There's something increasingly schemey - even culty - about the whole thing, honestly.

Medium's in-house publications (like OneZero, Human Parts, etc), often pay hundreds of dollars for articles. Used to sell to them before I was blacklisted for speaking out.

All the other publications don't pay anything - or take anything - but you'll continue to earn via the Partner Program for reads, which can be much higher in the more popular indie publications.