What does it mean to live well in America today?

Tusk & Quill is a publication exploring what it means to 'live well' in America. Our aim is to foster an ecosystem that cultivates ideas and drives action toward lasting, collective well-being.

We do this by curating thoughtful writing, artwork, podcast discussions, and events that are anchored in our thesis that, in order to 'live well', we must:

  1. Deeply understand the various dimensions of America – its local histories, natural landscapes, institutions, and cultural trends, such that we develop a genuine connection to the land and the life that inhabits it

  2. Engage in constructive discourse – developing and presenting well-reasoned arguments on how we think things ought to be, and debating those ideas in good faith

  3. Promote high-agency community-orientedness – spotlighting initiatives and organizations that exemplify it, and appreciating the practical realities of putting creative solutions into action

  4. Develop an intuition for holistic 'well-being' – sharing practices, theories and personal experiments to develop a sense of what it feels like to work towards a state of well-being, and what it takes to maintain it

We believe these four endeavors will enable us to 'live well', and they form the basis of the publication, our four segments: Culture, Discourse, Community, and Well-Being.

Our Segments

Our Ethos

Framework

Our four segments provide a framework for article and podcast curation.

Audience

Our publication is for thoughtful, discerning young adults who are curious about America – its places, people, and diverse perspectives – and want to devote some of their time and energy towards realizing its possibilities.

Perspectives

We seek insights rooted in the varied realities of life in the U.S.

In the arena of policy, we are keenly interested in pragmatic synthesis - the courage to grapple with nuance and will to identify comprehensive solutions that work in practice. We welcome ideas from across the political landscape, so long as they are offered in good faith.

We are also interested in applied wisdom from world traditions and indigenous peoples. For ages, civilizations across the globe have sought to understand the mechanics of harmonious and prosperous living, just as we're doing today; we're eager to digest their learnings. Good ideas can come from all directions.

Our Process

We typically engage with writers on a one-off basis or as part of our three-article Rotational Program. Our Editorial Team works closely with writers from pitch to publish. We encourage prospective writers to submit a pitch or outline for one of our segments, rather than a first draft.

You can send it to editorialboard@tuskandquill.org, or email us with questions at info@tuskandquill.org.