John Brownlee

John Brownlee is editor of Folks. Previously, he has been a staff writer for Fast Company, Wired, Boing Boing, and the Gizmodo network of sites. He lives in Somerville, MA with a wife and a parakeet. Follow him on Twitter here, and email him here.

Thanks For Reading

Folks has stopped publishing. But its mission lives on.
Read More →

Folks Video Story: Painting In Pain

"I don't like putting my pain in my work a lot," says painter Hertz Nazaire, who has Sickle Cell disease. "But it sneaks in there. It can't be helped."
Read More →

Subduing The Voices: A PillPack Customer Story

Like many in her family, schizophrenia almost destroyed Monique Jevne's life, until she admitted she needed help.
Read More →

Folks Video Story: An Orchestra For Everyone

In our first Video Story, we visit the world's only classical music ensemble for the mentally ill to see how Bach and Beethoven can help keep depression in check.
Read More →

Community Roundup: What’s The Best Advice You’ve Ever Received About Being Chronically Ill?

Tell your story. Advocate for yourself as a patient. Replace your old dreams or new ones. Here's some great advice on being disabled or chronically ill from our Twitter community.
Read More →

Community Roundup: How To Be A Good Ally To The Chronically Ill

From baking a sick friend a casserole to protesting with them on the front lines of the disabled rights movement, here are some of the best ways to be an ally to the chronically ill.
Read More →

Community Roundup: Imagining A World Where Disability Is Normal

From workplaces offering 'good health' days instead of sick days, to universal, affordable health care, a world in which it is 'normal' to be disabled or chronically ill doesn't sound dystopian at all. In fact, it sounds like heaven.
Read More →

2017: Our Favorite Athletes

Sport is for everyone. Here are some of the most amazing athletes we spoke to in 2017.
Read More →

2017: Our Favorite Health Heroes

Most heroes don't wear capes. From Obama's inclusivity advisor to a couple jokesters in Groucho Glasses, here are ten of the bravest health champions we wrote about in 2017.
Read More →

2017: Our Favorite Interviews

Some of our favorite interviews of the year include a refugee who fled 2,200-miles by wheelchair, a rapper who has made a career rhyming about mental illness, and more.
Read More →