Hi, I'm Leah Reich.
I'm a writer and researcher working to make technology and the internet more human. I've worked for such companies as Slack, Instagram, and Spotify, and my writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Verge, The Atlantic, and other publications. You can read more about me here.
My newsletter is called Meets Most. It's about how the technology we use every day is not designed to benefit us as humans – and about what we can do to try and change that. Please subscribe!
Does it Matter How the Sausage is Made?
For the first three and a half months of this year, I spent a not-inconsiderable amount of time and energy preparing to be deposed as a fact witness for a civil case against my former employer, about the harm social media does to teenagers. The specific case isn't
Are You Better Than ChatGPT?
The other day, during an unexpectedly deep conversation, a stranger made a confession: Only that morning, just before we met, she'd felt so uncertain and in need of guidance that she asked ChatGPT for advice. Hold up. Before you judge her, do me a favor and pause for
The Great Validation Pact
Many, many years ago, I read a novel called Fool on the Hill. It's by Matt Ruff, whom you may know better as the author of Lovecraft Country, the novel that was optioned for the HBO series. Fool on the Hill was Ruff's first novel, which
Technology is Not the Answer
Have you ever had a dream in which you are in absolute danger, and you open your mouth to scream but nothing comes out? Or a dream in which you can hear yourself screaming but everyone around you seems completely unfazed and unaware, as if you were invisible and inaudible?
Intelligence, Incentives, and Iron Men
Twenty-two years ago I submitted the thesis for my first graduate degree. This is the same thesis I mentioned back in February, the one I wrote when I still loved critical theory and when I still thought there was a place for me in academia. Neither that love nor that
We Just Weren't Made For These Times
A few weeks ago I went to see my favorite doctor. I have quite a few great doctors, so this is a higher bar than you might imagine it to be. For those who don't know, I have a chronic illness. The details are unimportant but it does
The Internet Was Fun Once
If you had to pick, what would be your Golden Age of the Internet? The moment when you thought, oh my god YES, and were hooked. How long did it last? Where was it – what platform or community? What did it feel like? Who did you befriend there? Do you
Leah Reich | Meets Most Newsletter
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