The Top 5: Happy workers, a breakthrough surgery, Gary Haugen + earnest parenting
+ Catch up on Wear We Are!
Welcome to your weekly edition of the Top 5 articles we’ve read this week. Each week, we read dozens of articles in the hope we find essays and reporting that speak to big ideas, trends, future looks, and incredible human stories. We hope you enjoy our list, and do always let us know if you have a suggestion or a recommendation! Please also consider becoming a paid subscriber if this is one of those newsletters you open up all the time or look forward to each week.
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The Top 5 articles for your week:
“Amor Eterno” (Texas Monthly)
Because this profile of Kimberly Mata-Rubio, the mom of Lexi, a fourth grader who was shot and killed at Robb Elementary in Uvalde last year, will break your heart.
"Welcome to the Era of Very Earnest Parenting” (NYT)
Because “[Millennial] Parents seem to be reading from a script they saw on Instagram, trying their best to be empathetic in moments when they might want to simply say ‘Stop it’ or ‘Because I said so.’ There’s not a lot of irony on the playground. Snark — the reigning tone of Gen X parenting blogs (and the internet more widely) in the aughts and early 2010s — is distinctly out. Millennial parents, guided by influencers, are proudly try-hard, embracing the notion that a kinder, more respectful parenting style can also be a form of self-healing.”
“Workers Are Happier Than They’ve Been in Decades” (WSJ)
Because in a post-COVID world, 63.2% of workers are satisfied with their jobs, a marked improvement from years of polling.
“The Faith of Gary Haugen” (The Atlantic)
Because Pete Wehner profiles International Justice Mission’s Gary Haugen. “In South Africa, he met Christian leaders who no longer were afraid of what others could do to them. ‘They acted as if the things that Jesus taught were actually true, and it seemed to give them a courage that was unconquerable in a certain way,’ Haugen said. He learned that hope was possible even in places beset by seemingly intractable problems, ‘but it requires enormous courage.’”
“A fetus had a 1% chance at life. A historic surgery in womb saved it.” (Washington Post)
Because, simply put, a new advancement in medical science and surgery for fetuses is really cool and worth celebrating.
ICYMI on Wear We Are:
Episode 65: Does Christianity Have a Brand Problem?