Meghan McCarron
@meghanmccarron.bsky.social
Freelance journalist covering food & culture. Work in NYT, Atlantic, Bon Appetit. Also a science fiction writer. Recent work in Lightspeed, Nebula & World Fantasy finalist. I live in Los Angeles.
Pinned
Second Breakfast
Hi! My name is Meghan McCarron. I'm a freelance journalist covering food and culture, and I also write weird, queer fiction. I live in Los Angeles. This newsletter is largely about cooking and eating...
buttondown.com
I write a monthly newsletter about cooking and eating basically for the fun of it. I'm going to send out another one tomorrow, if you'd like to sign up! buttondown.com/meghanmccarron
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
(1) Write genre from outside of it in, not the inside of it out.
(2) Try not to model yourself on the best of genre writers, only on the best of writers. Obviously your choices there will be subjective, but the risk with genre is it's a rabbit hole.
(3) Don't try to undo genre using its own tools.
(2) Try not to model yourself on the best of genre writers, only on the best of writers. Obviously your choices there will be subjective, but the risk with genre is it's a rabbit hole.
(3) Don't try to undo genre using its own tools.
November 7, 2025 at 11:40 AM
(1) Write genre from outside of it in, not the inside of it out.
(2) Try not to model yourself on the best of genre writers, only on the best of writers. Obviously your choices there will be subjective, but the risk with genre is it's a rabbit hole.
(3) Don't try to undo genre using its own tools.
(2) Try not to model yourself on the best of genre writers, only on the best of writers. Obviously your choices there will be subjective, but the risk with genre is it's a rabbit hole.
(3) Don't try to undo genre using its own tools.
How do I always get stuck making the turkey for daycare Thanksgiving (I volunteer)
November 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
How do I always get stuck making the turkey for daycare Thanksgiving (I volunteer)
this coffee is wonderful! And if you've never had beans delivered, it really makes life easier.
A Black Friday deal now live on our flagship blend The Mix — a great time to test drive our beautiful beans.
And a deep discount for pre-paid gift subscriptions of anywhere from 2 to 24 shipments! Holiday shopping: sorted! ☕️🎁
And a deep discount for pre-paid gift subscriptions of anywhere from 2 to 24 shipments! Holiday shopping: sorted! ☕️🎁
November 26, 2025 at 6:10 PM
this coffee is wonderful! And if you've never had beans delivered, it really makes life easier.
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
NEW: A growing number of children have been left in the care of relatives, neighbors & babysitters after parents have been deported by ICE.
Few countries have been as vocal as Venezuela, which claims 150 children have been separated.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/n...
Few countries have been as vocal as Venezuela, which claims 150 children have been separated.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/n...
Deported and Desperate to Be Reunited With Their Children
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
NEW: A growing number of children have been left in the care of relatives, neighbors & babysitters after parents have been deported by ICE.
Few countries have been as vocal as Venezuela, which claims 150 children have been separated.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/n...
Few countries have been as vocal as Venezuela, which claims 150 children have been separated.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/n...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
One of my discords is singing the praises of @emilytesh.net's work in general, and her fun, smart, queer boarding school fantasy novel The Incandescent in particular. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Incandescent
Check out The Incandescent - <p><b><i>A Deadly Education</i> meets <i>Plain Bad Heroines</i> in this sapphic dark academia fantasy from bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fant...
bookshop.org
November 25, 2025 at 11:32 PM
One of my discords is singing the praises of @emilytesh.net's work in general, and her fun, smart, queer boarding school fantasy novel The Incandescent in particular. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
since we're talking about pies- one of my favorite internet traditions is r/costco every year, without fail, featuring multiple top-of-page posts of people completely agog at the scale of the costco pumpkin pie display. it must feel like walking onto a sherman tank factory floor in 1944
November 25, 2025 at 11:26 PM
since we're talking about pies- one of my favorite internet traditions is r/costco every year, without fail, featuring multiple top-of-page posts of people completely agog at the scale of the costco pumpkin pie display. it must feel like walking onto a sherman tank factory floor in 1944
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
must not lick the forbidden ice cream
what we don’t have in turkey fryer explosion videos, we make up for with 10-pound grease ball pics.
November 25, 2025 at 8:59 PM
must not lick the forbidden ice cream
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
I love college radio and I wrote about my favorite station for The New York Times... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
College Radio Keeps Its Cool
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I love college radio and I wrote about my favorite station for The New York Times... www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
This is so gorgeous
I had the honor of making this painting for Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.
November 20, 2025 at 1:10 AM
This is so gorgeous
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
Such a good piece up today on @vittles.bsky.social by Mariam Abdel-Razek (and incred illustration by Sing Yun Lee, too)
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
The Myth of Sisyphus
Mariam Abdel-Razek asks: why are chefs expected to love what they do? Illustration by Sing Yun Lee.
www.vittlesmagazine.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Such a good piece up today on @vittles.bsky.social by Mariam Abdel-Razek (and incred illustration by Sing Yun Lee, too)
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/the-myth-o...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
COYOTE’s service journalism will always be free to read, including today’s guide to helping someone who might be overdosing.
Anyone can reverse an overdose, and we should all know how. Naloxone is a social intervention; while our public health systems are woefully inadequate, and the war on drugs continues unchecked, we can empower ourselves and one another to step up.
✍️: @nuala.bsky.social
📸: @estefancy.bsky.social
✍️: @nuala.bsky.social
📸: @estefancy.bsky.social
COYOTE First Aid Kit: How to Compassionately Respond to an Overdose
Naloxone, rescue breathing, and 911: Learn the do's, don'ts, and best practices for reversing an overdose.
www.coyotemedia.org
November 19, 2025 at 5:41 PM
COYOTE’s service journalism will always be free to read, including today’s guide to helping someone who might be overdosing.
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
p.s. am looking for a very good reporter to write about food in the bay area www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/fo...
San Francisco Chronicle hiring Food Reporter in San Francisco, CA | LinkedIn
Posted 6:28:22 AM. Job DescriptionFood Reporter The San Francisco Chronicle seeks a reporter to lead the conversation…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.
www.linkedin.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:32 PM
p.s. am looking for a very good reporter to write about food in the bay area www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/fo...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
Here's @meghanmccarron.bsky.social with the Northeast and Chicago Michelin starred selections! Masa drops to two, but Sushi Sho nabs three! Also...Bridges gets a star www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/d...
The 2025 Michelin Stars Awarded for the Northeast and Chicago
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Here's @meghanmccarron.bsky.social with the Northeast and Chicago Michelin starred selections! Masa drops to two, but Sushi Sho nabs three! Also...Bridges gets a star www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/d...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
🍽️ Inquirer food and dining reporter Kiki Aranita breaks down the stakes and what Michelin recognition could mean for the Philly’s restaurants.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/micheli...
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/micheli...
November 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
🍽️ Inquirer food and dining reporter Kiki Aranita breaks down the stakes and what Michelin recognition could mean for the Philly’s restaurants.
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/micheli...
🔗 www.inquirer.com/food/micheli...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
I went deep on SNAP, including the 50-year battle to make benefits more generous, and the unprecedented cuts and restrictions taking hold in the program, which are separate from and much more permanent than the recent payment freezes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/d...
Experts Say SNAP’s Food Budget Doesn’t Match How People Actually Eat
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I went deep on SNAP, including the 50-year battle to make benefits more generous, and the unprecedented cuts and restrictions taking hold in the program, which are separate from and much more permanent than the recent payment freezes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/d...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
Back on Geek’s Guide to argue about Alien Earth with @matthewkressel.net and Andrea Kail. So many things I loved! So many things that made me crazy! geeksguideshow.com/2025/11/08/g...
GGG#606: Alien: Earth Season 1 Review
[YouTube] [Apple] [Spotify] [Download] Andrea Kail, Matthew Kressel, and Anthony Ha join us to discuss Season 1 of the FX series Alien: Earth, a prequel to the classic films Alien and Aliens. Pleas…
geeksguideshow.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Back on Geek’s Guide to argue about Alien Earth with @matthewkressel.net and Andrea Kail. So many things I loved! So many things that made me crazy! geeksguideshow.com/2025/11/08/g...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
I started a newsletter, it's very very naval gazey in a way that might get literal, it will only exist for one week, here is the first one: dressedlikeme.beehiiv.com/p/i-dressed-...
I Dressed Like Me for 10 Years: Day 1
The "Big Shirt"
dressedlikeme.beehiiv.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I started a newsletter, it's very very naval gazey in a way that might get literal, it will only exist for one week, here is the first one: dressedlikeme.beehiiv.com/p/i-dressed-...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
I'm one of the four fired employees. I was a writer & producer at Bon Appétit for nearly five years, during which I helped organize our union and sat on our bargaining committee.
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
I'm one of the four fired employees. I was a writer & producer at Bon Appétit for nearly five years, during which I helped organize our union and sat on our bargaining committee.
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
"School officials showed agents the teacher’s employment documents, including a work permit, but agents nonetheless detained her."
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Armed ICE officers chase teacher into preschool in Chicago
The arrest appears to be one of the first in which immigration officers entered school grounds as part of an enforcement operation during Trump’s second administration.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
"School officials showed agents the teacher’s employment documents, including a work permit, but agents nonetheless detained her."
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school
November 5, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Federal agents pulling a woman out of Rayito Del Sol, a daycare by Lane Tech high school
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
November 5, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Reposted by Meghan McCarron
Proud of all the Angelenos who are like “we needed that” about the Dodgers championship, as if it were rain
November 2, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Proud of all the Angelenos who are like “we needed that” about the Dodgers championship, as if it were rain