You're a young journalist. You have a plumb job at the New York Times of all places for which every other young journalist in the country would give an eye tooth.

Then you quit an anger and go off to reinvent journalism itself.

To explain what you could possibly have been thinking, Barry Weiss. Uncommon knowledge now.

Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge. I'm Peter Robinson.

Barry Weiss grew up in Pittsburgh, studied at Columbia University, and then became a journalist.

First she served for four years as an op-ed and book review editor at the Wall Street Journal, which is where we got to know each other.

Then for three years as a columnist and editor at the New York Times.

I should say in case the tone of my voice doesn't convey it adequately, the revered New York Times for a kid journalist.

In 2020, Barry Weiss left the New York Times writing in a resignation letter that, quote,

Twitter is not on the masthead, but Twitter has become the ultimate editor.

This newspaper has become a kind of performance space. Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences.

Since then, Barry Weiss has founded a site on sub-stack, Common Sense, and a weekly podcast, honestly.

Barry, welcome.

Thank you so much for having me.

Okay. We'll come to the New York Times in a moment.

But first, a question so big that if I don't put it first, we might forget about it altogether.

I'm going to quote you writing last September that changes in my own life, your life.

Over the past year, reflected a country transforming at a velocity so fast, it's difficult to capture.

It will be up to historians to give it a proper name, but I think of it as a great unraveling.

Close quote.

What happened?

What unraveled and why now?

...