🙏🏾 Thank You

📡 On my Radar

Since announcing our format changes on MLK Day in January, UnfairNation has grown tremendously. We've gained thousands of new readers - a 25% increase.

Meanwhile, sadly thousands of others have lost jobs doing important work making the world better for the rest of us.

But during that same time, we’ve posted 400+ jobs, fellowships, funding opportunities, and internships for them and others looking to make a difference.

The numbers tell a story: we're now ranked at #14 in our category on the entire Substack network.

But here's what matters more - we've created something that connects the right people, with the right opportunities, at exactly the moment when needs are going unmet.

Take the small group of high school students who work with us as researchers in training. These students vote on topics, dig into research for our "on the radar" section, and help curate our jobs listings. They're learning how change actually happens - not from textbooks, but through the real mechanisms of progress. A few have already landed internships at Human Rights Watch and ACLU.¹

I called this newsletter UnfairNation because the name cuts to the heart of the angst people are facing. Folks don't mind losing a fair game. We have cultural narratives for dealing with that kind of loss: sportsmanship, grace in defeat, trying again.

But nobody enjoys playing and losing an unfair game - over and over again. And yet, that’s what millions of people face every single day in this country: rigged systems, tilted playing fields, outcomes predetermined by zip codes and bank balances.

This daily experience of unfairness creates the resentment, anger, and disillusionment that makes all of us open to quixotic solutions, shysters, intimidation tactics, and lies. When the game feels fixed, people stop believing in the game entirely.

UnfairNation exists to fight that cynicism with something better: concrete opportunities to fix what's broken.

To everyone who's been here since the beginning - thank you. To the thousands who've joined recently - welcome to the work.

There’s some great things coming in the next few months to grow this community and provide more resources for all our readers.

📈 By the Numbers

Thank you for being a subscriber

👊🏽 Make a Difference

25 jobs | 2 opportunities | 2 fellowships

OPPORTUNITY | Design a space mission from start to finish with expert guidance from engineers and scientists from NASA JPL and industry. Apply for the Caltech Space Challenge.

JOB | My colleagues at Arizona State University's Newswell are hiring an editor and general manager to lead Times of San Diego – a trusted nonprofit newsroom serving San Diego County.

JOB | Jennifer Smith is hiring a Program Manager at Interstaff to help lead global recruiting efforts. Email her for more info.

JOB | My friends at Team Rubicon are hiring a new Deputy Director, Mission Support (Resources) in Atlanta, Georgia. Another opportunity to work with an organization that deploys military veterans to disaster relief and humanitarian missions worldwide.

JOB (13) | The Clinton Health Access Initiative is hiring for 13 positions. Amidst ongoing challenges in the global health landscape, CHAI seeks passionate, driven, and mission-aligned individuals ready to take on meaningful work to help build more resilient, integrated, and sustainable health systems around the world.

FELLOWSHIP | Apply now for the Yale Emerging Climate Leaders Fellowship 2025 — a fully funded, five-month hybrid program for rising climate and clean energy leaders from the Global South.

JOB | Come join the Mellon Foundation team. They're hiring for a Grants Manager and seeking folks committed to social justice and the arts and humanities.

OPPORTUNITY | The Center for Disaster Philanthropy seeks a consultant to conduct a landscape analysis of disaster philanthropy stakeholders.

JOB | Americans United for Separation of Church and State is hiring a forward-thinking, passionate leader for change.

JOB | Join Leanne Gassway's team at CVS. They have an opening for a Government Affairs Director over Michigan and Indiana.

JOB | King County is hiring a Business & Finance Officer III, from friend Farhan Syed.

JOB | Help drive Ethereum Foundation's work around strategic projects, particularly in the public sector / govtech / education / policy space.

JOB | Join the American Pakistan Foundation as a Part-Time Program Assistant and help lead initiatives that empower the Pakistani-American community.

FELLOWSHIP | TechCongress is accepting applications for their January 2026 fellowship programs.

JOB | Work as a partner in alumni engagement at the University of California, Berkeley.

JOB | Team Rubicon is hiring for Deputy Director, Mission Support. Work with an organization that deploys military veterans to disaster relief and humanitarian missions worldwide.

🤓 This is Your Next

Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI, by Karen Hao.

🙌🏽 FairNation

There’s a 105+ year old category for sprinters?!

1. By the way you can support this research program for $1 a month. That's less than a candy bar, but it's funding the next generation of advocates who understand that fighting inequality isn't just about being angry - it's about building better systems.