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Olga Khazan

@olgakhazan.bsky.social
25K followers 780 following 216 posts

Atlantic writer, ME, BUT BETTER available now: www.amazon.com/Me-But-Better-Scienc… Substack: olgakhazan.substack.com

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Reposted by Olga Khazan
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 27/07/2026
People are speaking to one another less and less, a study found. @olgakhazan.bsky.social examines the reasons behind this gradual silencing:
bit.ly
Another Symptom of Growing Isolation
A recent study found that people spoke fewer words a day in 2019 than in 2005.
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 15/06/2026
Not all social ties are beneficial—in fact, some people we have relationships with can be so draining that researchers have come up with a term for them, @olgakhazan.bsky.social reports:
bit.ly
The Difficult People We Cannot Escape
Researchers have a name for the relationships that drain us.
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
Walter Hickey @walthickey.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
"Some of this is people placing an academic understanding of knowledge onto podcasters, for whom intellectual credibility is not a source of anxiety" is a phenomenal quote www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026... @olgakhazan.bsky.social
theatlantic.com
Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?
Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
In which I confess to being a small-talk hater who nevertheless small talks constantly ... and what I'm going to do about it open.substack.com/pub/olgakhaz...
open.substack.com
Someone Can Find You Cringey But Still Admire You
A conversation with Leslie John about her new book, Revealing, and the power of oversharing
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
For a story, I'm looking to interview someone who has moved to the midwest at some point in the past couple years. The only requirement is that you moved from somewhere OTHER than the midwest. If this describes you, please DM me or email olga@theatlantic.com. Thank you!
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
Nicholas Thompson @nxthompson.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
American kids used to be much more adventurous eaters. A young Edith Wharton liked turtle soup and oyster sauce. Mark Twain ate squirrels and rabbits. Fascinating article from @olgakhazan.bsky.social on what changed.
theatlantic.com
American Kids Used to Eat Everything
Children in the 19th century happily consumed wild plants and organ meats. What happened?
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
In case anyone wants to feel better about their parenting, I just saw a Hasidic lady stop her toddler’s tantrum with a YouTube video 🙂
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 13/02/2026
Many daters look for a list of traits in a partner—but research suggests a better way to find long-term love, @olgakhazan.bsky.social reports:
bit.ly
Most People Don’t Have a ‘Type’
Many daters have a list of traits they’re looking for in a partner—but can be perfectly happy with someone who has few of them.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
I spoke with the great Sonja Lyubomirsky about deep friendships, the roots of chemistry, and whether all Russians hate small talk: substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Why You Can Be Surrounded by Friends and Still Feel Lonely
Sonja Lyubomirsky on her new book, "How to Feel Loved"
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Today my husband said possibly the most white-man thing ever: “why would anyone be mad at me?”
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
I have a hard time initiating friendships. Maybe you have a hard time initiating other things you generally enjoy? Here’s the case for focusing on how you’ll feel in the middle of things, not the start of things: olgakhazan.substack.com/p/the-case-f...
olgakhazan.substack.com
The Case for Seeing Friendship Like Exercise
When trying to make yourself do something hard, don't think about the beginning. Think about the middle.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Uh oh: yoga teacher decided to play what can only be described as the Buddhist equivalent of Christian Rock
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
eventually all the daycare sicknesses just layer on top of each other and you die, right?
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The toddler made the midwestern husband so mad today that he let out a “holy freaking fudge!”
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Probably the one piece of pseudoscience I live by is “liquor before beer, you’re in the clear”
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Every doctor's office: "We actually have a patient portal called MyHealth. It only works on the 2003 version of Internet Explorer. The password can't contain any letters or numbers. If you message us on there, nothing will happen but it will give you the illusion of control."
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
I could have gone to medical school in the time that I've spent trying to log into patient portals
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
Gail Cornwall @gailcornwall.com · 14/01/2026
“In the years that Block was homeschooled, why was he never assessed, or even checked on? The answer is that homeschooling was wildly-regulated when Block was a boy—a situation that has not changed much since then.” @olgakhazan.bsky.social for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/family/2026/...
theatlantic.com
He Was Homeschooled for Years, and Fell So Far Behind
A new memoir shows how a lack of accountability can hurt home-educated kids.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
That's one way to make sure the US wins at soccer
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
I wrote about the great new memoir Homeschooled, and how unregulated homeschooling hurts vulnerable kids www.theatlantic.com/family/2026/...
theatlantic.com
He Was Homeschooled for Years, and Fell So Far Behind
A new memoir shows how a lack of accountability can hurt home-educated kids.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
How does healthcare have the worst customer service of any industry? Yesterday I called a doctor’s office: - waited on hold 15 minutes, was hung up on - called back and waited on hold 30 minutes - they said they need medical records before making an appointment - ok, can I just email you the records
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
I talked with the great @kph3k.bsky.social about her fascinating new book, Original Sin, and whether we're doomed (or blessed!) to turn out just like our parents substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
How Much Are We Like Our Parents, Really?
A conversation with psychologist Paige Harden about the genetic roots of behavior and personality
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Don’t check your 401k, lol, lmao
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Ugh can they make something for the straight husbands to watch while we watch Heated Rivalry?
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
hot take: book promo is harder than book writing
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
apropos of last night's news, it's worth noting that even American cops (and these weren't cops) are considered poorly trained by international standards. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
theatlantic.com
American Police Are Inadequately Trained
Officers in the United States don’t get as much instruction as police in other rich countries.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
considering doing that designer-baby IVF thing but only so my baby can avoid having the cilantro soap gene
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
Delia Furtado @deliafurtado.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
I didn't realize when I was doing this research that it would become so relevant today....thank you, @olgakhazan.bsky.social for sharing it.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
AI can't destroy journalism because I'm not friendly enough to work at Trader Joe's
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
On top of the mental load of remembering to tell your husband to do stuff is the mental load of reminding him to do all that same stuff because he’ll “do it later”
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
The Best Way to Argue About Politics with Your Relatives Is to Not Argue About Politics open.substack.com/pub/olgakhaz...
open.substack.com
The Best Way to Argue About Politics with Your Relatives Is to Not Argue About Politics
The secret to a more peaceful holiday is curiosity
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
My dad: how was your trip? Husband: great! Dad: sorry I asked
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Do Americans have some sort of brain problem where they think shoes are clean? My husband just put my kid’s shoes ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER 🤢
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
But the weed soda ban will have a special carveout for when my family comes to visit, right? ... Right?
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
MAGA types talk a lot about decreasing immigration and increasing the American birth rate, but those two goals are at odds
theatlantic.com
MAGA’s Immigration and Pronatalist Goals Are at Odds
When deportations increase, the child-care workforce tends to decrease—which puts pressure on working families.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Excited for all the people who yell at women for saying "like" to start yelling at all the male academics for saying "sort of" and "right"
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Honored to see ME, BUT BETTER included in Greater Good’s Favorite Books of 2025! 🥳 Check out the full list here: bit.ly/favebooks2025
bit.ly
Our Favorite Books of 2025
Greater Good’s editors pick the most thought-provoking, practical, and inspirational science books of the year.
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
A story that should shock our collective conscience: After Trump Cuts to Kenya Food Aid, Children Died of Starvation
propublica.org
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
It’s so weird how my phone broke and doesn’t play Baby Shark anymore, only Chappell Roan
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
If someone called me a “round yon virgin” while I was giving birth it would be the last thing they ever said
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
jenduende @jenduende.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
“Instead of learning the textbook definitions of psychological disorders,” @olgakhazan.bsky.social writes, “laypeople are absorbing the oversimplified versions, then diagnosing their spouse.” Might this sound familiar? Then you need to read this good piece: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
theatlantic.com
Why Couples Therapists Are Sick of ‘Therapy-Speak’
What happens when spouses accuse each other of gaslighting? Nothing good.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Why therapy speak is killing your marriage: www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
theatlantic.com
When ‘Therapy Speak’ Invades Actual Therapy
What happens when spouses accuse each other of gaslighting? Nothing good.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
A toddler will crawl fully into the dishwasher like, “there’s your problem. There’s not a full Uncrustable inside it.”
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Wow why is it that the difference between getting up before 7 vs after 7 is the difference between clinical depression and not
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Fancy doctor’s office: we do things a little differently here 🙂 Me: is it that you don’t take insurance? Dr: How’d you guess? 🙂
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Reposted by Olga Khazan
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 03/12/2025
The predominant thought within linguistics used to be that speech doesn’t change much after adolescence, @olgakhazan.bsky.social writes. But a study that analyzed years of Taylor Swift’s vocal changes illustrates a recent theory about how our accents evolve:
bit.ly
Why Taylor Swift’s Accent Has Changed
And yours might too.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I got to nerd out about a longtime fascination of mine: Why do people sometimes acquire new accents in adulthood? www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...
theatlantic.com
Your Voice Isn’t Just Your Voice—It’s a Mirror
Your voice may be less about who you are than about the people you surround yourself with.
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Here’s a mom trolley problem: toddler melting down screaming “wawa” in a busy, poorly designed casual restaurant I hurry to the water-filling station, don’t look around too hard, and start filling his cup Another lady yells “I was waiting!” & how I need “to be patient” I say sorry & let her fill
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
It’s giving
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Olga Khazan @olgakhazan.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Well we couldn’t wait for our toddler to start walking and now that he’s running around the house like a drunk criminal I’m happy to say our problems are over
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