Female ambition is on the ballot. It always has been.

Welcome to Viable, a weekly (ish) email newsletter that will spend the final months of this high-stakes, high-drama election cycle exploring modern gender politics through the lens of media history. I’ll pull from my notebooks, my past projects, my syllabi and, of course, the latest news to help us all better understand how the press defines (and redefines) what’s possible for women in public life.

All issues through Election Day are free. If you want to post comments, you’ll need to put a few bucks in the tip jar by purchasing a paid subscription. (Just because you pay doesn’t mean you can post whatever you want. Civility rules are in full effect.)