Julie Beck
@julieebeck.bsky.social
staff writer covering relationships @theatlantic.com / writing book on friendship in the age of hyperindividualism / creator of The Friendship Files / newsletter: https://julieebeck.beehiiv.com
Pinned
Julie Beck
@julieebeck.bsky.social
· Feb 27
hello bluesky! this is a pinnable intro skeet
I’m a staff writer at @theatlantic.com, where I write about relationships
I’m writing a book about friendship, specifically what’s happening to it in an age of hyperindividualism
and I have two perfect cats, Cherry and Ginkgo
I’m a staff writer at @theatlantic.com, where I write about relationships
I’m writing a book about friendship, specifically what’s happening to it in an age of hyperindividualism
and I have two perfect cats, Cherry and Ginkgo
waxahatchee
the mountain goats
bleachers
death cab for cutie
taylor swift
the mountain goats
bleachers
death cab for cutie
taylor swift
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen multiple times
R.E.M.
OutKast
Radiohead
Beastie Boys
The Roots
R.E.M.
OutKast
Radiohead
Beastie Boys
The Roots
Introduce yourself with five concerts you've seen —
NIN
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Soul Coughing
Poe
Tom Morello
NIN
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Soul Coughing
Poe
Tom Morello
November 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
waxahatchee
the mountain goats
bleachers
death cab for cutie
taylor swift
the mountain goats
bleachers
death cab for cutie
taylor swift
Reposted by Julie Beck
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Julie Beck
How do you cheat at a conversation? That is the question behind a new AI tool called Cluely, which promises to augment all kinds of communication. But when @julieebeck tried it out, she found that it just makes interactions worse:
How to Cheat at Conversation
A new AI tool promises to improve social interactions but instead makes them worse.
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 2:30 PM
How do you cheat at a conversation? That is the question behind a new AI tool called Cluely, which promises to augment all kinds of communication. But when @julieebeck tried it out, she found that it just makes interactions worse:
sometimes I think about the day Apple announced the iPad, and everyone in my college dorm laughed and laughed, and said things like "what's next, iTampon?", certain this waystation between phone and computer with a silly name would never be a meaningful cultural force
anyway now we have iPad kids
anyway now we have iPad kids
November 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM
sometimes I think about the day Apple announced the iPad, and everyone in my college dorm laughed and laughed, and said things like "what's next, iTampon?", certain this waystation between phone and computer with a silly name would never be a meaningful cultural force
anyway now we have iPad kids
anyway now we have iPad kids
tough to live to see such times, but at least we still have @sophiegilbert.bsky.social to say the plain simple truth so I feel slightly less insane
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM
tough to live to see such times, but at least we still have @sophiegilbert.bsky.social to say the plain simple truth so I feel slightly less insane
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
I tried out AI that augments conversation, whose founders want you to "cheat on everything." (If this takes off, one expert told me, "everyone who we meet could be a kind of deepfake")
I can confidently say: when it comes to connection, effort is all there is.
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
I can confidently say: when it comes to connection, effort is all there is.
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
How to Cheat at Conversation
A new AI tool promises to improve social interactions but instead makes them worse.
www.theatlantic.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I tried out AI that augments conversation, whose founders want you to "cheat on everything." (If this takes off, one expert told me, "everyone who we meet could be a kind of deepfake")
I can confidently say: when it comes to connection, effort is all there is.
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
I can confidently say: when it comes to connection, effort is all there is.
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Reposted by Julie Beck
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
November 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
there is one question that will tell you whether you are meant to be a journalist and it is: how much do you like reading PDFs?
November 13, 2025 at 4:50 PM
there is one question that will tell you whether you are meant to be a journalist and it is: how much do you like reading PDFs?
I say I don’t believe in manifestation, but then I act as though the perfect combination of notebooks and pens, and the proper number and manner of lists written therein will in fact deliver me the life I desire
November 11, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I say I don’t believe in manifestation, but then I act as though the perfect combination of notebooks and pens, and the proper number and manner of lists written therein will in fact deliver me the life I desire
this piece bangs on like richter-scale levels
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
What Did Men Do to Deserve This?
Changes in the economy and in the culture seem to have hit them hard. Scott Galloway believes they need an “aspirational vision of masculinity.”
www.newyorker.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:00 PM
this piece bangs on like richter-scale levels
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
regrettably civ 7 sucks but don't worry I've spent my fallow period playing hades 2 instead :)
I did it…..I turned in a draft of this dang book to my editor. now my reward: to purchase sid meier’s civilization 7 and play it til my eyes bleed
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
regrettably civ 7 sucks but don't worry I've spent my fallow period playing hades 2 instead :)
Reposted by Julie Beck
It takes a village to make moms feel bad for not having enough friends: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
The Most Useless Piece of Parenting Advice
The problem with telling moms “It takes a village”
www.theatlantic.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
It takes a village to make moms feel bad for not having enough friends: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Reposted by Julie Beck
BREAKING: A man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., is found not guilty of assault.
Man who threw sandwich at federal agent in Washington is found not guilty of assault charge
A former Justice Department employee who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during President Donald Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington has been found not guilty of assault.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 7:44 PM
BREAKING: A man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent during Trump’s law enforcement surge in Washington, D.C., is found not guilty of assault.
reading that absolutely wild feminization essay because I'm incapable of protecting my own peace, and this is not the most important thing, but I'm losing it at the notion that women simply do not have the capacity to be relentless, open, and authoritative haters
November 6, 2025 at 7:27 PM
reading that absolutely wild feminization essay because I'm incapable of protecting my own peace, and this is not the most important thing, but I'm losing it at the notion that women simply do not have the capacity to be relentless, open, and authoritative haters
I had to make a foray into fashion writing because I could not stop thinking about the fashion diapers all the celebs are wearing!!!
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
The Pantsless Trend Reaches Its Logical Conclusion
Celebrities have embraced a new sort of garment: the fashion diaper.
www.theatlantic.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I had to make a foray into fashion writing because I could not stop thinking about the fashion diapers all the celebs are wearing!!!
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
this season of love is blind was really overtly tradwife-coded and I had a few thoughts about that! not least of which is that the entire show's value system makes no sense.
gift link: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
gift link: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Traditional Values Came for TV’s Weirdest Dating Show
A season with a notably old-fashioned streak ended in a breakdown of Love Is Blind’s premise.
www.theatlantic.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:13 PM
this season of love is blind was really overtly tradwife-coded and I had a few thoughts about that! not least of which is that the entire show's value system makes no sense.
gift link: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
gift link: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
I missed this incredible essay by Reem Kassis when it went up--if you did too, I highly recommend giving it a read: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
The Cruel Calculus of Palestinian Grief
In times of mass atrocity, processing personal sorrow becomes more complicated.
www.theatlantic.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I missed this incredible essay by Reem Kassis when it went up--if you did too, I highly recommend giving it a read: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
merry christmas, bro, I know how you love your theragun and, well…just open it
October 24, 2025 at 10:41 PM
merry christmas, bro, I know how you love your theragun and, well…just open it
every day i log on to a new psyop designed to give me a rage stroke
“Prompt parties,” gatherings of women over cheese and wine to chat about how ChatGPT can help them, are emerging as the next-generation of Tupperware party in San Francisco.
Wine, Cheese and ChatGPT: Ladies’ Night in San Francisco
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:13 PM
every day i log on to a new psyop designed to give me a rage stroke
wrote about a vibe shift that's been bugging me
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
When Real Relationships Start to Look Parasocial
Changes in social media and private messaging are making communication feel like content to consume.
www.theatlantic.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
wrote about a vibe shift that's been bugging me
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
Nicole put so much work, thought, care, generosity and deep empathy into this piece and it shows! a must-read
I spoke w/ over 2 dozen birth mothers for this story. Though I could only include a fraction of their stories here, all they shared about their experiences since placement, their love & their grief, & their hopes for their children helped inform this piece & deepen my understanding of open adoption.
October 3, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Nicole put so much work, thought, care, generosity and deep empathy into this piece and it shows! a must-read
as usual @adamserwer.bsky.social says it best: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Lower Than Cowards
The surrender of America’s elites
www.theatlantic.com
September 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
as usual @adamserwer.bsky.social says it best: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
you do owe people things
i don't want to hear your most boomer complaint. what's your most millennial complaint?
September 20, 2025 at 1:36 PM
you do owe people things
It’s Fun to Be a Board-Game Sociopath
What can I say? I love to betray my friends.
www.theatlantic.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM