diff --git a/.github/workflows/canon-quality.yml b/.github/workflows/canon-quality.yml
index b7377a64..82275432 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/canon-quality.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/canon-quality.yml
@@ -557,3 +557,70 @@ jobs:
               print(f"- **Result**: audit did not produce output ({e})")
           PY
           } >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
+
+  surfacing:
+    name: Homepage surfacing report (soft)
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 3
+    # Soft-only. Reports where each writings/ essay surfaces (homepage feed /
+    # nav / hidden) and flags anything not on the homepage. The HARD field gate
+    # lives in the `frontmatter` job; this job exists to make the legitimate-
+    # but-easy-to-miss `exposure: nav` state LOUD instead of silent. Never fails.
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.x'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: pip install --quiet pyyaml
+
+      - name: Run surfacing report
+        run: |
+          python3 scripts/surfacing-report.py --json writings/ > /tmp/surface.json || true
+          python3 scripts/surfacing-report.py writings/ || true
+
+      - name: Render PR comment
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        run: |
+          python3 - <<'PY'
+          import json
+          d = json.load(open('/tmp/surface.json'))
+          essays = d['essays']
+          off = d['not_on_homepage']
+          lines = []
+          icon = '✅' if not off else 'ℹ️'
+          lines.append(f"### Canon Quality — Homepage Surfacing {icon}")
+          lines.append('')
+          lines.append(f"{len(essays)} essay(s) scanned. **Soft report** — never blocks; "
+                       f"the hard field gate is the Frontmatter Schema job.")
+          lines.append('')
+          if off:
+              lines.append(f"**{len(off)} essay(s) are NOT on the homepage feed** "
+                           f"(confirm this is intentional):")
+              lines.append('')
+              lines.append('| Essay | Surface |')
+              lines.append('|---|---|')
+              by = {e['path']: e for e in essays}
+              for p in off:
+                  e = by[p]
+                  lines.append(f"| `{p}` | {e['surface']} — {e['explanation']} |")
+              lines.append('')
+              lines.append('> To promote to the homepage: set `public: true` and `exposure: public`.')
+          else:
+              lines.append('All published essays resolve to the homepage feed.')
+          lines.append('')
+          lines.append('<sub>Report: `scripts/surfacing-report.py` · Canon: '
+                       '`klappy://canon/constraints/frontmatter-validation-before-merge`</sub>')
+          open('/tmp/surface-comment.md', 'w').write('\n'.join(lines))
+          PY
+
+      - name: Sticky comment
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        uses: marocchino/sticky-pull-request-comment@v2
+        with:
+          header: canon-quality-surfacing
+          path: /tmp/surface-comment.md
diff --git a/.husky/pre-commit b/.husky/pre-commit
index d6e51bec..b1f161c1 100755
--- a/.husky/pre-commit
+++ b/.husky/pre-commit
@@ -1,5 +1,39 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env sh
+#
+# Catch frontmatter problems at WRITE time, before they ever reach CI.
+#
+#   1. validate-frontmatter.py (HARD): blocks the commit if any staged
+#      writings/ essay has missing/malformed renderer-critical fields. Same
+#      gate CI runs — running it here gives you the failure in seconds instead
+#      of after a push.
+#   2. surfacing-report.py (SOFT): prints where each staged essay will surface
+#      (homepage / nav / hidden) so an essay quietly on `nav` instead of the
+#      homepage is visible immediately. Never blocks.
+#
+# Requires python3 + pyyaml. Degrades to a warning if python3 is unavailable.
 
-# E0005.1: Pre-commit hooks for defunct pipeline removed.
-# sync-content, export-book, and build-docs-index scripts
-# were part of the lane-era pipeline (see D0016).
+staged_writings=$(git diff --cached --name-only --diff-filter=ACM | grep -E '^writings/.*\.md$' | grep -vE '/_[^/]*\.md$' || true)
+
+if [ -z "$staged_writings" ]; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if ! command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "pre-commit: python3 not found — skipping frontmatter validation." >&2
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "pre-commit: validating frontmatter for staged essays…"
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+if ! python3 scripts/validate-frontmatter.py $staged_writings; then
+  echo "" >&2
+  echo "Commit blocked: frontmatter validation failed. Fix the fields above" >&2
+  echo "(or copy writings/_TEMPLATE.md for the full required set), then re-commit." >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Soft surfacing heads-up — informational only.
+# shellcheck disable=SC2086
+python3 scripts/surfacing-report.py $staged_writings || true
+
+exit 0
diff --git a/canon/constraints/frontmatter-validation-before-merge.md b/canon/constraints/frontmatter-validation-before-merge.md
index ff34f443..520ad9a6 100644
--- a/canon/constraints/frontmatter-validation-before-merge.md
+++ b/canon/constraints/frontmatter-validation-before-merge.md
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ These specific combinations have caused renderer crashes in production:
 | Missing `type` on public documents | Renderer cannot select template |
 | Quoted booleans (`"true"` instead of `true`) | YAML parses as string, renderer expects boolean |
 | Missing `hook` or `description` | Social card generation fails silently |
+| Missing `public` field entirely | Essay is treated as unpublished — it merges, CI is green, and it is silently absent from the homepage |
+| `exposure: nav` + missing `type` / `slug` / `public` | The silent-drop bug. Passed the OLD gate (which only checked `exposure: public`), then never surfaced anywhere |
 
 ---
 
@@ -79,7 +81,7 @@ The validator emits findings under five rule_ids, each mapped directly to a
 |---------|---------|
 | `frontmatter-missing-block` | File has no `---`-delimited frontmatter at all |
 | `frontmatter-parse-error` | Frontmatter block exists but YAML is malformed |
-| `frontmatter-missing-required` | One of the eight universal fields, or one of `type` / `slug` / `hook` / `description` on a public essay in writings/, is missing or empty |
+| `frontmatter-missing-required` | One of the eight universal fields, or one of `public` / `type` / `slug` / `hook` / `description` on **any** essay in writings/ (regardless of exposure), is missing or empty |
 | `frontmatter-invalid-enum` | `exposure`, `voice`, `tier`, or `audience` has a value not in the canonical allowed set |
 | `frontmatter-type-mismatch` | Quoted boolean (`public: "true"`) or quoted integer (`tier: "3"`) |
 | `frontmatter-contradictory` | `public: false` combined with `exposure: public` |
@@ -93,6 +95,55 @@ schema doc wins and the validator's enum mirror must be updated to match.
 
 ---
 
+## Homepage Surfacing — Where Essays Appear, and Why They Vanish
+
+Two distinct frontmatter signals decide where a writings/ essay shows up. Per
+`canon/meta/frontmatter-schema.md` (the source of truth):
+
+- **Homepage feed** — `public: true` **and** `exposure: public`. This is the
+  default published surface.
+- **Curated reading path** — `start_here: true` (ordered by `start_here_order`).
+  An additional, editorial "start here" path on the homepage. Independent of
+  the feed; set it deliberately, not by default.
+- **Navigation only** — `public: true` **and** `exposure: nav`. Reachable
+  through site navigation but **not** promoted on the homepage. This is a
+  legitimate, intentional state for some essays — it is NOT an error.
+- **Hidden / draft** — `public: false`/absent, or `exposure` in
+  `draft` / `hidden` / `internal`.
+
+### The recurring failure this prevents
+
+An essay authored with `exposure: nav` and missing `public` / `type` / `slug`
+**merges clean and then never appears on the homepage.** The original gate only
+required the renderer-critical fields when `exposure: public`, so a `nav` essay
+sailed through with a green check and vanished silently. "Be more careful" does
+not fix a blind spot in the gate; widening the gate does.
+
+### The strengthened rule (no exceptions)
+
+`public`, `type`, `slug`, `hook`, and `description` are required on **every**
+essay in writings/, **regardless of exposure**. An essay cannot exist in
+writings/ without declaring `public` explicitly. This is enforced
+unconditionally by `scripts/validate-frontmatter.py`.
+
+Because `public: true` + `exposure: nav` is legitimate, the gate cannot
+hard-fail it. Instead, `scripts/surfacing-report.py` makes the state **loud**:
+it reports, per essay, exactly which surface it lands on and flags anything not
+on the homepage feed — so "I meant to publish and it landed on nav" is visible
+at write time, not discovered in production.
+
+### Caught at every layer
+
+| Layer | Mechanism |
+|-------|-----------|
+| Writing (scaffold) | `writings/_TEMPLATE.md` ships the complete required field set; copy it to start a new essay correct |
+| Writing (commit) | `.husky/pre-commit` runs the validator (hard) + surfacing report (soft) on staged writings/ essays |
+| Validating | `scripts/validate-frontmatter.py` — fields required for all essays unconditionally |
+| Challenging | This constraint; oddkit `preflight`/`challenge`/`validate` surface it when a deliverable includes writings/ |
+| CI/CD | `.github/workflows/canon-quality.yml` `frontmatter` job hard-blocks; the surfacing report runs as a soft PR comment |
+
+---
+
 ## Enforcement
 
 This constraint is part of the Definition of Done for any writing. A writing that exists but has broken frontmatter is not complete — it is a liability that will crash the renderer.
diff --git a/scripts/surfacing-report.py b/scripts/surfacing-report.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..be38288d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/surfacing-report.py
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+surfacing-report.py — report where each writings/ essay will surface.
+
+The frontmatter validator (validate-frontmatter.py) is a HARD gate: it fails
+the build when renderer-critical fields are missing or malformed. But there is
+a second, quieter failure mode it deliberately does NOT block, because the
+state is sometimes intentional:
+
+    A complete, valid essay set to `exposure: nav` is reachable through site
+    navigation but is NOT promoted on the homepage feed.
+
+`public: true` + `exposure: nav` is a legitimate, established pattern in this
+repo (several essays use it on purpose). So we cannot hard-fail it. But the
+recurring pain is that an author MEANT to publish to the homepage and the essay
+silently landed on nav — and nothing said so.
+
+This script makes that state LOUD instead of silent. It classifies every essay
+by the surface it will appear on, using the schema's own definitions
+(canon/meta/frontmatter-schema.md):
+
+    homepage  = public: true  AND exposure: public   (homepage feed)
+    start_here = start_here: true                     (curated reading path)
+    nav       = public: true  AND exposure: nav       (navigable, NOT promoted)
+    hidden    = exposure in {draft, hidden, internal} OR public is false/absent
+
+It NEVER fails the build (exit 0 always). It is a report. Wire it into CI as a
+soft PR comment and into the pre-commit hook so the author sees, at write time,
+exactly where each essay they touched will (and will not) show up.
+
+Usage:
+  python3 scripts/surfacing-report.py [path ...]      # human-readable
+  python3 scripts/surfacing-report.py --json [path ...]
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+import argparse
+import json
+import re
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
+
+try:
+    import yaml
+except ImportError:
+    sys.stderr.write("This script requires PyYAML. Install with: pip install pyyaml\n")
+    sys.exit(0)  # report-only: never break the build on a missing dep
+
+FRONTMATTER_BLOCK_RE = re.compile(r"^---\n(.*?)\n---\n", re.DOTALL)
+
+
+def parse_fm(path: str) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
+    try:
+        text = Path(path).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    except OSError:
+        return None
+    m = FRONTMATTER_BLOCK_RE.match(text)
+    if not m:
+        return None
+    try:
+        fm = yaml.safe_load(m.group(1))
+    except yaml.YAMLError:
+        return None
+    return fm if isinstance(fm, dict) else None
+
+
+def classify(fm: dict[str, Any]) -> tuple[str, str]:
+    """Return (surface, human_explanation)."""
+    public = fm.get("public")
+    exposure = fm.get("exposure")
+    start_here = bool(fm.get("start_here"))
+
+    if public is not True or public is None:
+        return ("hidden", f"public={public!r} — NOT a published essay; will not surface publicly")
+    if exposure == "public":
+        if start_here:
+            return ("homepage+start_here", "homepage feed AND curated start_here reading path")
+        return ("homepage", "homepage feed (exposure: public)")
+    if exposure == "nav":
+        return ("nav", "navigation only — reachable but NOT promoted on the homepage")
+    return ("hidden", f"exposure={exposure!r} — not listed on public surfaces")
+
+
+def discover(paths: list[str]) -> list[str]:
+    def keep(p: Path) -> bool:
+        return (p.suffix == ".md"
+                and p.name != "README.md"
+                and not p.name.startswith("_"))
+    if paths:
+        out: list[str] = []
+        for p in paths:
+            pp = Path(p)
+            if pp.is_dir():
+                out.extend(str(x) for x in sorted(pp.rglob("*.md")) if keep(x))
+            elif pp.is_file() and keep(pp):
+                out.append(str(pp))
+        return out
+    base = Path("writings")
+    return [str(p) for p in sorted(base.rglob("*.md")) if keep(p)] if base.is_dir() else []
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Report where each writings/ essay surfaces.")
+    ap.add_argument("paths", nargs="*", help="Files/dirs. Default: writings/.")
+    ap.add_argument("--json", action="store_true")
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    rows = []
+    for path in discover(args.paths):
+        fm = parse_fm(path)
+        if fm is None:
+            rows.append({"path": path, "surface": "unknown",
+                         "explanation": "no parseable frontmatter"})
+            continue
+        surface, explanation = classify(fm)
+        rows.append({"path": path, "surface": surface, "explanation": explanation})
+
+    not_promoted = [r for r in rows if r["surface"] in ("nav", "hidden", "unknown")]
+
+    if args.json:
+        json.dump({"essays": rows,
+                   "not_on_homepage": [r["path"] for r in not_promoted]},
+                  sys.stdout, indent=2)
+        sys.stdout.write("\n")
+        return 0  # report-only
+
+    name_w = max((len(Path(r["path"]).name) for r in rows), default=4)
+    print(f"Surfacing report — {len(rows)} essay(s)\n")
+    for r in rows:
+        print(f"  {Path(r['path']).name.ljust(name_w)}  {r['surface']:18}  {r['explanation']}")
+    if not_promoted:
+        print("\n⚠ NOT on the homepage feed (confirm this is intentional):")
+        for r in not_promoted:
+            print(f"  - {Path(r['path']).name}: {r['explanation']}")
+        print("\n  To promote to the homepage: set `public: true` and `exposure: public`.")
+        print("  To keep it intentionally off the homepage: leave as-is (this is just a heads-up).")
+    return 0  # ALWAYS report-only — never fails the build
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/scripts/tests/fixtures/writings/broken-nav-missing-discovery.md b/scripts/tests/fixtures/writings/broken-nav-missing-discovery.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..78e09f8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/tests/fixtures/writings/broken-nav-missing-discovery.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+uri: klappy://writings/broken-nav-missing-discovery
+title: "A nav essay that forgot to be publishable"
+audience: public
+exposure: nav
+tier: 2
+voice: first_person
+stability: draft
+tags: ["test"]
+date: 2026-06-05
+hook: "Has a hook and description, but no public flag, type, or slug."
+description: "This reproduces the recurring 'merged but invisible' bug: exposure=nav with missing public/type/slug used to pass the old conditional gate."
+---
+
+Body text.
diff --git a/scripts/tests/test_validator.py b/scripts/tests/test_validator.py
index 32ea799e..82ce2168 100755
--- a/scripts/tests/test_validator.py
+++ b/scripts/tests/test_validator.py
@@ -69,6 +69,25 @@ def main() -> None:
         "broken-no-frontmatter: missing-block fires",
     )
 
+    # 4b. REGRESSION: the recurring "merged but invisible" bug. A writings
+    #     essay on exposure=nav with missing public/type/slug used to pass the
+    #     old conditional gate (which only checked exposure=public). It must
+    #     now fail. This fixture must produce a `public` finding AND `type`/
+    #     `slug` discovery findings regardless of its nav exposure.
+    d, rc = run(str(FIXTURES / "writings" / "broken-nav-missing-discovery.md"))
+    assert rc == 1, f"expected exit 1 for nav-missing-discovery, got {rc}"
+    occurrences = {f["occurrence"] for f in d["findings"]}
+    for required in ("public", "type", "slug"):
+        assert required in occurrences, (
+            f"nav-missing-discovery should flag missing {required!r}; "
+            f"got occurrences {occurrences}"
+        )
+    expect(
+        {"frontmatter-missing-required"},
+        d["findings"],
+        "broken-nav-missing-discovery: nav essay missing public/type/slug fails",
+    )
+
     # 5. Real writings/ directory must be clean (this enforces that we never
     #    ship the validator with existing breakage)
     d, rc = run("writings/")
diff --git a/scripts/validate-frontmatter.py b/scripts/validate-frontmatter.py
index f71754e6..2998e848 100755
--- a/scripts/validate-frontmatter.py
+++ b/scripts/validate-frontmatter.py
@@ -16,9 +16,12 @@
     parses these as strings, which the renderer rejects
   - Contradictory flags (`public: false` + `exposure: public`) — renderer
     builds a route with no content
-  - Public essays in writings/ missing renderer-critical discovery fields
-    (type, slug, hook, description) — homepage card renders empty without
-    them; the May 10 incident that motivated this gate
+  - ANY essay in writings/ missing renderer-critical fields (public, type,
+    slug, hook, description) — regardless of exposure. The card renders empty
+    (or the essay silently never surfaces) without them. This is unconditional:
+    the old gate only checked exposure=public essays, which let nav essays slip
+    through with missing fields and then vanish from the homepage — the
+    recurring "merged but invisible" bug.
 
 What this does NOT catch (deferred — separate concerns):
   - Terminological drift, projection staleness, epoch gaps
@@ -217,17 +220,48 @@ def validate_file(path: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
             f"Set both consistently. Canon: {CONSTRAINT_REF}",
         ))
 
-    # 6. Essay-critical discovery fields (only for writings/ with exposure=public)
+    # 6. Renderer-critical fields for ALL essays in writings/ (regardless of
+    #    exposure). The OLD gate only fired for exposure=public, which let an
+    #    essay sit on exposure=nav with missing type/slug/public and pass
+    #    clean — then silently never appear on the homepage. That conditional
+    #    blind spot is the recurring "merged but invisible" bug. Every essay in
+    #    writings/ needs these fields to render a card on ANY surface (the
+    #    homepage feed at exposure=public, or the nav list at exposure=nav), so
+    #    require them unconditionally.
     is_writing = path.startswith("writings/") or "/writings/" in path
-    if is_writing and fm.get("exposure") == "public":
+    if is_writing:
+        # 6a. `public` must be PRESENT and a real boolean. Its absence is the
+        #     exact shape of the silent-drop bug: the essay merges, CI is
+        #     green, and it never surfaces. Every published essay in the corpus
+        #     already carries `public: true`; the only files that omit it are
+        #     the ones that vanished.
+        if "public" not in fm or fm.get("public") is None:
+            findings.append(finding(
+                "frontmatter-missing-required", "error", path, "public",
+                f'Essay in writings/ is missing the "public" field. Every '
+                f"essay must declare `public: true` (a real published essay) "
+                f"or `public: false` (draft/internal). Its absence is the "
+                f"silent-drop pattern — the essay merges but never surfaces. "
+                f"Canon: {CONSTRAINT_REF}",
+            ))
+        elif not isinstance(fm.get("public"), bool):
+            findings.append(finding(
+                "frontmatter-type-mismatch", "error", path,
+                f"public: {fm.get('public')!r}",
+                f'Field "public" must be an unquoted boolean (true/false); '
+                f"got a {type(fm.get('public')).__name__}. Canon: {CANON_REF}",
+            ))
+
+        # 6b. Discovery fields required for EVERY essay, not just public ones.
         for field in ESSAY_DISCOVERY_REQUIRED:
             v = fm.get(field)
             if v is None or v == "" or v == []:
                 findings.append(finding(
                     "frontmatter-missing-required", "error", path, field,
-                    f'Public essay in writings/ is missing renderer-critical '
-                    f'field "{field}". Without it the homepage card renders '
-                    f"empty. Required for exposure=public writings: "
+                    f'Essay in writings/ is missing renderer-critical field '
+                    f'"{field}". Without it the card renders empty on whatever '
+                    f"surface lists it (homepage feed or nav). Required for "
+                    f"ALL writings essays: "
                     f"{', '.join(ESSAY_DISCOVERY_REQUIRED)}. "
                     f"Canon: {CONSTRAINT_REF}",
                 ))
@@ -239,7 +273,11 @@ def discover_targets(args_paths: list[str]) -> list[str]:
     """Resolve CLI args to a list of .md files to scan. README.md files are
     skipped as they are section indexes with a different shape from articles."""
     def keep(p: Path) -> bool:
-        return p.suffix == ".md" and p.name != "README.md"
+        # Skip README indexes and underscore-prefixed files (templates,
+        # partials, scaffolds like writings/_TEMPLATE.md).
+        return (p.suffix == ".md"
+                and p.name != "README.md"
+                and not p.name.startswith("_"))
 
     if args_paths:
         out: list[str] = []
diff --git a/writings/_TEMPLATE.md b/writings/_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e62471d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/writings/_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+# ─── writings/ essay template ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+# Copy this file to writings/<your-slug>.md and fill it in. Every field below
+# the divider is REQUIRED by the frontmatter validator
+# (scripts/validate-frontmatter.py) for ALL essays in writings/, regardless of
+# where they surface. Leaving any of them out fails CI — and, historically,
+# silently dropped the essay from the homepage.
+#
+# Underscore-prefixed files (this one) are skipped by the validator.
+
+# ── Universal (every document) ──
+uri: "klappy://writings/REPLACE-WITH-SLUG"
+title: "REPLACE — the essay title"
+audience: public            # public | canon | docs | odd | operators | apocrypha
+exposure: public            # public = ON THE HOMEPAGE | nav = navigable, NOT promoted | draft | hidden | internal
+tier: 2                     # 1 foundational | 2 governance | 3 operational | 4 ephemeral
+voice: first_person         # first_person | neutral | direct | narrative | conversational | authoritative
+stability: draft            # stable | semi_stable | evolving | draft | experimental
+tags: ["REPLACE", "tags"]
+
+# ── Renderer-critical for EVERY essay (missing = empty card / silent drop) ──
+public: true                # true = real published essay; false = draft/internal. MUST be an unquoted boolean.
+type: "essay"               # essay | article
+slug: "REPLACE-WITH-SLUG"   # must match the filename and the uri tail
+hook: "REPLACE — one or two sentences that open with the reader's pain."
+description: "REPLACE — 1-3 sentence summary used for the card and social preview."
+
+# ── Recommended ──
+date: "2026-01-01"
+epoch: "E0009"
+og_description: "REPLACE — social/OG description (can mirror description)."
+
+# ── Optional: curated homepage reading path ──
+# Set BOTH of these only if this essay belongs on the ordered 'start here'
+# path on the homepage. Omit them otherwise — exposure: public alone already
+# puts the essay in the homepage feed.
+# start_here: true
+# start_here_order: 99
+# ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+---
+
+Write the essay here.
diff --git a/writings/great-minds-think-alike.md b/writings/great-minds-think-alike.md
index 2a319090..24a38422 100644
--- a/writings/great-minds-think-alike.md
+++ b/writings/great-minds-think-alike.md
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 ---
 uri: klappy://writings/great-minds-think-alike
 title: "Great Minds Think Alike. Here's What That's Actually Telling You."
+public: true
+type: "essay"
+slug: "great-minds-think-alike"
 audience: public
-exposure: nav
+exposure: public
 tier: 2
 voice: first_person
 stability: draft
diff --git a/writings/own-your-vertical.md b/writings/own-your-vertical.md
index 1f8dfcc1..bfdf384d 100644
--- a/writings/own-your-vertical.md
+++ b/writings/own-your-vertical.md
@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 ---
 uri: klappy://writings/own-your-vertical
 title: "Own Your Vertical. Let Me Carry the Layer Beneath It."
+public: true
+type: "essay"
+slug: "own-your-vertical"
 audience: public
-exposure: nav
+exposure: public
 tier: 2
 voice: first_person
 stability: draft
diff --git a/writings/the-broken-wall-and-the-buried-talent.md b/writings/the-broken-wall-and-the-buried-talent.md
index 28b0693f..29931232 100644
--- a/writings/the-broken-wall-and-the-buried-talent.md
+++ b/writings/the-broken-wall-and-the-buried-talent.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ---
 uri: klappy://writings/the-broken-wall-and-the-buried-talent
 title: "The Broken Wall and the Buried Talent"
+public: true
 subtitle: "Two ancient stories collided in a conversation about AI — and I haven't been the same since"
 author: "Klappy"
 type: article