Welcome to the Jess Bidgood Era

Hi, everyone!

I’m so pleased to tell you that after a long and exhaustive search, we have found our next newsletter writer, Jess Bidgood.

Jess is new to this newsletter but not to The New York Times. Many of us worked with her back in the 2010s, when she covered the country as a reporter for The Times’s National Desk, based in Boston.

Of course, the political world has changed dramatically since then. And Jess is just the right person to chart us through this uncharted territory. She has a keen eye for character, endless curiosity about the country and a wonderful sense of humor. (Just ask her about going off piste with Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.)

She’ll take over on Monday with her debut newsletter. After that, you’ll find her in your inbox three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

I talked to Jess about her past work, her current sense about politics and how she envisions the future of this newsletter.

LL: We’re so happy you’re here. Tell everyone a little about yourself.

JB: Lisa, thank you! I’m an England-born political reporter who grew up moving around this country and became kind of obsessed with it. These days, I live in Washington, D.C., with my husband and my dog, whose name is Rhubarb.