Nancy Kathryn Walecki
@nancywalecki.bsky.social
Associate editor at The Atlantic. Daughter of a music-store owner. Mark 8:36.
Pinned
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
bit.ly
When Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and other 1970s music legends needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad, Fred Walecki, was there. My love song to him in @theatlantic.com September issue: bit.ly/45eZIfa
A year ago today, Arthur, a loved one of mine, died in the Palisades Fire. Thinking extra today about what a wonderful and bizarre and special person he was. Here's a tribute I wrote to him last Jan: www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...
The Place Where I Grew Up Is Gone
And so is the man who made it magical
www.theatlantic.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:47 PM
A year ago today, Arthur, a loved one of mine, died in the Palisades Fire. Thinking extra today about what a wonderful and bizarre and special person he was. Here's a tribute I wrote to him last Jan: www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
There are many “For Sale” signs in the Palisades—as well as ones instead promising, “This home will rise again.” @nancywalecki.bsky.social reports on how long a year can feel after a fire:
The View From the Palisades
A year is only the beginning of recovery from disaster.
bit.ly
January 7, 2026 at 8:03 PM
There are many “For Sale” signs in the Palisades—as well as ones instead promising, “This home will rise again.” @nancywalecki.bsky.social reports on how long a year can feel after a fire:
In the Palisades burn scar, I saw many banners and signs the community had placed where their homes and businesses used to be. I keep thinking about one on an elementary school: "Returning January 2028." My report on what my hometown looks like, one year later: www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
The View From the Palisades
A year is only the beginning of recovery from disaster.
www.theatlantic.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:39 PM
In the Palisades burn scar, I saw many banners and signs the community had placed where their homes and businesses used to be. I keep thinking about one on an elementary school: "Returning January 2028." My report on what my hometown looks like, one year later: www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
I had a blast with this piece, interviewing such talented jingle writers—including the man who is literally the reason Blue Öyster Cult put more cowbell on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell
AI struggles to write a good jingle.
www.theatlantic.com
December 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I had a blast with this piece, interviewing such talented jingle writers—including the man who is literally the reason Blue Öyster Cult put more cowbell on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
There is something ineffably human about commercial jingles that AI doesn’t seem able to replicate; people just seem to know the difference somehow. Fascinating and fun piece by @nancywalecki.bsky.social
ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell
AI struggles to write a good jingle.
www.theatlantic.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:38 PM
There is something ineffably human about commercial jingles that AI doesn’t seem able to replicate; people just seem to know the difference somehow. Fascinating and fun piece by @nancywalecki.bsky.social
Happy Milo & the Nativity play season to all who celebrate. Has to be one of my favorite videos on the Internet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhB6...
Milo gets his Nativity part!
YouTube video by Harley Walton
www.youtube.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Happy Milo & the Nativity play season to all who celebrate. Has to be one of my favorite videos on the Internet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhB6...
Fun fact: Desi Arnaz (of "I Love Lucy") is credited with introducing the conga line to America ❤️
[The things you learn while delirious with flu and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes 🫠]
[The things you learn while delirious with flu and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes 🫠]
December 14, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Fun fact: Desi Arnaz (of "I Love Lucy") is credited with introducing the conga line to America ❤️
[The things you learn while delirious with flu and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes 🫠]
[The things you learn while delirious with flu and going down Wikipedia rabbit holes 🫠]
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
All that stucco, molding, and wood from the East Wing of the White House had to go somewhere. So @nancywalecki.bsky.social tried to find it.
My Quest to Find the East Wing Rubble
An entire part of the White House can’t just disappear.
bit.ly
October 25, 2025 at 3:50 PM
All that stucco, molding, and wood from the East Wing of the White House had to go somewhere. So @nancywalecki.bsky.social tried to find it.
I went on a quest to find the East Wing remnants and turns out some of it may be being turned into a new hole at a golf course?? Enjoy my misadventures for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
My Quest to Find the East Wing Rubble
An entire part of the White House can’t just disappear.
www.theatlantic.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I went on a quest to find the East Wing remnants and turns out some of it may be being turned into a new hole at a golf course?? Enjoy my misadventures for @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
About to hit subscribe to this substack with every corpuscle of my being
October 14, 2025 at 9:28 PM
About to hit subscribe to this substack with every corpuscle of my being
Read Elias Wachtel's debut in @theatlantic.com--nuanced + delightful piece about Gen Z switching to dumbphones that somehow also contains a beautiful meditation on the process of religious conversion ?! BRAVO! www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Can Gen Z Get Rid of Its iPhones?
My dumbphone does what an app could never do.
www.theatlantic.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Read Elias Wachtel's debut in @theatlantic.com--nuanced + delightful piece about Gen Z switching to dumbphones that somehow also contains a beautiful meditation on the process of religious conversion ?! BRAVO! www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
L.A. announced that it has arrested a suspected arsonist for January's Palisades Fire. But that's changed little for residents, and it hasn't changed how much I miss my loved one who died in the fire. My latest for @theatlantic.com: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
L.A. Might Finally Know Who Started the Palisades Fire
But it still doesn’t feel like closure.
www.theatlantic.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:06 PM
L.A. announced that it has arrested a suspected arsonist for January's Palisades Fire. But that's changed little for residents, and it hasn't changed how much I miss my loved one who died in the fire. My latest for @theatlantic.com: www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
What a beautiful man, what a beautiful story, an oasis in the dark, and I still have three pages to go. A big thank you for the telling. At one point, it felt like your father was that man in the wizarding world, matching wands to upcoming magicians, except this is music, and utterly more magical
When Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and other 1970s music legends needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad, Fred Walecki, was there. My love song to him in @theatlantic.com September issue: bit.ly/45eZIfa
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
bit.ly
September 26, 2025 at 8:35 PM
What a beautiful man, what a beautiful story, an oasis in the dark, and I still have three pages to go. A big thank you for the telling. At one point, it felt like your father was that man in the wizarding world, matching wands to upcoming magicians, except this is music, and utterly more magical
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
This is fantastic from @nancywalecki.bsky.social & @theatlantic.com. The kind of piece that should exist more in the world. I don't have access to a gift link, but if you've got access to an Atlantic sub I highly recommend. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
www.theatlantic.com
September 19, 2025 at 3:11 AM
This is fantastic from @nancywalecki.bsky.social & @theatlantic.com. The kind of piece that should exist more in the world. I don't have access to a gift link, but if you've got access to an Atlantic sub I highly recommend. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
What! An! Interview!!!! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/m...
What Happened to Cameron Crowe? He Has Answers.
www.nytimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:35 PM
What! An! Interview!!!! www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/m...
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
I enjoyed this. And what an infectious laugh. ❤️
"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"
"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"
September 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
I enjoyed this. And what an infectious laugh. ❤️
"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"
"Reporter left speechless after witnessing Japan's new $70 million Maglev train in action at 310 mph"
Shrieked and told my mom, “MY STORY WAS FEATURED BY LONGREADS!!!!” Big Longreads fan.
Joni Mitchell "used my father’s name in one of the album’s lyrics—she calls him 'Freddie'—and, in the liner notes, thanked him for 'rekindling my desire to make music.'"
@nancywalecki.bsky.social @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
@nancywalecki.bsky.social @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
www.theatlantic.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Shrieked and told my mom, “MY STORY WAS FEATURED BY LONGREADS!!!!” Big Longreads fan.
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
Quite something to see this all laid out in such stark detail. Excellent reporting from @hana-kiros.bsky.social.
Gift link here because everyone should read this: www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Gift link here because everyone should read this: www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Inside the USAID Fire Sale
Around the world, defibrillators, motorbikes, and water towers are being donated, sold, or simply abandoned.
www.theatlantic.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Quite something to see this all laid out in such stark detail. Excellent reporting from @hana-kiros.bsky.social.
Gift link here because everyone should read this: www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Gift link here because everyone should read this: www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
Claire's was once a place where tween girls went to be tween girls. Now it's in trouble, @elcush.bsky.social writes: https://theatln.tc/8D1ts6RS
August 23, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Claire's was once a place where tween girls went to be tween girls. Now it's in trouble, @elcush.bsky.social writes: https://theatln.tc/8D1ts6RS
Another day, another opportunity to replay the Graham Nash/Joni Mitchell “Our House” demo over and over and over
August 20, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Another day, another opportunity to replay the Graham Nash/Joni Mitchell “Our House” demo over and over and over
The gizmo Dad uses to speak hasn’t been working, so Mom and I read his lips and act as his interpreter with other people. Dad had me relay a joke to someone. He then informed me I hadn’t delivered the joke with the right intonation. 🤦♀️
August 14, 2025 at 11:01 PM
The gizmo Dad uses to speak hasn’t been working, so Mom and I read his lips and act as his interpreter with other people. Dad had me relay a joke to someone. He then informed me I hadn’t delivered the joke with the right intonation. 🤦♀️
As I finalized my article about him for @theatlantic.com, Dad told our fact-checker he wanted to make sure I was highlighting his FRIENDS’ accomplishments—including the only man Dennis Wilson trusted to care for the Asian small-clawed otters he kept in his swimming pool. bit.ly/45eZIfa
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
bit.ly
August 9, 2025 at 1:16 AM
As I finalized my article about him for @theatlantic.com, Dad told our fact-checker he wanted to make sure I was highlighting his FRIENDS’ accomplishments—including the only man Dennis Wilson trusted to care for the Asian small-clawed otters he kept in his swimming pool. bit.ly/45eZIfa
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
This is beyond great. A wonderful story by @nancywalecki.bsky.social, full of love (and rock stars!) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
www.theatlantic.com
August 8, 2025 at 1:03 AM
This is beyond great. A wonderful story by @nancywalecki.bsky.social, full of love (and rock stars!) www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
When Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and other 1970s music legends needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad, Fred Walecki, was there. My love song to him in @theatlantic.com September issue: bit.ly/45eZIfa
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
bit.ly
August 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
When Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and other 1970s music legends needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad, Fred Walecki, was there. My love song to him in @theatlantic.com September issue: bit.ly/45eZIfa
Reposted by Nancy Kathryn Walecki
When the greatest rock musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—Fred Walecki was there. @nancywalecki.bsky.social writes about her father’s work:
My Father, Guitar Guru to the Rock Gods
When the greatest musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—my dad was there.
bit.ly
August 7, 2025 at 3:15 PM
When the greatest rock musicians of the 1970s needed an instrument—or a friend—Fred Walecki was there. @nancywalecki.bsky.social writes about her father’s work: