Dear friends,

tl;dr: New email platform, greatly broadened scope, and a promise to write you no more than every 2–4 weeks (probably much less).

You're getting this message because you subscribed for updates about Unlocking Justice. I'm so glad to have you here.

First, a thank-you. The response to the book over these past weeks has been, in some ways, more than I could have hoped for, and it's entirely because of the people on this list. Thank you for reading, sharing, reviewing, and cheering this work along.

Ch-ch-changes. This newsletter began as a place to follow the book. Given how much interest there's been, I'm branching out: from here on, it'll be about data science and social justice more broadly. I'm also moving it to a new technical platform (Buttondown) to handle the growing audience, which is why this email looks a little different. And since I know your inbox is crowded: I won't write more than every 2–4 weeks.

The single most helpful thing right now. Every review of Unlocking Justice on Amazon and Goodreads is currently five stars, and I'm really moved that the book is being received the way I'd hoped. But to reach new readers, the algorithms simply demand volume — a wall of five-star reviews from twelve people does far less than the same average from two hundred. If you've read the book, taking two minutes to leave a rating or a sentence or two is, honestly, the most impactful thing you can do to help the message travel.

Amazon · Bookshop.org · Barnes & Noble · Princeton University Press · Goodreads

A bit of what else I've been up to.

When the Judge Used to Wear Blue. When someone is arrested, a judge decides whether they wait for trial at home or in a cell — a decision that shapes everything that follows, often including the eventual verdict. So here's a question you can actually put to data: does it matter what the judge did before they were a judge? My co-author and I looked at judges who came up through law enforcement careers, and the pattern in their pretrial detention decisions is hard to unsee. It's a nontechnical read, and it appears in the amazing abolitionist magazine Inquest. Read it here.

A crucial update on the trans-care hospital subpoenas. Federal grand jury subpoenas are targeting hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, and many institutions don't realize how much they can do to prepare before a subpoena ever lands — and how much their early choices constrain what's possible later. I wrote a practical piece for hospital boards and the people who advise them. It appears in Burns Notice, the publication of the inimitable trans journalist Katelyn Burns. Read it here.

And two podcast conversations with me from the past couple of weeks, if you'd rather listen than read: a wide-ranging chat on Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria, and a more math-forward conversation on Breaking Math.

The work that matters here was never really about a book, or about me — it's about how data can help us see and confront injustice. Thank you, as always, for being part of the community standing up for the right things.

With gratitude,

Chad