Went for a run
A (sort of) wrap on Human Pursuits season 5
Welcome to Human Pursuits, the column that features need-to-know names and stories in media and other creative spaces. Today, reflections on rejection, and some vital newsletter statistics for 2025.
What I’m about to tell you is not strictly confidential. Privileged information, perhaps. But not a secret.
In February, I applied for a job that I did not get. It wasn’t the first time, and it probably won’t be the last. Resumes are written and rewritten. Applications poured over and screened out. It’s the cost of doing business, okay. I get it.
This rejection felt different, though, because it contained a degree of acceptance. What I mean is: it felt like I won, even though I technically lost. As if my life had been altered even though, on the surface, it appeared more or less the same.
The position in question was with a popular NYC-based newsletter platform. The sort of new media venture that comes with a little risk, but also potentially a lot of reward. A salary in USD. An ability to work remotely. A chance to work at the bleeding edge of culture. It’s gauche to admit one dreams of labour, I guess, but on paper, this was a sort of dream job for someone with my particular skill set. I wanted it. And so I put my best foot forward, successfully weaving my way through several interviews and an at-home assignment before advancing to the final round.
Rather than focusing on my full-time job in legacy media, the hiring process centered primarily on my knowledge and credentials as a newsletter creator. The hiring manager subscribes to Human Pursuits. They knew who I was. They liked me (at least as far as I could tell). As someone who has historically felt like a nobody online, it was strange and validating to realize that someone 4800 kilometres away was interested in whatever I had to offer.
I was not simply sending words into the ether. Someone was reading — and they had considered hiring me.
Peyton once told me that life is a series of little disappointments. She was fifteen, and in Vancouver for the weekend because she was having a hard time at home with Leah’s parents in Edmonton. She told me this because Blenz made her peanut butter chocolate banana smoothie wrong. At the time, it seemed like an overreaction. But I had a hard time disagreeing with her.
She said it with such certainty. Like she knew something that I didn’t.
Nine times out of 10, not getting the job is one such disappointment. Whatever feelings I had around being the unsuccessful candidate, however, were overridden by a more overwhelming sense that I was doing something right. That this free newsletter — which I run in my spare time, on nights and weekends — possesses some sort of external value that is becoming more defined with time. And so it wasn’t the outcome I wanted, but it was an outcome I could live with, if only because it eased my doubts. The whole process — from submitting my application to being interviewed and, eventually, rejected — revealed that I had been making progress, even in those periods where it felt like I was at a standstill.
The day I got my rejection letter, I told myself that I was going to go for a run. I didn’t know what this would look like, exactly. Whether it would be a marathon or a sprint. Whether it would be generational, transformational, or regrettable. All I knew was that, for the rest of the year, I had a sort of mantra. A modus operandi. I wanted to push Human Pursuits and myself to do more. More newsletters, more interviews, more consistency. I wanted to pound the digital pavement and get as many reps in as possible. To ride whatever momentum I had, for as long as I might have it.
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know, for the most part, I did just that.
🎁 HUMAN PURSUITS WRAPPED ‘25 🎁
In 2025, I have published 114 newsletters. That’s 63 more than last year, or an increase of roughly 123%. I plan to publish two more before the year is out.
38 of those newsletters have been interviews with new Friends including (alphabetically) Alien Boy, Anxious, Ben Firke, Brooke, Colin Miller, Chris DeVille Chris Gutierrez, Dazy, Delia Cai , Dylan Lynch, Dylan Tupper Rupert, Erin Somers, Francis Zierer, Graham Hunt, Ian Wheeler, Isabel Pless, Jay Onrait, Josh Zoerner, King Isis, Kevin Nguyen, LA Explained, Liam Kazar, Lindsey Hartman, Madi Diaz, Maya Martinez, Nate Rogers, Natalie Doloff, Nick Catucci , Oliver Darcy, Petey USA, PUP , Sarah Gray , Sarah Tudzin , Spencer Oakes , Smut, Staz Lindes, Timm Chiusano, Yang-yi Goh, Youth Lagoon, and Zach Mack.
Like last year, I requested more interviews than I recorded. There are at least 71 outbound emails in my inbox, though I probably requested slightly more than that (I’m not searching my old text messages and DMs because I love myself).
The most popular thing I published this year was my interview with the People’s Princess, Sarah Gray . It was both my most read and most liked post.
The piece that underperformed slightly, though I’m still proud of it, was my gonzo-style reporting on Cutwater. Fair enough, this isn’t a food blog, though I do think it’s a talker, and something to revisit heading into holiday parties.
In total, I wrote 164,331 words.
I also selected 42 Proper Chunes and was bitten by 1 dog.
And so…
I’m tired.
Leah and I leave for Christmas vacation on Saturday. I think my plan is to pause publishing from then until December 31st, when I return with some more year-end stuff, including the Proper Chunes of 2025, as selected by Friends of the Newsletter.
On Friday, I’ll send my last interview of the year. It’s with 60 Songs That Explain the ‘90s: The 2000s host Rob Harvilla. He’s one of my favourite writers; an idiosyncratic antidote to AI radio “DJs,” and a multi-platinum podcaster in my household.
I’m excited for you to read it. I’m excited to keep running. I’m excited to take a rest.
