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Ron Lieber

@ronlieber.bsky.social

7K followers 568 following 670 posts

I work for readers as the New York Times money scribe. Author of "The Price You Pay for College," teacher of a course about merit scholarships (meritaidcourse.com), Brooklyn now but forever Chicago. He/We/Abba. Gratitude and rage.

Posts Replies Media

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

BREAKING: Uber has completely changed their driver background checks (in the wake of a lot of horrifying driver violence) thanks to the dogged, months-long reporting and perseverance of my colleague Emily Steel, one of the best there is. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/b...

Uber Enacts Stricter Background Checks for Drivers

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Many thanks for posting this outside the newsroom window, who/whatever you are.

A billboard that says "Stop Hiring Humans"

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

UPDATE: Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Daffy have NOT cut off the Southern Poverty Law Center the way Schwab/Fidelity/Vanguard did. BOA/ML stance: The IRS hasn't taken away SPLC's tax exempt status. S/F/V stance: Well, they've been indicted and that's our standard. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/b...

Schwab Affiliate Halts Customer Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Just fyi, Daffy and Merrill have taken the opposite stance with their donor advised funds.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

NEW: Schwab's donor-advised fund operation has cut off donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center, just like Fidelity and Vanguard did. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/01/b...

Schwab Affiliate Halts Customer Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

It takes some work and sometimes a decent size balance to make it easier to get the work done. www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/y...

Can Your Investment Portfolio Reflect Your Values? (Published 2024)

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

That's basically what Daffy did -- they said the IRS should be the decided here, and the point at which SPLC loses its nonprofit status is the point at which they pause SPLC at Daffy.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

UPDATE5 (?): Daffy, a donor advised fund startup, will continue to allow its account holders to donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...

Fidelity and Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

No worries, and make us another cool fintech app please.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Hi all, thanks, as I mentioned on another thread, I got this tip last night from people who had experienced it & raced to get Fidelity (& then Vanguard) to explain themselves & test Schwab. We don't always see everything that's been written about a topic, especially when we're sprinting to publish.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

UPDATE: Vanguard has also stopped allowing its donor advised fund customers to give to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Schwab still seems to allow it but is dragging its feet on official comment. We'll see what the afternoon brings. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...

Fidelity, Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Matt, thanks for sending me this. I got a tip from a reader last night who ran into this themselves at Fido and I took it straight to Fidelity and then tested Schwab with my own DAF and am trying to get Vanguard to discuss it now.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Don, could you please drop me a note -- lieber @ nytimes dot com with your mobile number? Hoping you can help here. Thanks.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Hi all, if anyone out there has a Vanguard donor advised fund, could you please drop me a note at lieber @ nytimes dot com with your mobile number. I'm having some trouble getting a straight answer out of them.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Are you sure they don't have the same policy? If they do (or quite specifically do not and are standing firm on that), please let me know -- lieber @ nytimes dot com.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

BREAKING: Fidelity won't let customers donate to the SPLC anymore via their charitable gift/donor-advised funds, citing Trump admin indictment of SPLC. No response yet from Schwab, Vanguard... but soon. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/29/b...

Fidelity Won’t Let Fund Holders Donate to Southern Poverty Law Center

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Amazing! So glad to hear and thanks... please spread the word about the book.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Stalking? "In preparing the article about Mr. Patel and Ms. Wilkins, Ms. Williamson followed normal procedures for a journalist working on a story." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/u...

F.B.I. Said to Have Investigated Times Reporter After Article on Patel’s Girlfriend

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Thank you for remembering this! There is a nonzero chance that Carleton is gonna do a cookie thing for NACACers visiting the campus in October.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Outstanding retort.

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Reposted by Ron Lieber

Robert Kelchen @robertkelchen.com · 17/04/2026

American higher education is a wonderful thing.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Toughen up, Professor! There is no bad weather, only bad clothing. And there are no bad cookies, ever.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Of such blessed, blessed memory!

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

BREAKING GOOD NEWS: There is a house at @carleton.edu where you can bake cookies at basically any time. I spent 12 straight hours in the kitchen and came back for breakfast the next morning: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/d...

Other Colleges Have Frat Houses. This One Has a Cookie House.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Really looking forward to this...

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

If you're finishing Passover tonight, it is time to gorge yourself on the forbidden things. My NYT Dining story from 2018. www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/d...

Celebrating Mimouna and Its Dose of Post-Passover Carbs (Published 2018)

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Happy pub date @noamscheiber.bsky.social! His book "Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class," is all about what you've probably been noticing (rise) and perhaps hoping for (revolt). And check out this incredible cover. Excerpt below. Go buy this thing.

Noam Scheiber's book cover

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

It's hard to kill a college. But many -- including the ivies -- have laid people off recently, for a variety of reasons. If a major you're interested in is undersubscribed, it could be ended.

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Forbes does a list too. www.forbes.com/sites/emmawh...

Forbes College Financial Grades 2025: America’s Strongest And Weakest Schools

College administrators, often oblivious to economic realities, have spent more than a decade fretting about looming enrollment declines. Trump’s slash and burn approach to education and federal spendi...

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Hi, so glad it was useful. Try this: hechinger.org/interactives...

College Financial Fitness

Colleges were under stress before the pandemic. Look up a school's financial fitness.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE: Senator Warren has some questions for Mr. Beast about his newly acquired money app -- and his intentions around kids trading crypto -- after reading our story earlier this month. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/b...

Warren Requests Information From MrBeast About Crypto and Children

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Sixteen years pre-Noma revelations, I got kicked out of a restaurant for standing up to the chef (and up for the staff). Here's what happened: archive.nytimes.com/dinersjourna...

archive.nytimes.com

Why I Got Kicked Out of a Restaurant on Saturday Night

A dinner at Restaurant Marc Forgione raises the question, when a chef screams at his staff, is it O.K. to ask him to stop?

Reposted by Ron Lieber

An Arm and a Leg @armandalegshow.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Thirty-six hours before his wife was scheduled for a major surgery, @nytimes.com personal finance columnist @ronlieber.bsky.social got a letter that sent him reeling — insurance was denying prior authorization for the procedure. What happened next here:

armandalegshow.com

NYT’s Ron Lieber: ‘These people are not going to win' • An Arm And a Leg

When NYT columnist Ron Lieber's wife got an unexpected insurance denial 36 hours before surgery, he started asking: why does this happen? And — given that we're stuck with this system for now — how can we better prepare ourselves?

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Here to help! Our helper is near retirement, but she's been training others...

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

My dad won his battle with ALS five years ago today. As we navigated a very tough journey, we got a lot of things right and a few things wrong. I wrote it all down not long after, and it's still one of the best columns I think I've ever written. Fred Lieber z'l. www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/y...

Dad, a Death Sentence and the Planner Who Set Us Straight (Published 2021)

Reposted by Ron Lieber

Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Jodi Kantor in the NY Times reports that the Chief Justice requested Court employees sign nondisclosure agreements in November 2024 - moving to formal contracts requiring silence/confidentiality after Trump was reelected: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

In November of 2024, two weeks after voters returned President Donald Trump to office, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. summoned employees of the U.S. Supreme Court for an unusual announcement. Facing them in a grand conference room beneath ornate chandeliers, he requested they each sign a nondisclosure agreement promising to keep the court’s inner workings secret.

Reposted by Ron Lieber

Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 02/02/2026

Why The Times Is Expanding Its Supreme Court Coverage How four reporters are examining the most secretive branch of government — and the nine justices who shape the law. Jodi Kantor Adam Liptak Ann E. Marimow and Abbie VanSickle www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

Why The Times Is Expanding Its Supreme Court Coverage

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I gotta say, I prefer Goose to Geese, even after taking in this piece and the videos. How about you? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/a...

Geese Gives ‘Saturday Night Live’ Viewers Something to Talk About

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

BREAKING: Corporate law firms are now recruiting eighth graders for 2L summer associate jobs. yaledailynews.com/articles/law...

yaledailynews.com

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

I just did this and did not think to memorialize it. Next year.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Might as well preorder right now while you're thinking about it! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jodi-...

hachettebookgroup.com

With warmth, honesty, and inspired wisdom, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jodi Kantor expands on her triumphant Columbia University commencement address, ...

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

My wife @jodikantor.bsky.social, minister to the clueless, has written a career pep talk for 22 year-olds. Perhaps yours has tuned you out? The (very short) book is out 4/21/26. Preorder link in the next frame (1/2) but here's People on the deal... people.com/how-to-start...

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Jodi Kantor Announces New Book 'How to Start' — See the Cover! (Exclusive)

Jodi Kantor's new book 'How to Start: Discovering Your Life's Work' is a guide to finding a meaningful career. 'How to Start' is out April 21, 2026.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

It was a total joy to report, thanks!

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Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Thanks for this -- I'd be curious to hear more if you are able to drop me a note at lieber @ nytimes dot com?

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

I get your take on the public editor though. I'd like to see it brought back. Not sure I'm in the majority internally on that.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

I love good criticism, and context isn't an attack. (And this is a reply, not putting you on blast the way you just did to me.) I don't get your take tho. As someone who works there (& as a reader of competitors) that much home page play is a much bigger signal to readers than front page/dead tree.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

This story was already published when you posted -- and in a prominent place on the NYT home page -- and proceeded to get more readers than the number of print newspapers that get printed during the week. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

What, Exactly, Was That Cabinet Meeting?

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

The Trump administration seems to have forced Coke to become Mexican Coke. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/16/u...

Trump Says Coca-Cola Agreed to Use Cane Sugar in Coke Made in U.S.

Ron Lieber @ronlieber.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

BREAKING: Nutella cereal coming soon from Kellogg's. www.wsj.com/business/dea...

Exclusive | Ferrero Nears Roughly $3 Billion Deal for Maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes

A deal for cereal maker WK Kellogg could be finalized as soon as this week.