DOGE Stipend

DOGE Days

Sahil Lavingia | 28th May 2025

Diary of an engineer at the "Department of Government Efficiency". Initially enthusiastic about joining a "revolutionary force" that would help people, he soon ran into problems. DOGE had no direct authority and only operated at the whim of Trump's appointees. There was no team culture, little information sharing, and even his laptop barely worked. On day 55, he was unexpectedly let go (1,500 words)

Nomido is the Browser's daily word game. Play today's before it's gone!

The Stipend

Deb Olin Unferth | Paris Review | 27th May 2025

On the mental burden of an academic research stipend, which provided "a few grand a year" for five years that could only be spent on certain items by navigating a labyrinthine expenses process. Only books were easy to claim for. And so the recipient bought books: so many books that they took over her house. Still the stipend remained. Eventually, she went to the Arctic, just to get rid of the money (2,200 words)