Tressie McMillan Cottom Made Me Hit Subscribe to the NYT

My girls are so excited to see Wicked.

I found Tressie on TikTok (@black_was_genius) and every video felt like sitting with your smartest friend, having those deep convos you didn’t realize you missed. Her takes? Sharp. Her vibe? Effortlessly cool. She’s the kind of creator who makes you think and feel smarter just by watching.

Then I saw an Insta post about a NYT opinion piece on Wicked she contributed to. She broke down Ariana Grande’s Glinda as fragile, pale femininity sold as goodness and Elphaba as “Black rage.” Thinness as power. Representation as a battleground. Seeing that in the NYT—not just niche Black spaces—was a moment.

Now I’m taking my kids to Wicked with more than just the fantasy in mind. It’s still about the magic, but now there’s room for a conversation about beauty, power, and representation. And that’s Tressie. She doesn’t just drop ideas—she connects them in ways that make you want to dive in.

She’s a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, bestselling author (Thick and Lower Ed), an NYT columnist, and hands-down one of the best creators on TikTok. Her work makes you curious, not preachy—it’s the good kind of distraction that makes the world feel a little bigger, a little sharper.

So yeah, I subscribed to the NYT for her. Brunch with her? Still manifesting.