Dear Quartz members—
Imagine spending four years of your life in silence. Susan and Bill Morgan did just that as part of their attempt to reorganize their lives around mindfulness.
In the new episode of Quartz’s member-only series Exceptional Humans, Michael Tabb traveled to Boston, Massachusetts to meet the Morgans and understand what a life built around mindfulness and meditation looks like.
While human beings have meditated for millennia, the practice is seeing renewed interest among Westerners, and mindfulness has become a billion-dollar industry. But it’s not just hype: Meditation not only reduces stress, Michael reports, it literally changes your brain—including the areas responsible for memory, compassion, and creativity.
You can watch it here, and you can watch other episodes in our Exceptional Humans series here.
SPEAKING OF MINDFULNESS…
This week’s field guide on the emerging transformation economy was all about how businesses are selling customers on the idea of a better version of themselves. Quartz reporter Jenni Avins interviewed Terry Gilbey, the CEO of the Esalen Institute, a retreat that was at the center of ‘60s counterculture and remains devoted to self-actualization. Gilbey talks about what it means to bring humanity to the workplace and how he went from Esalen dishwasher to CEO.
THE GIFT OF QUARTZ MEMBERSHIP
When we launched membership—a year ago this month—we hoped to get closer to our readers and usher in the next chapter of Quartz’s journalism. Today, 170 countries are home to Quartz members and we have been constantly gratified by how smart, curious, and thoughtful you all are. Your contributions on the Quartz site and app have made us think harder; your feedback has made our products better; your tips have helped us investigate precious-metals schemes on Facebook; and your membership helps fund all the journalism we do.
MEMBERSHIP BY THE DIGITS
382: Days Quartz membership has been live as of this writing
2 km²: the size of Monaco, the smallest country with Quartz members
6 weeks: Average time a reporter spends reporting and writing a field guide
11: Countries covered in our Because China video series
285,830: Pageviews to Batteries, our most popular field guide
If you know someone else you think would appreciate a Quartz membership—someone who’s curious about the changing global economy, who wants to keep up with what’s going on in Hong Kong and read about the history of black turtlenecks—then consider giving them a Quartz membership as a gift this holiday season.
You’ll be giving them access to all of Quartz’s journalism, paywall-free, as well as members-only deep dives, video series, conference calls, and presentations.
You can buy a gift membership here.
NEXT WEEK’S CONFERENCE CALLS
Wed., Dec. 4, 11am ET: Jenni and Oliver Staley will discuss this week’s field guide on the transformation economy.
Thurs., Dec. 5, 11am ET: Quartz senior reporter for law and politics Ephrat Livni and geopolitics editor Peter Gelling will talk about the ongoing Trump impeachment inquiry. They’ll review the latest developments and discuss what’s coming next.
Fri., Dec. 6, 11am ET: Quartz science and health reporter Katherine Foley and science editor Katie Palmer will discuss the costs of dementia, and how to limit them. They’ll cover why dementia represents such a large part of the cost of aging, why its prevalence is only going to rise, and how early detection could help everyone involved.
We’ll be taking questions and comments live on the video conference calls, accessible at the usual location. You can also send questions in advance to members@qz.com.
If you’d like to dial in, use the following numbers:
UK: 0800-014 8469
USA: 866-226 4650
For all of the numbers, the access code is 722 994 440. And you can find recordings of our past video calls here.
As it’s Thanksgiving week here in the US, a special thank you to all of you for your membership and your support,
Walter Frick
Membership editor, Quartz