Issue 021 · Sept 29th 2026
A famous example of not admitting you made a mistake.
I think we can all agree this kind of sucks for Nikole’s kid.
Ten years ago, Nikole Hannah-Jones made her daughter’s school into something close to a real-life test of her politics. Instead of using her resources to chase the strongest school she could find, she enrolled her daughter Najya in P.S. 307, a high-poverty, overwhelmingly Black Brooklyn public school, arguing that parents who opposed segregation couldn’t simply pull their own children out and expect the system to change. In 2016, she wrote that she worried whether she had made the right decision, but believed she had made the “just” one.
A decade later, Najya is 16, and the experiment looks a lot different. Hannah-Jones describes discovering that her daughter had serious gaps in basic math and felt that her mother had prioritized an idea over her education. Najya eventually chose a selective high school of exactly the sort of system Hannah-Jones had criticized. Hannah-Jones writes that she “could not even sustain the cause within my own family.” So…did one of America’s most influential education journalists actually change her mind?
→ A rare and refreshing admission of error
It is hard to read the essay and claim Hannah-Jones wrote this to look good. The lesson here: your child only gets one childhood. Asking parents to accept a materially worse education today in service of a better system tomorrow is not a realistic policy strategy. I mean, seriously read this: she published an extraordinarily damaging case against her own decision. Hannah-Jones admits that the school did not give Najya the education she needed, lets Najya choose a more selective high school, and publicly recants a decision that had become part of her professional identity. She could have simply never written the follow-up at all, and honestly it’s not like it would have changed anyone’s opinion anyways.
← PR move, not a policy mea culpa
There is another way to read this: Hannah-Jones is covering her ass. She was going to have to write this piece in a self-effacing way, or a conservative outlet would have caught on to her decisions and penned a far more damning article. She does not emerge arguing that parents should aggressively exercise school choice, that selective schools are good, or that integration advocates underestimated differences in school quality. So maybe the fascinating question isn’t whether she regrets the decision—she clearly does. It’s whether she has changed her theory of education policy, or merely concluded “good enough for thee, not for me”.
- NYC Event to Learn More -
AI And the Future of Higher Education
When: Wednesday, October 14th, 2026
What: This isn’t quite about race and class in education, but I’m sure it’ll touch that concept. A CUNY-hosted event specifically focused on whether we should allow AI use in the classroom, especially in light of Mayor Mamdani’s ban of AI in the city’s K-8 education. Some professors and reporters in a panel!!!
The Room at UNMUTED - Next Tuesday
Money in politics! What would politics be without some dollars being handed under the table? Was Citizens United (or, Mr. Smith, Inc. Goes to Washington) the the death knell for voter representation, or is this an overblown talking point to activate voters. Well, in partnership with Thought Gallery, we are going to find the f*ck out! Because we’re asking the biggest question of all: Should Citizens United be repealed?
Heavy hitters here: former Presidential candidate and current Harvard Law professor Larry Lessig (destroy Citizens United) goes up against Manhattan Institute’s Ilya Shapiro (keep it). Our co-host for the evening is Kate Farmer, a 4x UNMUTED moderator! If you want to actually understand what Citizens United did to America, sign up here (early bird tickets close WEDNESDAY). BUT if you can’t make it, subscribe here to stay updated on all of our upcoming events.
Should we DOUBLE DOWN on Citizens United - only corporations should donate and vote?
Leave the house NEXT week in
NYC
Wed 10/6, 7 PM
Project Maven: Inside the Pentagon's Secret Race to Bring AI to War
Katrina Manson (Bloomberg)
A historical account of a Pentagon team tasked with bringing AI to the forefront of defense…before it was cool, in 2017.
Produced by Harvard Club of NY
Hosted at Harvard Club of NY
Wed, 10/7, 6 PM
Across the Divide: A Palestinian and an Israeli Father Choose Dialogue
Jaser AbuMoussa (Palestinian) +
Jonathan Dekel-Chen (Israeli) &
Claire Shipman (fmr. Columbia president)
A topic I’m not sure UNMUTED should touch. Israel/Palestine..between two fathers who lost everything since Oct 7. Intense stuff.
Produced by 92NY
Hosted at 92NY
Thurs, 10/8, 6 PM
Mamdani Housing Policies
Emily Eisner (Fiscal Policy Institute) v.
Kenny Burgos (NY Apt Assoc.) &
Gene Epstein (NOT THAT ONE)
A debate (we’re doing this in December..). Will Mamdani housing policies make NY more affordable? Classic Oxford style - think tank vs landlords!
Produced by Soho Forum
Hosted at The Sheen Center
That’s all for now. See you Space Cowboy…