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WHAT IS TRYING!?
WHAT IS TRYING!?

What is Trying!?

Let’s find out!

Who writes this stuff?

This guy —>

Wait, there’s a book?

Yes.

Matt Gross

I've been writing about travel, food, parenting, culture, and whatever else strikes my fancy for a few decades now. Once upon a time, I was the NYT's Frugal Traveler. I live in Brooklyn, obviously.

Racism is bad — and, worse, it's not even all that funny

Racism

/

Feb 6, 2026

Racism is bad — and, worse, it's not even all that funny

Am I going to talk about the president? Yeah, I'm going to talk about the president.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The best way to sell protein pudding

Housekeeping

/

Jan 30, 2026

The best way to sell protein pudding

Let's take a look at a bunch of things that are in my head, okay?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
A tale of two Alexes

Cinema

/

Jan 26, 2026

A tale of two Alexes

On Saturday, two men on opposite sides of the planet faced their fates — and we all watched.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The most luxurious ingredient of all

Food

/

Jan 21, 2026

The most luxurious ingredient of all

It's deceptively humble, but when you want to make it rain, culinarily speaking, there's no better choice.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The president invites you to die

Politics

/

Jan 20, 2026

The president invites you to die

The administration clearly wants to kill tens of millions of people. But why?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
When enough is enough

Resistance

/

Jan 16, 2026

When enough is enough

Allow me to rearrange your deck chairs.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
You are not cool

Pop Culture

/

Jan 13, 2026

You are not cool

It's okay — I'm not, either. Notes on the death of a once-essential cultural attribute.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
What to eat in 2026

Food

/

Jan 9, 2026

What to eat in 2026

A foodie's guide to the next 12 months of existential despair.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
You deserve better butter

Food

/

Jan 5, 2026

You deserve better butter

It's an indulgence you should never feel guilty about — as long as it doesn't cost too much.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
I resolve to shut up

Writing

/

Jan 1, 2026

I resolve to shut up

Where's the line between outspoken critic and arrogant loudmouth?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The future isn't what it will one day have been supposed to be

Sci-Fi

/

Dec 31, 2025

The future isn't what it will one day have been supposed to be

Why all fiction is science fiction.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Are you a domestic terrorist?

Politics

/

Dec 23, 2025

Are you a domestic terrorist?

Am I? Is everyone now?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
My population crisis

Parenthood

/

Dec 16, 2025

My population crisis

Are there too many people? Too few? Just use your imagination.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
How many pigs today?

Food

/

Dec 11, 2025

How many pigs today?

In which I more or less butcher the arguments for eating less (or more?) meat.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
I'm a weirdo. You got a problem with that?

Language

/

Dec 9, 2025

I'm a weirdo. You got a problem with that?

In a world that coopts and capitalizes on quirks, it's ever harder to stand out as truly bizarre.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Everyone is wrong about Generation X

Trends

+1

/

Dec 5, 2025

Everyone is wrong about Generation X

Are we beloved slackers or obsolete losers? Cultural saviors or whiny ironists? Whatever: I'm bringing data AND vibes to the never-ending argument.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Do you see what I see?

Memory

/

Dec 3, 2025

Do you see what I see?

For decades, I've been trying to observe absolutely everything. And the more I've witnessed, the more I've missed.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
When I was a superhero

Food

/

Nov 25, 2025

When I was a superhero

Why delivering pizza as a teenager was the best job in the world.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
No one shot JFK

Language

+1

/

Nov 19, 2025

No one shot JFK

How irony can help us walk back our conspiratorial thinking.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
What do the aliens really want from us?

Sci-Fi

/

Nov 17, 2025

What do the aliens really want from us?

Our bodies, our brains, our planet, our women? What their fictional desires reveal about our own failings — and whether 'Pluribus' and 'Bugonia' get it right.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
I will now reveal a secret

/

Nov 14, 2025

I will now reveal a secret

You are welcome, even encouraged, to spread it around.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The schtickless wonder!

Writing

/

Nov 10, 2025

The schtickless wonder!

When a project is about anything and everything, it's also about nothing — and who'd want to read that?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Super Fun Pak Mini Essays!

/

Nov 6, 2025

Super Fun Pak Mini Essays!

Four short, sharp takes — plus a special appearance by a guest poet.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
There are things you will never understand

/

Nov 3, 2025

There are things you will never understand

But you can still use your stupid brain to try!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Notes on a very Trying! year

Writing

+1

/

Oct 31, 2025

Notes on a very Trying! year

Hundreds of thousands of words later, what's to become of this newsletter?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
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Trying!

Funny, weird, thought-provoking, and occasionally insightful essays and reportage, brought to you almost daily, by Matt Gross

© 2026 Trying! by Matt Gross.
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