The Material Review

Issue 129: The Great Pickle Divide, Scams, EV Road Trip, New Backcountry Barnstormers, Korean Moon Jars, Speaking Apartment, Thoughts on Being Bald and Spotlight On: Crockett & Jones' New Boot.

Michael Williams and The Material Review

Oct 01, 2025

Stories worth reading. Stop indexing the internet.

America’s Great Pickle Divide

“Haters find the flavor harder to avoid, stoking tensions; ‘You think you know a person and then you find out they like pickles.’” [WSJ]

I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me.

“The caller ID said “Chase Bank,” and the man on the line said I might be a victim of fraud. His supervisor would explain.” [NYT]

EV Road Trips Went from Impossible to Easy

“For E.V. owners, one quintessential American experience — hitting the open road — is no longer just a dream.” [TheUpshot]

Winging It with the New Backcountry Barnstormers

“Throughout the lower 48, recreational bush pilots are using their nimble planes and social media influence to spread the word about bold frontiers in flight: touching down on remote federal lands, flocking to little-used runways in designated wilderness, and drag racing one another for pure sport. Their capstone event each season, the High Sierra Fly-In, never fails to deliver hair-raising thrills.” [Outside]

The luminous (and exceedingly rare) beauty of the Korean moon jar

“An inspiration to ceramicists across time, just 20 of these prized vessels survive today — with one on show at Frieze Seoul” [FT]

Speaking Apartment

“As a child growing up in Midtown Manhattan, I learned to speak apartment very early. When other parents might ask, ‘What do your friend’s parents do?’ my parents asked, ‘Where do they live?’—not geographically but wanting to know if they lived in a brownstone, high-rise, railroad flat, classic six, studio, loft, efficiency, or a penthouse. With that information, they could fill in the blanks.” [The Paris Review]