85 Newsletters to Subscribe to Right Now
From business and tech to politics and culture, the best content on the internet can be found in your inbox
As it has been explained to me, reaching for your phone immediately after waking up is most likely bad for you. I often do it anyway. I am not a scientist or a medical professional, but a bleary-eyed inbox scroll feels pretty good to me, and the internet waits for no man.
The point I am trying to make has nothing to do with blue light’s harmful effects or my morning dopamine fix; it’s about the fact that, most days, my morning routine starts with a carefully curated stack of email newsletters.
Anecdotally, I know I’m not alone. My colleagues and friends similarly indulge in hand-selected Substack essays or debriefs, if not in bed then on the train or in the office or at their cafe of choice. You’ve probably noticed it, too. After all, there’s a strong chance you found this list via an InsideHook newsletter — if you didn’t, you can sign up here; we have many!
Newsletters are not remotely new, but, increasingly, as other media formats have fallen by the wayside, they’re how consumers are getting their news, keeping up with favored personalities, shopping, and generally interacting with culture as a whole. (Even more telling: for those aspiring to stardom, Substack has taken the place of podcasts as the totemic indicator of media empires to come. Watch this space!)
This feels almost ironic, given the endless conversations around generative AI slop and hypersensitive algorithms destroying our attention spans and ability to consume anything besides Instagram Reels. But signs are there for all with a pure heart and insatiable desire for knowledge: the newsletter is bigger than ever.
This recent surge can be attributed to a proliferation of technology that has made it easier than ever for creators to successfully strike out on their own. Utilizing platforms like Substack, Beehiiv and Ghost, top-tier talent from across the media landscape have followed the lead of early adopters — the creators currently eating the lunch of Paleolithic media institutions they left behind — and flocked to the newsletter as a legitimate vehicle for cultural and commercial success. Internal analysis from these platforms have estimated that tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of newsletters have been started in recent years.
On the business side, operations savvy enough to realize the power of a direct channel to their patrons have similarly rejiggered their operations with an emphasis on email-first. Bastions like The New York Times boast portfolios that include dozens of unique products, while new media — Semafor and Puck spring to mind — have ballooned from a honed offering of dedicated and exclusive newsletter content.
There are all sorts of other explanations for this boom, too — the refreshing analog format, the inbox as a virtual third space, a general demand for authentic content free of an algorithmic agenda — but at the end of the day, they all point to a simple truth: Now, more than ever, there are tons of really excellent newsletters out there.
The sole issue with this revelation? With so much out there, it’s easy to miss out on some best, most exciting sends. To that end, we’ve carefully selected a comprehensive list of the newsletters that we religiously subscribe to and think you should subscribe to, too.
These products vary greatly in size and scope — our selections range from institutional stalwarts to new media hotshots to Substack’s best and brightest — and cover a breadth of topics, from business to politics to tech to booze. Many are run independently, often by a single operator. Each offers something different, but they all offer a distinctive take, quality writing and a way to stay informed or, at the very least, entertained.
You might notice that some of the biggest digests and dailies are conspicuously missing from our list. We’re not trying to drop the definitive newsletter ranking here (that would be insane), but rather, as the kids say, put you on to all the stuff that should be populating your inbox. So ready that email address, and get scrolling — you’ve got a lot of good reading ahead of you. — Paolo Sandoval
Contributors: Amanda Gabriele, Tanner Garrity, Alex Lauer, Logan Mahan, Kirk Miller, Lindsay Rogers, Paolo Sandoval, Joanna Sommer, Bonnie Stiernberg
Time-Travel Thursdays
For anyone who loves a history lesson, this weekly newsletter from The Atlantic is a must-subscribe. Each issue dives into their archives and tells one really cool story about something that happened in America back in the day — and how it can relate to modern times as well. — AG
Issue We Love: The Golden Age of Flying Wasn’t All That Golden
For Scale
Do you revel in the “supreme potential of domestic space?” For Scale certainly does. Fronted by journeyman David Michon, the design newsletter is an eclectic mix of vigorously researched references and a sixth sense for text as an engaging medium shared by the likes of Blackbird Spyplane or 8Ball. — PS
Issue We Love: Thinking People Like Ugly Things
Although I’ve made it a huge point not to scroll this year, I still need to know what’s going on, and there’s more to the news than the hard-hitting stories of the NYT front page. Garbage Day breaks down the biggest internet trends, memes and weird shit happening online so you’re in the know, and it will save you the brain rot of being chronically on social media. — AG
Issue We Love: The Right-Wing Sydney Sweeney Swarm
The Daily
You’ve arrived. Now it’s time to start living your best life.Internet Princess
Rayne Fisher-Quann has been described as one of the preeminent essayists of our very online generation, a sentiment I’m inclined to agree with. She has also been described as a twenty-something-year-old girlie, because she is. Her sporadic newsletter, Internet Princess, is an amalgamation of these two identifiers, offering perceptive musings on Gen-Z with Sontagian precision. — PS
Issue We Love: Against Narrative
Deez Links
Through all its various iterations and frequencies, Deez Links has remained at the forefront of NYC-centric media journalism, a culture delivery vehicle for media folk and the masses alike. “Takes” may be cooked, chopped or unc, as the kids say, but author Delia Cai’s reporting remains relevant as hell. — PS
Issue We Love: the AI clankers yearn for cultural cachet
8Ball
Can you still trend forecast in a post-trend world? 8Ball says, “Ask Again Later.” K-HOLE founder Sean Monahan’s loosey-goosey culture newsletter concerns itself with all the major touchstones that make up modern-day (read: mostly online) life, offering prescient takes, and, much more importantly, blistering dot-com vernacular (Monahan is widely credited as the originator of the phrases “vibe shift” and “normcore”) that demands you keep up with 8Ball’s far-flung and sometimes rambling subject matter. — PS
Issue We Love: Sloptimism
After School
Rizzler? Rushtok? Six-seven? These words may mean nothing to you, but if you remotely care that they do mean something at all, After School is a must-read. Ex-New York Magazine editor Casey Lewis may not be Gen Z (or worse, Gen Alpha) but she is excellent at delivering youth culture — everything from social media trends to in-depth commercial analysis — in a digestible and highly enjoyable weekday newsletter. — PS
Issue We Love: The kids are not alright
Is It Supposed to Look Like That?
When it comes to general musings and essays about life — culture, society, trending buzz among the writing and media worlds — Teddy Brown is the one I look forward to hearing from. It makes sense: Is It Supposed to Look Like That? is all about “the stuff we see and why it matters,” all from the perspective of a writer who’s frequently publishing articles in other media outlets. That’s not necessarily what it takes to run a successful newsletter, per se, but evidently, it gives him lots of credibility and perspective in his writing. Sometimes he’s writing about viral internet moments like “performative men” on Substack, other times he’s writing about balancing a full-time day job with having a career in writing outside of that. His takes often feel refreshing and original — all with a classy taste of nuance. — Joanna Sommer, Editorial Assistant
Issue We Love: No one is stealing your trend stories
The Up & Up
At first glance, The Up & Up is a publication greatly focused on Gen Z research led by a Gen Z herself, Rachel Janfaza — but her work goes deeper than this. While The Up & Up began as a newsletter for all things culture, politics and lifestyle through the lens of Gen Z, it’s become a destination point for understanding them via real numbers. Using research, digital qualitative surveys referred to as “reality checks,” listening sessions and other strategy implementation, The Up & Up reaches out to Gen Z-ers directly, sharing their voices and perspectives with other foundations, venture funds, media companies and nonprofits. It’s become quite a successful platform that aims to elevate the voices of an incredibly influential generation while helping brands make related strategic decisions. — JS
Issue We Love: Inside the $2 Trillion Wellness Boom
“Much like the journalism we publish today, our archives span a range of interests, wonders, fears and curiosities: They’re a time capsule revealing how smart minds have contemplated, analyzed and shaped our world for almost two centuries. When choosing stories to highlight for the Time-Travel Thursdays newsletter, we identify pieces that contextualize the big story of the moment through the lens of our history. We’re looking for ways to help examine, and reexamine, the American idea through the perspectives of our writers so that the lessons of our past might help illuminate our future. And true to The Atlantic’s core, we also highlight work that’s witty, delightful and deeply human, including meditations on love, dogs, wellness and the life cycle of facial hair. By sifting through the full scope of Atlantic essays published since our founding, we’re able to guide our readers through not just American history but the history of humans trying to make sense of their lives.”
Feed Me
The poster child for self-made Substackers, Emily Sundberg’s dishy and impossibly connected business-leaning-culture vertical (tagline: a daily newsletter about the spirit of enterprise) Feed Me is substantial enough to command a rapt audience of media elites, power brokers and CEOs and self-aware enough to do so with a hyper-candid — refreshing? — voice you might have expected to read in The Cut five years ago. — PS
Issue We Love: BREAKING Erewhon is coming to New York
Future of Transportation
As a rule of thumb, the “do industry professionals read this newsletter” litmus test is a good way to separate the wheat from the chaff. Future of Transportation, a true EOW (the newsletter ships out Sunday evening), has the inside track on all the latest and greatest in transportation, with author Reilly Brennan delivering on the promise of buzzy car-centric scoops and happenings, often before they hit major outlets. — Alex Lauer, Features Editor
Issue We Love: Trucks | FoT: Moove, Waymo, Credits
You may have seen her on TikTok. Or read her in the Times. Kyla Scanlon is a financial content creator, who breaks down crypto, AI, the attention economy and more for a largely Gen Z audience. Her voice is accessible, engaging and often funny — no easy feat when you’re writing essays titled “the four phases of institutional collapse.” — TG
Issue We Love: Who’s getting rich off your attention?
As if anyone needed a reminder that “influencing” isn’t as glamorous as it might look, Rachel Karten’s Link In Bio offers a clear-eyed peek behind the social media curtain and a genuine resource for anyone who is interested in making a career out of it. Featuring long-form interviews with industry players and frequent insights into what it takes to win on social in 2025, it’s a must-subscribe for the modern-day content creator. — PS
Issue We Love: Here Come the Brands
The brainchild of longtime business and tech powerhouse Dan Frommer, The New Consumer is a veritable Garden of Eden for bis-dev nerds and analytic obsessives; Frommer’s granular analysis of e-commerce trends, routine deep dives into data-driven modeling and strategy and frequent State of Consumer Trends reports are both heavily inside baseball and indisputably fascinating for anyone who cares about the macros of online money. — PS
Issue We Love: Introducing the Consumer Trends 2025 Mid-Year Report
Unlike your average chinstrokey media-on-media coverage, Brian Morrissey’s salient weekly newsletter, The Rebooting, is informed by more than two decades in digital media and offers legitimate and thoughtful insights into the undulation of an ever-changing landscape. Pro tip: the companion podcast is just as good. — PS
Issue We Love: The platform-publisher divorce
Of the dozen or so AI-related newsletters I subscribe to, this one is the most straightforward and accessible to both newbies and industry vets. It was all started by a guy (yes, named Ben) who admittedly has no coding skills… but he seems to have business acumen, because built a no-code tutorial site and sold it for millions and then launched his newsletter six weeks before ChatGPT debuted. — KM
Issue We Love: I’m fed up of bad AI software
Blood in the Machine
The techno-optimist moment is behind us. As we plunge into an uncertain AI-powered future run by tech oligarchs, former L.A. Times tech columnist Brian Merchant is a reporter and analyst you can trust to translate the often impenetrable tech-speak coming out of Silicon Valley. Clear-eyed, original and urgent, in your inbox two-plus times a week. — AL
Issue We Love: AI Killed My Job: Tech Workers
The Download from MIT Technology Review
It probably comes as little surprise that the daily newsletter from the eggheads over at MIT’s in-house publication offers some of the most fascinating tech stories on the interwebs, but the “Must-Reads” section, which compiles the best of the rest from around the web, is just as curated. Bonus: the “Quote of the Day” insert doesn’t suck. — PS
Hacker Newsletter
A Friday newsletter that’s primarily deep links and comment board comments that stray far from the tech mainstream and often dive into programming, tech history and ethics. There’s also a #fun column that does a deep dive into the Internet’s weirdest corners and links to plenty of homemade games. — KM
Issue We Love: Since Hacker is 99% links to other sites and a message board, you might as well just go with whatever’s most recent. The October 17 newsletter features links to stories on Apple’s M5 chip and links to programmers who build 2D and 1D Rubik’s Cube online puzzles.
The Hidden Layer
For an industry that’s projected to surpass $3 trillion within the next decades and is singlehandedly propping up the global economy, there are scant few voices covering AI with the clarity and favor it demands, and none as well as Puck’s Ian Krietzberg. The Hidden Layer parses into the confusing and often incestuous business of LLMS and GPUS, with all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from Puck newsletters: expertly sourced and whip-sharp, with a tongue-in-cheek cattiness that keeps you coming back for more. — PS
Issue We Love: Can A.I. Make Hollywood Great Again? — Paolo
StrictlyVC
Started by veteran journalist Connie Loizos, StrictlyVC is a useful M-F roundup of startup fundings mixed with news and a surprisingly great list of shopping and news links (which make up 10% of the newsletter but get 90% of my eyeball time). Now part of TechCrunch/Yahoo, the business also hosts popular events and has a podcast. — KM
Issue We Love: A peek into the future as Sam Altman sees it
Blackbird Spyplane
With an ultra-stylized voice and a slate of subject material that ranges from thinkpieces about the blessed nature of aubergine-colored clothing to full-blown investigative journalism on J.Crew’s recent AI-spawned advertisements, culture savants Jonah Weiner and Erin Wylie’s Blackbird Spyplane might sound a touch recreational, but don’t underestimate the surprisingly profound insight in physical ephemera that this newsletter is able to provide…it’s the “unbeatable recon” on little-known but worthwhile brands. — PS
Issue We Love: Yes you should dress your age
Magasin
Shopping-specific digests can often feel bloated with affiliate linkage and corporate overlord sponsors; ex-ecommerce editor Laura Reilly’s Magasin feels blissfully unadulterated by pay-to-play action, seemingly due to her circumspect understanding of the internet’s retail landscape and certainly due to her iron-clad taste. Subscribers enjoy granular levels of shopping recommendations that span COS to Miu Miu, as well as frequent interviews with fashion illuminati and a now infamous state of the shopping union (to our knowledge, Reilly was among the first Substackers to pioneer crowdsourced spreadsheets). — PS
Issue We Love: Style yourself like you’re already halfway through the night
From the minds behind A Continuous Lean, this biweekly dispatch (updates delivered to your inbox Wednesdays and Saturdays) rounds up all the products that are actually worth your time and money, the stories that are worth reading and the people that are worth meeting. The menswear focal point is clear, but not overbearing — there’s always something for gearheads and cosmopolitans alike. — PS
Issue We Love: Issue 101
The Stitch by InsideHook
A twice-weekly style newsletter with recommendations and reports on the latest menswear and fashion trends.
Sign up today and get it delivered every Monday and Wednesday, directly to your inbox.The menswear echo chamber — all the slang and the memes and the massive pants — can be a confusing and frankly frightening place. Brand consultant and content creator Clayton Chambers, and his newsletter Sprezza, make caring about how you dress and what you wear a bit more palatable for the everyman. Don’t get it twisted; it’s still incredibly insightful, with tons of info about indie brands and seasonal cops. — PS
Issue We Love: How Drake’s made wearing suits fun again
Fashion is a visual medium, something that IG moodboard-turned-Substack Street Night Live seems to instinctively understand. Featuring expertly resourced shopping guides and trend reports, complete with the coup de grace of a good clothing recommendation, in-person photography and honest sizing notes, author Eugene Lardy has his aesthetic dialed in. — PS
Issue We Love: How to revive your wardrobe
Unpolished
Ex-Hodinkee editor Tony Traina’s independent watch dispatch Unpolished has become the go-to resource for collectors, covering the gamut of watchmakers and offering insider recs on hot buys. (Just as important: notes on what not to buy.) — PS
Issue We Love: 47 Unpolished Rules for Watch Collecting
The Wm Brown Weekly
Matt Hranek’s weekly newsletter for his quarterly print magazine Wm Brown is one you don’t want to miss. He shares all kinds of fashionable, curated lifestyle snippets — style, drinks, food, watches, cars, you name is — creating a timeless, sophisticated profile of newsletters that any man would yearn to experience for themselves. — JS
Issue We Love: My Fall 2025 Kit List
An incredibly thoughtful compilation of the best places to travel to and visit across the U.S., American Weekender publishes recommendations, profiles and stories — along with multi-day itineraries through their Field Guides. If you’re planning your next trip, trying to decide where to eat or drink and searching for some expert opinions, look no further. — JS
Issue We Love: 8 Tips for Better Road Trips
The Journey by InsideHook
Join over 100K travelers seeking trip ideas, the latest travel news, and all the inspiration you need for your next vacation.
Travel expert Christopher Elliott sends a weekly roundup of travel stories, most of which are based around the “Airbnb won’t give me a refund” or “why did Delta screw me on a ticket?” Then he solves the problem. It’s kind of old-school but I’m addicted to this email. — KM
Part of the broader Found family — other editions include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Paris — Found NY offers a highly curated, POI-driven recommendations cheat sheet for the best city in the world. Nothing is off-limits: the biweekly sends include new restaurants, trending real estate, luxury shopping, even local travel. — PS
Issue We Love: Picture Perfect
Hotel Espresso is the personal newsletter of Hotels Above Par CEO Brandon Berkson. Published biweekly, it pulls back the curtain on Berkson’s own travels while serving up musings, hot takes and insider industry news. His candid voice and deep expertise in boutique hotels make each edition as entertaining as it is insightful. — Lindsay Rogers, Travel Editor
Issue We Love: How Youth Hostels Made Me
In a space crowded with noise, Jimmy Rox feels like a breath of fresh air. Nearly always on the road, James Barrett shares unvarnished thoughts on travel, practical tips and the occasional big-picture musing he calls “shower thoughts.” The result is fun, approachable and reads like catching up with a well-traveled friend. — LR
Issue We Love: Where to go if you got dumped
“After four years of my newsletter, and nearly 200 editions, I’ve really taken to my own advice. I’ve become more confident in myself on trips, and continue to push myself to try things that might scare me — getting my rescue certification in scuba diving, for example.”
Travel Noire is a go-to hub for millennials of the African Diaspora, offering stories, news and insights through the lens of travelers of color. From practical tips and cultural highlights to must-visit destinations, it’s a one-stop shop for anyone seeking both representation and travel inspiration. Their daily newsletter ensures you’ll never miss a single update. — LR
Keith, the founder of Nomad Flag, describes himself as a traveler, entrepreneur and tech enthusiast with more than 25 years of global experience. A champion of slow travel — journeying for the sheer love of it — he explores a wide range of topics with depth and nuance. His newsletter is packed with thoroughly researched insights, tips and reflections, making Travel Talk a reminder that travel is ultimately meant to spark joy. — LR
Issue We Love: #28
Fingers
I’ll be honest, there’s a lot of fluff in the booze writing business (I’m guilty of this too — not everything is great!) and many articles act as glorified press releases. Not here. Fingers is a well-researched, somewhat snarky and more critical take on the drinks industry, often with breaking news, courtesy of veteran writer Dave Infante (who also does good work over at VinePair). — Kirk Miller, Senior Lifestyle Editor
Issue We Love: The Infantilization of the American Drinker
The Mix with Robert Simonson
The acclaimed cocktail writer for The New York Times (and a James Beard-nominated drinks writer) has his own Substack, allowing him space to pontificate on the Perfect Manhattan (he’s not a fan), the history of Martini crackers and a fair amount about drinks-adjacent topics, from Poland’s milk bars an extensive coverage on… hot dogs. — KM
Issue We Love: The Legend of the Penguin Ice Bucket
“I don’t mean to hold myself out as some sort of Sazerac Serpico; I just genuinely wish there were more people aggressively working this beat. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the sense that if I don’t cover a difficult subject—the Death & Co. union drive, for example, or Anheuser-Busch InBev axing a Wicked Weed brewer for posting unfavorably about Charlie Kirk on his personal social-media account—it probably isn’t going to get covered at all, beyond maybe some non-trade-focused local media pickup. The silver lining is that this can make it easier to get scoops, I guess.”
This is very niche, but creative agency Niholo publishes a unique newsletter that looks at the booze world from a branding and marketing perspective, giving plenty of space to non-alc and alternative beverages as well. I’ve discovered a lot of new bottles here — now I’m clamoring to try something called Botivo. — KM
Issue We Love: What non-alc can learn from meat-free’s decline
The Spill by InsideHook
The secret to great cocktails? Find out now.The definitive guide to rum from, arguably, the world’s most knowledgeable rum expert/author Matt Pietrek (seriously, the man wrote an 850-page encyclopdia on Caribbean rum). This isn’t a cocktail-making guide, although Pietrek does a nice job explaining the history of the Mai Tai; it’s more about the industry itself, which includes news on rum brands that have seemingly come and gone (Equaino, Renegade), deep dives into rum additives, and on-going section on rum aging regulations by country. — KM
Issue We Love: The Fallacy of White Rum
Alison Roman — A Newsletter
At this point, it feels like a full 60% of the dishes I cook regularly are Alison Roman recipes — from her famous Goodbye Meatballs and her A Little Eggplant Parm to her Braised Short Ribs and, literally, her entire Thanksgiving menu. The former NY Times food columnist struck out on her own back in 2021, and it’s been an absolute joy to watch her build something entirely her own ever since. The recipes are great, and the writing is a sneaky kind of great: full of voice and first-person narrative but never to the point of annoyance. Her new cooking, Something From Nothing, is out on 11/11. — Mike Conklin, Editor-in-Chief
Issue We Love: “I’m Only Here for the Sides”
Dinner: A Love Story
This is the perfect example of a newsletter with a name that perfectly embodies what’s published on it. It’s a pure romanticization of food — but even more specifically mealtime: Summer dinner parties with friends and lots of wine, sit-down meals on the weekend with family, desserts that you think about for far too long after eating it. Jenny Rosenstrach’s recipes are versatile and quite pleasing to look at. Who doesn’t love photos of perfectly presented and prepared food — let alone the real thing? — JS
Issue We Love: Three Things
If you’re a fan of Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks, the brilliant chef’s Substack is a must-subscribe. It’s perfect for anyone who’s obsessed with his knack for creating dishes full of ridiculously vibrant flavors, and he’s always telling a personal anecdote about what’s inspiring him culinarily at the moment. — AG
Issue We Love: Chilli Is an Idea More Than a Recipe
I’ve been a fan of this blog since 2007, long before I started my massive cookbook collection (and before I even cooked much at all). The Smitten Kitchen Digest is a newsletter that drops into your inbox every Monday, packed with Deb Perelman’s seasonal cooking ideas and favorite recipes. — AG
Issue We Love: Citrus Sunshine
Do you love snacks? A sweet treat? How about in-depth CPG reporting? Have I got a newsletter for you. SnaxShot shrewdly observes the whimsy of new-age pretzels and protein-packed yogurt and Millennial-branded probiotic sodas through a seasoned “product oracle” lens; it’s an equally excellent IG follow. — PS
Issue We Love: People Don’t Give a Shit About Seed Oils
Even though I’m an omnivore, The Veggie is one of my favorite NYT Cooking newsletters because it always gives me ideas for how to use seasonal produce, as well as new techniques to try. A lot of times the author will be given a scenario — like “Any suggestions that allow a single avocado to shine but aren’t just a variant of avocado toast?” — and the solutions are always so thoughtful and creative. — AG
Bloomberg’s award-winning reporting prowess is on full display with the Green Daily send, which offers essential contextualization on everything from green finance to zero-emissions tech. — PS
Issue We Love: How Hurricanes Fires and Floods Put Drugs and Medical Supplies at Risk
Heated
Environmental reporter Emily Atkin is one of the strongest climate change reporters on the beat. In her newsletter, Heated, she angrily takes down the forces driving global warming with original and informative reporting that comes when the stories are actually done. A must-read if you’re concerned — as you should be — with our descent into the rising seas. — PS
Issue We Love: Organic farmers expose RFK Jr.’s delusion
Heatmap AM
You hoover up business, political and sports news on the daily — shouldn’t you be consuming climate news, too? Heatmap’s AM version offers a top-of-the-morning briefing on the most important climate, energy and sustainability news you haven’t heard, from one of the best climate news companies. — PS
Looking Forward
The non-profit climate news site Grist has a number of smartly designed newsletters, but, unlike the vast majority of climate news, Looking Forward focuses on solutions to our varied problems and thus offers a dose of inspiration rather than dread. — PS
No More Shitty Books
Don’t you wish someone could just tell you whether or not you’re going to like a book before you take the time to start reading it? Fear no longer. — JS
Issue We Love: The 100 LEAST shitty books list!
Patti Smith
If you devoured all of Patti Smith’s excellent books — including her essential memoir Just Kids — you’ll love her Substack, where she posts weekly ruminations, poetry, music and the occasional video message to her subscribers. — Bonnie Stiernberg, Managing Editor
Issue We Love: Remembering our poets
Poetry Unbound
Poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama has a distinct ability to help you start or rekindle your appreciation for the timeless form. His weekly Substack-cum-podcast Poetry Unbound shares, discusses and dissects poetry in a way that is both accessible and appealing. As Ó Tuama says, “Poems can be thought of as doors opening up to the world of the poet — and doors to open up the world of a reader.” — PS
Issue We Love: Kitchen Hymns — Alex (Paolo)
As elite writers go, few are as generous with their wisdom as George Saunders. If you’ve read his A Swim in a Pond in the Rain — in which he gently, but expertly guides readers through a critical understanding of the Russian masters — this Substack is the natural extension of that book. It’s a community workshop of sorts, which he uses to assign creative prompts and engage directly with readers. — TG
Issue we loved: How Much Do We Need to Read to Have a Chance to Be Good?
The about section for formula flash! is “where your local sports column meets Cosmo wrapped up in a newsletter delivered to your inbox via the cool girl next door.” I don’t think I could have summed it up any better. If you’re into F1, this is for you. — JS
Issue We Love: Formula 1 Enters a New Entertainment Era
Sports is a male-dominated industry. Did you know that less than 15% of sports journalists are women? Female-founded sports newsletter and sports media brand is hoping to influence that traditionally masculine landscape by delivering equal coverage to men’s and women’s sports via its entertaining, easily digestible recaps. Get “the gist” of what’s going on in the sports world in less than 5 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, Friday. — LM
Issue We Love: A lock, a hooker, and a prop walk into a bar
“I’d say it’s not about gender; it’s about broadening the narrative. About 20% of our audience identifies as male and is highly engaged. When men read sports news from female-run outlets like The GIST, they get to experience sports through a different lens, one that’s rooted in inclusivity, community, and emotional connection to the game.
Our coverage doesn’t just focus on the highlight reel; it connects the dots between sport, culture, business, and life. That’s something that resonates with everyone, no matter who you cheer for or identify as. And, frankly, male fans have told us they appreciate the way The GIST helps them see the full picture. They get one stop shop for men’s and women’s sports (the majority of women’s sports fans are male), the stories behind athletes, and the cultural moments shaping fandom today.”
From Hall of Fame sportswriter Seth Davis comes the deepest-reported newsletter in college basketball. Hoops HQ is delivered three-times weekly and staffed by a network of blue-chip insiders, Division I coaches and pro sports betters — it’s a do-everything email with a game-changing upside.
Issue We Love: The Chomp-ionship Edition
Baseball writer Molly Knight describes her newsletter as being for “sports fans who also care about things other than sports,” and she’s done an incredible job of building a community of dedicated readers. During the regular season, she hosts twice-weekly chats with subscribers, and paid subscribers get a Zoom session every Saturday to talk baseball with other diehard fans. — BS
Issue We Love: Baseball Stuff I’m Depressed About
First and foremost, Mundial is a beautiful magazine that covers the culture around world football. They’ve had a few dozen issues over the last decade. Their newsletter is in support of that periodical, with delightful deep-dives into random corners of the sport. Think: the little-known Shrimps of Morecambe F.C., Norway’s Homeless World Cup, Liverpool-obsessed cabbies in Singapore. — TG
Issue We Love: This is proper England
A daily sports newsletter from The Athletic that does a good job of mixing up commentary, links, upcoming TV sports picks and news. All well and good, but it helps that author Chris Branch injects some personality into what could have been just another sports summation. — KM
Issue We Love: Is this genius or stupid?
“Hung Up by Hunter Harris. There is so much great sports writing on Substack and Beehiiv and Ghost but sometimes reading about sports feels like my job (because it is). Hunter’s hilarious takes on pop culture are such an escape for me. She is SUCH a good writer, so witty, and with such a fun point of view. She’s also able to poke fun at the ridiculousness of celebrity without ever coming off as mean. That’s a tough needle to thread, but it speaks to her abilities. It’s safe to say that I love her and am inspired by the way she can turn a phrase. Her live chats during shows like the Oscars or Real Housewives premieres are amazing too, because somehow her readers are even funnier than she is.”
From the Desk of Austin Kleon
It’s amazing that, well over a decade in, NYT best-selling author of Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon manages to find anything creativity-related to cover in his weekly newsletter, and yet his weekly roundup of 10 things worth sharing (artwork, ideas and a hell of a lot of links) remain one of the best resources on the interwebs for fresh, creative and innovative ways of interacting with the (mostly online) world. — Paolo Sandoval, Style Editor
Issue We Love: Typewriter Interview w/Ross Gay
The Creative Act: Thoughtforms & Innerworks
Remember that one gray book everyone was reading on the subway in 2023? Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being was in the hands of every creative on earth, and now his ongoing message is in substack form. The weekly newsletter is all about actionable creativity and how to take inspiration from the world around you. — Amanda Gabriele, Senior Editor
Issue We Love: Use What’s Around You
Based on the teachings of Stoics like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, this newsletter distills their advice into super usable teachings for modern life. No matter what the day has in store, the concise message of each email helps to bring peace and calm to all the chaos. — AG
Issue We Love: Never Wish Away A Minute of Your Life
I signed up for Oliver Burkeman’s newsletter after reading his excellent book, Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals. He’s the rare self-help guru who isn’t screaming about optimization all the time. His email offers refreshing insights on creativity, habit-making and distraction. — Tanner Garrity, Senior Editor
Issue We Love: The news ≠ your life
Once a glorified vehicle for a niche group of cool, downtown or spiritually downtown twentysomething-year-old creative types to digitally posture, Perfectly Imperfect has blossomed into the coolest human-to-human recommendations newsletter/lofi social platform out there, with a cast of interviewees that includes Charli XCX, Francis Ford Coppola and, yes, The Rizzler. 150,000 A24-obsessed, matcha-slurping subscribers can’t be wrong, can they? — PS
Issue We Love: Michael Shannon
Why is this interesting? seeks to answer just one, single, impossibly obvious question: plane or train? Jokes aside, Noah Brier & Colin Nagy’s near-daily newsletter crowdsources a new constant stream of fascinating and esoteric oddities into your inbox, along with an insightful series — the weekly media diet send is a gold mine for a peek at highly intelligent and motivated people’s consumption habits — that will leave you, if not markedly smarter, then at the very least with fresh dinner conversation. — PS
Issue We Love: The World’s Most Dangerous Toy Edition
Much has been made about the death of movie-going in recent years. As more and more films are released direct to streaming services and box office numbers drop, there’s fear that seeing a movie the traditional way is becoming increasingly rare. But there are still plenty of people who love nothing more than to kick off their weekend — say, at 11 a.m. on a Saturday or so — by sitting in the dark with a crowd of strangers and a bucket of popcorn, taking in the newest releases. These are the people who “11 am Saturday,” a movie newsletter in the form of a weekly 15-question questionnaire with “people who like to see movies at the movie theater,” is made for. — BS
Issue We Love: 15 Questions With Hunter Harris
Don’t Rock the Inbox
If you know anything about music journalists Marissa R. Moss and Natalie Weiner, you probably already know they’re some of the best country music experts in the business. Their newsletter “Don’t Rock the Inbox” was born out of frustration with the way mainstream publications often cover country music and Americana. They’re telling the stories they want to tell, along with putting together some killer playlists. — BS
Issue We Love: Issue #116: Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ and Nashville, or 50 Years of Trying to Make Country Music a Political Metaphor
GOOD MOVIE
Every Friday, Shea Serrano posts one review and one video about one good movie. It’s a simple concept, but like everything Serrano writes, it’s funny and insightful, and it’s a great way to help you skip the traditional 45 minutes of aimless scrolling through your queue and decide what to stream tonight. — BS
Issue We Love: Scream
Brooklyn-based writer/critic/screenwriter Hunter Harris writes about movies, TV, music and pop culture from a knowledgeable, insider-y, but extremely witty lens. When I miss what’s happening in culture, I love to read Harris’ hilarious recaps and analysis. — LM
Issue We Love: What Did Morgan Wallen Do When He Got to ‘God’s Country?’
A weekly music and pop culture newsletter from Chicago-based writer Josh Terry, No Expectations features essays, playlists and interviews with bands or artists. His “Taste Profile” series sees him chatting with these musicians about their formative interests and what they’re currently into these days. — BS
Issue We Love: No Expectations 071: Eyes of the World
With the bright lights of showbiz increasingly muddying any sort of real Hollywood coverage, Lucas Shaw remains one of the few clear-eyed entertainment journalists left standing. Screentime is well-sourced and increasingly clairvoyant on the biggest topics and issues surrounding the town writ large — AI content, studio mergers, awards campaigns and so on. — PS
Issue We Love: Taylor Swift Made Everyone Rich — Including Her Enemies
Starship Casual
Jeff Tweedy’s newsletter is an absolute must for Wilco fans, or anyone with a passing interest in indie rock. He often shares unreleased songs or outtakes and old photos, has an advice column called “Dear Jeffy (Go Ask Susie),” has a section for the gearheads (called, fittingly, “GEAR TALKIN’”) and generally muses about life or offers updates from the road while on tour. — BS
Issue We Love: Lou Reed Was My Babysitter (first draft)
Too Much TV
This Sunday-Thursday newsletter from author Rick Ellis about is not about TV — you can visit his other site for more of a culture angle. It’s about the television industry, often cast with a critical eye and some great insider information, such as the company reaction to Bari Weiss’s ascension to the top of CBS News (spoiler: not going well). – KM
Issue We Love: Everything You Know About the Streaming Business Is (Probably) Wrong
If you, like me, are one of those sick freaks who not only watches too much TV but also feels the need to read about it constantly, “What’s Alan Watching?”, by Rolling Stone TV critic Alan Sepinwall, is for you. He posts reviews, news and takes — everything a TV fan could need, besides another screen for binge-watching. — BS
Issue We Love: TV Shows That Don’t Exist, Part 1
Running almost daily since the 2020 elections, lawyer Marc Elias (who won pretty every one of those anti-voting lawsuits from that year, and wow, does that seem like a long time ago) does a daily update on how states and politicians are trying to take away your rights — “gerrymandering” is a key term here. — KM
Issue We Love: The Crucible of 2020 and the Birth of Democracy Docket
The “Internet’s Managing Editor” Dave Pell has been sending a weekday newsletter for over a decade that follows the same format: 10 headlines, culled from 75+ trusted news sources, presented in a thoughtful and personal manner while also providing context and just the right amount of newsy detachment. And many, many puns. You can read our 2021 interview with Pell here. — KM
Issue We Love: Since NextDraft is news-driven and link oriented, I’m going to instead suggest reading Pell’s 2021 article in The Atlantic story “The Internet’s Unkillable App,” an ode to email newsletters.
FiveThirtyEight alum Walt Hickey’s daily AM digest rounds up captivating news through the lens of statistics and numbers, with a particular focus on liminal, news-adjacent and often humorous curiosities. It’s an excellent alternative to the slew of hoity-toity (also: depressing) news-focused sends currently plaguing your inbox. — PS
Despite what their tagline might have you believe, there’s little indication that this White House is actually reading Semafor Principals. The swamp, however, certainly is — the daily newsletter from Ben Smith’s new media success story, which chops up timely happenings and insider scoops from a crack team of reporters into digestible bullet points, has become a mainstay resource on Capitol Hill…and for the avid politics consumer who wants the same insight as congressional leaders. — PS
The newsletter that launched the Substack platform, Sinocism comes from Bill Bishop, who has over a decade of experience living in and reporting on China. Pushing half-a-million subscribers, it’s a handy brief for anyone who is plugged into — or simply curious about — what’s going on in the Middle Kingdom. — PS
Arnold’s Pump Club
Given that this is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newsletter, you’d expect mainly strength training content. But the legendary bodybuilder and his editors routinely champion social connection, science-backed nutrition and various forms of cross-training. Editions always end with a few actionable wellness tips. — TG
Issue We Love: Your phone is draining your brain (even when it’s off)
Fitt Insider
Founded by Anthony Vennare, this one’s been an invaluable resource for me as a wellness editor. In any given week, there’s an unholy sum of investments, collabs and launches across the wellness world — spanning strength, longevity, invisible diagnostics, you name it. Fitt Insider makes sense of the crowded space with an Axios-esque efficiency. — TG
Issue We Love: Splash Zone
“People will always invent new things — supplements, exercises, training styles — you supposedly need to optimize your life, because it’s harder to sell a simple answer. The simple answer is anybody who sticks to a program filled with the basic movements (squats, presses, deadlifts, rows) and does just a little bit more of them every week to progress is going to be more “optimized” than someone who does a different class every week or chases a new trend every three months.”
From Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg, who’ve each written bestsellers on performance and coached some of the world’s best endurance athletes. These two are rare birds in an age of frauds and shills. They don’t only read the science, they understand it, and have written essays about training plateaus, success traps and something called “zombie burnout.” — TG
Issue We Love: An Exercise Program for Life, Not Instagram
Want the best sex, dating and relationship articles from around the web? Jimmy delivers them daily in one simple, straightforward newsletter. Marketing itself as “an original take on the classic men’s magazine,” think of Jimmy as your road map to viral dating trends, helpful sex tips and everything else you, a man, should know about the confusing, engrossing and significant world of sex and relationships.— LM
The Charge by InsideHook
The Charge is for building habits that last.
A weekly wellness newsletter stocked with all the information you need to move more, feel better and live longer.A free newsletter you’ll receive in your inbox 2-3 times a month with candid, sex-positive advice and stories from women, trans and non-binary people. – LM
Issue We Love: Hot Girls Have Herpes. All Adventurous Women Do.
Super Age
Super Age seems to understand the wellness content’s inherent paradox. How is ingesting more screentime going to make us healthier? Its newsletter is anchored by a calming, ad-free aesthetic that makes it easy to stick around. The editorial direction emphasizes sustainable training methods and offers a toolkit for reversing burnout. — TG
Issue We Love: The Top 10 Longevity Cities: Lessons From the Healthiest Places on Earth
Six Minute Mile
An invaluable resource for the entire endurance community, not just runners. Its twice-weekly rundown typically includes shoe reviews, sleep tips, nutritional insights and reminders about the upcoming racing calendar. If there’s useful article or video in the aerobic world out there, they’ve probably found it (or posted it themselves). — TG
Issue We Love: How Carbon-Plated Super Shoes Re-Energized My Racing
“The next era of wellness is about meaning, not metrics. People will seek connection over optimization and presence over perfection. In a world dominated by screens and reshaped by AI, being offline — and together — is the new luxury.”
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