Welcome to the 348th installment of Things I Read That I Love, wherein I share with you some of the longer-form journalism/essays I’ve read recently so that you can know more about women’s clothing sizes! This “column” is less queer focused than the rest of the site because when something is queer focused, I put it on the rest of the site. Here is where the other things are.

I’d been very good about the every-other-week schedule for this for so long — but as we near ever-closer to the deadline for the print magazine bestowed upon our extremely tiny editorial team of two (2), and as my darling son ONCE AGAIN dared to fall ill, time has been once again scarce! But here I am, attempting to get back into a regular schedule for TIRTL.

The title of this feature is inspired by the title of Emily Gould’s tumblr, Things I Ate That I Love.

Feature image by H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images)

Child’s Play
sam kriss // harpers // february 2026
San Francisco’s new tech dystopia favors not necessarily the most talented, skilled or innovative people, but the boldest, least inhibited people — those who are highly “agentic.” Sam Kriss sets out to meet them amongst the dystopian AI billboards of San Francisco, the aggressively fraternity-themed headquarters of an AI startup billed as a high-tech “cheat sheet” for life, a dinner for Rationalists and the office of a teenage founder currently building a Sperm Racing company. This piece is very funny and also terrifying. There is a Cheesecake Factory cameo.

Field of Dreams
jaya saxena // eater // april 2024
Jaya is wriitng the cover story for the Autostraddle print magazine and I’ve loved her work at Eater for years! Here’s an archival piece I adored —  it felt like everyone was talking about WOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) for a minute there, including my ex who did it for a while in different parts of the country. This goes into the history of organic farming and the future of farming and the joys and flaws of the program.

Kids Show Us What They’re Into, From Pokémon to Pop Stars
casey lewis // bloomberg businessweek // february 2026
INTO THE BEDROOMS OF GEN ALPHA.

Freedom With a Side of Guilt: How Food Delivery Is Reshaping Mealtime
priya krishna // new york times // january 2026
Have you noticed also that in addition to prices being higher, portions have gotten smaller? Like the mashed potatoes container is half as big, the chocolate cake slice is half as thick, it’s quite wild. Anyhow, 3 out of 4 restaurant meals are now consumed at home and a reliance on delivery apps (and their initially reasonable prices) during the pandemic has transformed how Americans eat.

Bushwick, Brooklyn: Rising rents, all-nighters and ‘crazy-ass outfits’ in the US’s most exciting neighborhood
vanessa martir, michelle lhooq, alaina demopoulos and rich juzwiak // the guardian // march 2025
This neighborhood has transformed so radically since I lived in New York (I left in 2010) — “As a result of this gentrification, Bushwick has become a cultural shorthand: for a way of dressing, partying, even shitposting online. “

I Miss My Black Brooklyn
naomi jackson // curbed // march 2026
“What is lost in the process of gentrification is not just a Black population but Black culture, communities, institutions, and political power. There are novels that will never be written, music that will never be recorded, innovative ideas that will never be imagined or executed, relationships that will never take flight, policies that will never see the light of day, because these neighborhoods no longer exist. The listening rooms, salons, murals that may have once bloomed in Brooklyn will likely find their roots in other, more affordable cities.”

To the Couple I Watched On My Middle School Commute
naomi gordon-loebl // off-assignment // january 2026
“I didn’t know I was queer yet—in fact, faced with the accusation, I vehemently denied it. And yet something about you drew me close every morning. Something about you gave me some of my own quiet.”

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Sizing
the pudding // february 2026
The interactive and dynamic graphics on this article about the history of women’s clothing sizing and the myriad problems with it are so cool! You have to read it on DESKTOP for the full effect.

How Minnesota’s Queer-Owned Businesses Are Leading the Fight Against ICE
em cassel // autostraddle // february 2026
If you haven’t had a chance to read this one — please do — Cassel spoke to queer business owners like Smitten Kitten, Twin Cities Leather and Black Garnet Books about how they’ve mobilized to protect their beloved local community during the ICE occupation. Fantastic stuff, here.

The Babies Kept in a Mysterious Los Angeles Mansion
ava kofman // the new yorker // february 2026
Guojun Xuan and Silvia Zhang lived in an Arcadia estate with over twenty children born via surrogates who were entirely in the dark about the family’s circumstances — dozens of infants and toddlers raised by nannies under bizarre, highly controlled and unhealthy conditions — enabled by the lawless world of surrogacy in the U.S.

Snow White’s Scary Adventures; The Many Lives of Fantasyland’s Legendary Fairy Tale Dark Ride
brian krosnick // park lore
On the history of dark rides (which have been around since the late 1800s, often called “tunnels of love” because couples would make out on them), Disney villains and the scary scary adventures of the one and only Snow White.

The Economics of Dog Shows 
kelli maria korducki // the hustle // january 2026
It’s wildly expensive to breed, groom, train, feed and show your prospective prize-winning dog, and unsurprisingly, the possibility of a return on that investment is slim.

soon yi previn our worthless daughter, you are so pretty i’m going to die
youngmi mayer // youngmi’s substack // february 2026
“i know all about her disturbing life, as does anyone with access to wikipedia at 3 am does. but i have never heard her speak, or read anything she’s written. now all of a sudden, here she is shootin’ the shit with a pedophile.”
(remember when soon-yi wrote that piece for new york magazine?)