our founding
Launched first as a newsletter in 2022, The Up and Up quickly grew beyond just a media destination. It now hosts listening sessions with young people across the country, sparking conversations and informing public dialogue about this powerful cohort.
Founded by Rachel Janfaza, a researcher and writer focused on youth culture & politics, The Up and Up partners with foundations, venture funds, media companies, and nonprofits to help them engage Gen Z —whether as consumers, audiences, or citizens.
Today, the newsletter is read by more than 11,000 people in all 50 states and 89 countries.
about rachel
Rachel Janfaza is a researcher and writer focused on youth culture & politics. A member of Generation Z herself, Janfaza is best known for her theory of The Two Gen Zs. Her written work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Free Press, Glamour, POLITICO Magazine, Teen Vogue, Vogue, Elle, Cosmo, and Bustle. And her on-air analysis has been featured on CNN, CBS, C-SPAN, NY-1, and WNYC Public Radio.
Since 2018, she’s covered youth movements around the world and wrote her senior thesis at Harvard College on the role of social media in youth-led organizing between 2010 and 2020.
She was the first writer for CNN Politics dedicated to the youth vote beat, and was one of the first reporters to cover the topic nationally in a full-time capacity.
