On Substack (where I find most of my reading today) I follow something north of 50 writers. Of course, not all write daily and it’s impossible for me to read that many posts daily. My main interest is our current fight to defend democracy against fascist creep in the U.S. and worldwide. So I support a half dozen or more writers who address those issues, including:
* “Bette Dangerous” by Heidi Cuda
* “Mindwar” by Jim Stewartson
* “Dispatches From a Collapsing State” by JY Sexton. See his books: “American Rules” and “The Midnight Kingdom”
* “Proof” by Seth Abramson.
* “The Status Kuo” by Jay Kuo. Jay is also a writer for George Takei’s “The Big Picture” stack.
* “Jim Hightower’s Lowdown” by guess who 🙂 A longtime fighter from Texas, just switched from his mailed newsletter to Substack.
* “Steady” by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner. Excellent writing, brilliant content.
A few stacks I regularly read though not (currently) $ supporting:
* “Civil Discourse” by Joyce Vance. Great legal explanations from a former U.S. Attorney.
* “Thinking About” by Timothy Snyder. Professor of Eastern European & Russian history. Ukraine. Anti-fascist.
* “Special Intelligence” by Malcolm Nance. Former intelligence analyst. Ukraine. Soldier.
* “The Good in Us” by Mary Trump. Tackles the full range of current U.S. issues.
* “Robert Reich” eponymous. Former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Clinton.
Three food-related stacks:
* “Buona Domenica” by Domenica Marchetti. Italian dishes and discussion.
* “Time Travel Kitchen” by Jolene Handy. Rediscovering dishes from the past. New York to Chicago. Great food photos.
* “Department of Salads” by Emily Nunn. “Anything can be a salad. Absolutely anything.”
And just for fun:
* “The Lunar Dispatch” by Will Dowd. Lunar astronomy. A post for each month’s new moon.
First, I’m married to one of those writers. So thank you for this.
I’ve been thinking about AI a lot as an educator & as a human. What is awe-inspiring and beautiful about a perfect creation is the very fact that’s its creator is imperfect. A machine generated piece of art, architecture or writing has no soul, nothing to fill our our hearts with wonder that a mere mortal could somehow touch the divine. Human creation reassures us there is a part of us, our spirit, that, like the universe, can transcend time and space, that is eternal. Machines can boast of no such power & therefore cannot move us In a similar way.
So here are some of the writers and creatives that matter to me enough to pay, and a little bit about why:
On Substack:
Because I love accessible but scholarly deep digs into religious texts, I subscribe to Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg's "Life Is A Sacred Text."
Because I loved the AV Club's film commentary before the AV Club let their writers go, I subscribe to Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps' "The Reveal."
And because I value her perspective and incisive writing on one of our most pressing current battlefronts in the culture wars being waged by American supremacists, I just subscribed to Parker Molloy's "The Present Age."
On Patreon:
Because I am a nerd, and because I value pop culture voices who center marginalized perspectives, I support Connor Goldsmith's Cerebro podcast and Miles & Jay Xplain the X-Men.
Because I enjoy freewheeling discussions on writers, writing, and also lots of goofy nonsense, I support the Bookfight podcast.
Because he is perhaps the finest film writer working today, I support Mike D'Angelo, aka "gemko."
The Our Opinions Are Correct podcast from Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz is a great listen for thoughts on science fiction, popular culture, representation of all kinds and other stuff.
I just realized I haven’t been paying for Heather Cox Richardson’s incredibly detailed and insightful daily look at up-to-the-minute US politics through an historical lens, Letters From An American. Off to correct that.
Yeah, we do seem constrained into subscription model by Substack (I presume that's how the 'sub' got into the name). I the two options are: 1) subscribe and then insta-cancel. That gives the creator a single monthly payment at whatever level you choose but doesn't charge you again; 2) just keep reading and enjoying and not paying until a model that works for you becomes available.
Great post. For me, supporting your writing is well worth the money I can afford to give.
I appreciate you!
You asked, so....😄
On Substack (where I find most of my reading today) I follow something north of 50 writers. Of course, not all write daily and it’s impossible for me to read that many posts daily. My main interest is our current fight to defend democracy against fascist creep in the U.S. and worldwide. So I support a half dozen or more writers who address those issues, including:
* “Bette Dangerous” by Heidi Cuda
* “Mindwar” by Jim Stewartson
* “Dispatches From a Collapsing State” by JY Sexton. See his books: “American Rules” and “The Midnight Kingdom”
* “Proof” by Seth Abramson.
* “The Status Kuo” by Jay Kuo. Jay is also a writer for George Takei’s “The Big Picture” stack.
* “Jim Hightower’s Lowdown” by guess who 🙂 A longtime fighter from Texas, just switched from his mailed newsletter to Substack.
* “Steady” by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner. Excellent writing, brilliant content.
A few stacks I regularly read though not (currently) $ supporting:
* “Civil Discourse” by Joyce Vance. Great legal explanations from a former U.S. Attorney.
* “Thinking About” by Timothy Snyder. Professor of Eastern European & Russian history. Ukraine. Anti-fascist.
* “Special Intelligence” by Malcolm Nance. Former intelligence analyst. Ukraine. Soldier.
* “The Good in Us” by Mary Trump. Tackles the full range of current U.S. issues.
* “Robert Reich” eponymous. Former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Clinton.
Three food-related stacks:
* “Buona Domenica” by Domenica Marchetti. Italian dishes and discussion.
* “Time Travel Kitchen” by Jolene Handy. Rediscovering dishes from the past. New York to Chicago. Great food photos.
* “Department of Salads” by Emily Nunn. “Anything can be a salad. Absolutely anything.”
And just for fun:
* “The Lunar Dispatch” by Will Dowd. Lunar astronomy. A post for each month’s new moon.
Thank you for sharing this!
First, I’m married to one of those writers. So thank you for this.
I’ve been thinking about AI a lot as an educator & as a human. What is awe-inspiring and beautiful about a perfect creation is the very fact that’s its creator is imperfect. A machine generated piece of art, architecture or writing has no soul, nothing to fill our our hearts with wonder that a mere mortal could somehow touch the divine. Human creation reassures us there is a part of us, our spirit, that, like the universe, can transcend time and space, that is eternal. Machines can boast of no such power & therefore cannot move us In a similar way.
Happy to support you. You similarly reassure me.
So here are some of the writers and creatives that matter to me enough to pay, and a little bit about why:
On Substack:
Because I love accessible but scholarly deep digs into religious texts, I subscribe to Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg's "Life Is A Sacred Text."
Because I loved the AV Club's film commentary before the AV Club let their writers go, I subscribe to Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps' "The Reveal."
And because I value her perspective and incisive writing on one of our most pressing current battlefronts in the culture wars being waged by American supremacists, I just subscribed to Parker Molloy's "The Present Age."
On Patreon:
Because I am a nerd, and because I value pop culture voices who center marginalized perspectives, I support Connor Goldsmith's Cerebro podcast and Miles & Jay Xplain the X-Men.
Because I enjoy freewheeling discussions on writers, writing, and also lots of goofy nonsense, I support the Bookfight podcast.
Because he is perhaps the finest film writer working today, I support Mike D'Angelo, aka "gemko."
Well great, you stole my first two suggestions (Life Is A Sacred Text and The Present Age). Rude.
The Our Opinions Are Correct podcast from Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz is a great listen for thoughts on science fiction, popular culture, representation of all kinds and other stuff.
I just realized I haven’t been paying for Heather Cox Richardson’s incredibly detailed and insightful daily look at up-to-the-minute US politics through an historical lens, Letters From An American. Off to correct that.
Dr. Richardson's Letters are a voice of sanity in the chaos. Excellent choice.
Needs more Harlan Ellison...
https://youtu.be/mj5IV23g-fE
See but I knew the people who would get it would get it.
Yeah, we do seem constrained into subscription model by Substack (I presume that's how the 'sub' got into the name). I the two options are: 1) subscribe and then insta-cancel. That gives the creator a single monthly payment at whatever level you choose but doesn't charge you again; 2) just keep reading and enjoying and not paying until a model that works for you becomes available.
Either way, thanks for reading!