Columnists
Saturday, June 13, 2026 · Akron
The Affirmation That Actually Works (And Why You've Been Saying Them Wrong)
Most affirmations fail because they ask you to believe something you don't. Here's the one shift that changes everything.
Why Rereading the Same Poem Changes Everything (And How to Do It Right)
That poem you read in high school? You didn't actually read it. Here's why your second read—or your fifth—is the one that matters.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Art of the Productive Digression: Why Distraction Might Be Your Best Thinking Tool
Everyone tells you to focus. But some of history's greatest minds discovered that the best ideas arrive when you're supposed to be doing something else entirely.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Fed Just Admitted It's Been Flying Blind, and Your Mortgage Pays the Price
Janet Yellen's successor confessed the Fed massively misjudged inflation. Here's what that means for your wallet before the end of the year.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Met's Maximalist Takeover Proves Clutter Is a Love Language
Museums are finally admitting what hoarders have known all along: sometimes more is exactly right, and empty walls are a betrayal of human joy.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Kardashians' Hulu Show Is What Happens When You Film Your Own Ransom Tape
Four seasons in and the family still doesn't understand why we're watching—and honestly, neither do I, but I can't stop.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Great Quiet Luxury Collapse: Why Expensive Boring Is Finally Boring
Quiet luxury promised us that real wealth whispers. Turns out, real wealth just looks like everyone else now—and nobody cares anymore.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Friendship Bracelet Industrial Complex Is Getting Out of Hand
Taylor Swift didn't invent friendship bracelets, but she did accidentally create a multi-billion-dollar anxiety economy where grown adults feel genuine panic about their beading game.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
My Partner Won't Stop Texting His Ex—and He Doesn't See the Problem
When "just friends" means he's checking in on her more than he checks in on you, it's time to name what's actually happening.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
I Quit My Job Without a Plan and Now I'm Spiraling—What Do I Do?
You burned the bridge, emptied the bank account anxiety, and now reality is setting in. Here's how to stop free-falling and actually land somewhere.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
My Gym Routine Is Making My Marriage Worse
A reader's getting stronger but his wife feels abandoned. Here's the uncomfortable truth about why "self-care" can actually be selfish.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
My Kid's Teacher Won't Stop Texting Me About Behavior — and I'm Starting to Resent Them
When constant communication from school feels less like partnership and more like public shaming, it's time to reset the relationship — but maybe not how you think.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
I Make Good Money and I'm Still Broke. What Am I Doing Wrong?
A reader earning six figures admits she has almost nothing saved and no idea where her paycheck vanishes. Franklin gets blunt about lifestyle creep and the math that doesn't lie.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
I Panic-Sold at the Bottom and Bought My Sister a Car Instead. Now What?
A reader confesses to an expensive emotional decision during last year's market dip—and wonders if she's permanently ruined her retirement.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
My Kid's Teacher Said He's "Spirited." I Think She Means He's a Nightmare.
When your second-grader gets sent home with an incident report, it's time to stop blaming the teacher and start looking in the mirror.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
My Wife Won't Stop Talking About My Ex—and Now I Can't Stop Thinking About Her
A reader's wife has turned his past relationship into dinner table conversation, and he's wondering if she's sabotaging their marriage or just trying to understand him.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Fed Just Signaled a Recession Nobody's Watching
Jerome Powell dropped breadcrumbs yesterday that markets completely missed. The rate cuts aren't coming to rescue your portfolio — they're coming because the economy's already breaking.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
The Tyranny of the Unfinished Book (And Why Completing Bad Ones Matters)
We've been told to "abandon books that don't serve you," but there's a case to be made for finishing the mediocre ones—and it has everything to do with how we think.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Why Poets Keep Stealing from Other Poets—and Why That's the Whole Point
Literary theft isn't plagiarism; it's how poets have always learned their craft. Here's what happens when you read closely enough to steal well.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Stop Waiting for Motivation to Feel Like Something
Motivation isn't a feeling that arrives and tells you what to do. It's a decision you make when you're tired, skeptical, and honestly kind of annoyed.
Saturday, June 13, 2026