversity but as an absolute last resort, one that will not be undertaken without consulting with the union and the employees in question. Simply paying out extra severance to a laid-off employee should no longer be a substitute for warnings about the state of our business and, more importantly, real attempts to save our staffers’ jobs. Anything short of this will demonstrate that Slate values the jobs of its executives more than its rank-and-file workers, and that good journalism by good journalists is no longer the north star of the magazine.

On Monday morning, Slate was suddenly informed that six of its employees—including three editors, two of whom were members of the union—were being laid off, just months after four other staffers were also let go. The Slate Union's official statement reads as follows:

He Bungled the Literary Scoop of the Year. Now He’s Ready to Explain Himself. An interview with the Vanity Fair writer whose astounding revelations about Cormac McCarthy went viral for all the wrong reasons.

"Just for the record, I also write fiction and have a novel set at Bennington that everyone is going to hate."

I know we are supposed to abandon Twitter but Twitter is unfortunately the home of my infrequently updated thread cataloging faux Warhol art seen in the background of TV shows and movies. New one spotted just now! x.com/heathertwit/...

The Decoder Ring episode I worked on is out today! slate.com/podcasts/dec...

Why Every Man, Woman, and Probably Child Is Being Bombarded With Ads for Tiny Bras Ever feel like you're being hounded by Pepper's relentless itty-bitty bra campaign? You're not the only one.

I wrote about those "best bras for small boobs" ads that are stalking the whole internet slate.com/culture/2023...

I came here to talk about David Krumholtz some more https://slate.com/culture/2023/08/david-krumholtz-oppenheimer-cast-movie.html

wrote about the rare successful reply guys https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/07/online-dating-reply-guy-twitter.html