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Well hello there, Sequins. Max here. I hope this newsletter finds you safe and sane. I’m excited to share this installment because we have three new pieces up on the site, all about wolves. I had the idea for this wolf series back in the spring. I’d started reading a book from a preeminent wolf biologist that spanned decades of his career defining work in the High Arctic. I then learned about a different book releasing this summer from an author known for poetic adventures in the wilderness. The two wolf books differ greatly from one another, but each one transported me to a fascinating place: the footsteps of an elusive wild carnivore. I wrote about what I learned. I also secured an excerpt for Sequencer from the biologist’s book about the High Arctic, titled The Ellesmere Wolves. And for the third piece in the package, I had a fascinating conversation with the author of Lone Wolf about his journey and the politics of wolves in Europe. Here’s a snippet from that conversation. I think it's really crucial to tell these animal stories. It was the same for the previous book, Kings the Yukon as well, where I really wanted to tell the story of the salmon. But I do think those stories are really hard for people to connect to. That's not necessarily because we've completely disassociated ourselves in the natural world. I think we just understand humans and human emotions much more. So I wanted to bring the wolf into that human world, rather than to completely enter the world of the wolf.
That’s all I’ve got. If you want to keep this newsletter and our writing going, consider upgrading your subscription and sharing our stories with your loved ones. We rely on your support to keep Sequencer alive. ✌️ What we’re reading:Maddie: New York Mag Wendy Williams cover story. Scathing review of the Eat, Pray, Love author’s new book. Defector, always. Kim: Woo, go Max! Yes, Max’s piece is awesome, go read it, and after I’m typing this I’m going to reread it as well. For those who want to read even more about wolves, aside from Max’s articles and the two books he discusses, check out “American Wolf” by Nate Blakeslee. It’s one of my favorite works of nonfiction, about the epic life story of the wonderful matriarch that was a descendant of the first rewilded wolves in Yellowstone. After you read this book, it’s impossible not to fall in love with these extraordinary and complex creatures. Max: Shameless plug for the first iteration of Sequencer in print: one of our essays appears in the anthology book Best American Science & Nature Writing 2025 which is out October 21. 📖 Use our link to pre-order and support us 📖 What we’re working on:Maddie: I am chipping away at Hades II, a game that, like its predecessor, teaches me some real-world lessons in resilience, incremental change, and perseverance. Or maybe that’s just my rationalizing sinking many hours into this video game roughly modeled on Greek mythology. The Classics major in me is happy at least! Kim: Lately I’ve been tackling energy stories for High Country News. One is a feel-good explainer about the Western U.S.’s efforts to remake its energy market so that utilities can trade energy more efficiently. The hope is that households’ bills will be cheaper, and more renewable sources will come online. My other article, tonally, runs exactly the opposite — it’s about how Trump’s policies are stalling wind development, and the outlook is kind of grim. I’m of the belief that our (main) path to salvation from climate change lies in electrifying everything with (the right kind of) renewables (*glares at hydropower*), so I definitely want to learn more about, why on Earth aren’t we acting on these known solutions yet?
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