Back in 2009, I was a banking reporter at a trade publication called SNL Financial. (Today it's a part of @SPGMarketIntel). I liked my job, but I wanted a wider audience, and a guy named @RichardKimNYC who was editing @TheNation took a chance on me.

The story was Richard's idea. We'd profile a relatively unknown but powerful bank regulator named John Dugan, and use his biography as a way to tell the story of financial deregulation from the 1980s to 2008.

The piece holds up well, I think. Dugan was involved in nearly every major policy choice that led to 2008. At the time, he was head of the OCC, a major bank regulator. Today he's Chairman of Citigroup, one of the banks he helped bail out. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/master-disaster/

But this thread is about journalism and friendship, not banks. Richard liked the story and wanted another set of eyes on it, so he kicked it over to a guy named @chrislhayes for additional review. Chris had a few tweaks. He thought I used too many adverbs. He was right.

This process was alternately thrilling and agonizing. At the time I was living in Charlottesville, Va and the thought of writing for a *real magazine* was extraordinary. My dad grew up reading @TheNation and @TNR and had always told me they were very august institutions.

So my parents were very proud when the story ran in December of 2009. But I was kind of annoyed, because a piece from @NaomiAKlein got the cover instead of my story. I have always held this against her. I know that's unfair, but it is what it is.