Welcome to INHERITANCE, a publication about what we choose to carry forward.
I’m Ethan Ward, an award-winning journalist born in Washington, D.C., and shaped by 13 years living in Los Angeles. My work has appeared in USA Today, NPR, Slate, Fast Company, Marketplace, and PBS SoCal. I've earned recognition for stories at the intersection of technology, housing, culture, and equity. This is where I keep the stories I could’ve pitched elsewhere, but chose to hold onto.
Some of them were handed down. Others I picked up along the way. What connects them is a question I keep returning to:
What are you keeping?
This isn’t a traditional newsletter. It’s a space for essays, reflections, and personal observations—about the things we carry emotionally, politically, and culturally. Sometimes that means writing about AI, or equity, or my intersecting identities. Other times it’s about scent, travel, or a sentence that sat in my Notes app for two years before I figured out what it meant.
✦ What You’ll Get
Original writing that blends memoir, analysis, and culture—from a perspective shaped by journalism and lived experience.
Posts are organized into:
What I've Taken — What I'm reading, watching, and obsessing over
What I've Been Given — Unexpected lessons, inherited culture, moments that found me
What I'll Share — Longform essays, reflections, and observations that linger
What I've Let Go — Cultural critiques, things I'm moving past
A Note — Personal dispatches when the mood strikes
You can also expect:
Reported essays and longform reflections when they're ready, typically 2-4 times monthly.
Full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
Paid subscribers receive companion essays, process pieces, and behind-the-scenes content that illuminates how the main essays come together. Refer friends and earn free months as a thank you for spreading the word.
✦ Who This Is For
If you're someone who thinks about what we carry—across time, borders, or browser tabs—you’re in the right place.
✦ What Else?
I also publish The Thread, a weekly digital museum where I use AI to uncover patterns in obituaries from seemingly unrelated lives and curate meaning from lives well-lived.
INHERITANCE is published under HEATDRAWN Media. For licensing or partnership inquiries, contact inheritance@heatdrawn.com.
