Can a start-up have a soul?

Greetings, Meteor readers,

I wish I could kick this off with something quippy, but it’s been a difficult week for all of us. Six days ago, Hamas carried out an attack on Israel—killing more than 1,000 civilians and taking hundreds hostage. Friday morning, Israel issued a warning to Palestinians in the northern half of Gaza, advising them to evacuate within 24 hours, a move the UN called “impossible”; the very same day AP News reported that Israeli airstrikes had killed Palestinians who were fleeing the region, children among them. The situation has also had reverberations across the U.S. and Europe as anti-semitism is on the rise.

But Friday also offered a moment of collective pause. For Muslims, it is a day of communal prayer and for Jews, the beginning of the Sabbath. Finding the small things that unify us—those tiny windows of peace—is so important in an uncertain time. Know that if you’re reading this and you’re in pain, you are not alone. As one of the good books reminds us, “verily with hardship comes ease.”

In today’s newsletter, a change of pace—what we learned from the wise speakers at Work Shift—and some weekend reads to keep you informed.

In prayer,

Shannon Melero

THIS WEEK AT THE METEOR

On Thursday afternoon in New York City, we got to leave work to discuss work—gathering with workplace leaders and changemakers at The Meteor’s first Work Shift event. Some of my personal favorite moments:

• The wisdom of business titan (and fellow New Jersey-an) Bobbi Brown who in her 60s—her “fuck you decade”—is continuing to encourage women to use makeup as a tool to embrace their faces at every age. “My goal is to make lines in the face absolutely okay,” she said to Cindi Leive.

• One of our youngest panelists, Rhodes scholar and union-building badass Jaz Brisack, who led the effort to unionize the first Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, made the excellent point that workers who unionize are the ones most invested in their workplace and not the enemy of businesses (listen up, AMPTP).

• Sherry Cassano the SVP of Pfizer’s People Experience Team reminded us that if there’s one lesson we should all be taking from the height of the pandemic it’s the importance of checking in with our co-workers. And not just one of those fake how are yous but REALLY digging in because “not everyone is doing fine.”

• The effervescent Chani Nicholas and her work-and-actual-wife Sonya Passi explained why they decided not to accept venture capital when building their business: “How big do you need to actually get to feel like you’re doing the work you want to do?” asked Nicholas.

PHOTO BY MONNELLE BRITT

More exclusive highlights to come from us next week—and if you were there send us an email with your favorite moments at [email protected] and we’ll share your takeaways.

WEEKEND READS 📚

On mothering through war: Two women from opposite sides of a border share their suffering. One reflects on her son being captured by Hamas, the other explains what’s like to raise children in Gaza. (The New York Times & Rampant Magazine)

On Hamas: Isaac Chotiner talks to an expert about the group’s origins and the paradigm shift its attack has created. (The New Yorker)

On history repeating itself: For some, the last few days have felt like the heydays of the early post-9/11 era. (n+1)

On the X of it all: Twitter was once a vital location for minute-by-minute updates in conflict areas. But Elon Musk’s X is something far less useful. (Slate)

On loneliness: One Jewish writer shares his feelings of abandonment from his leftist community in the wake of the Hamas attacks. (The Atlantic)

FOLLOW THE METEOR

Thank you for reading The Meteor! Subscribe using their unique share code or snag your own copy, sent Tuesdays and Thursdays.

[email protected]