God of the Desert Books

God of the Desert Books

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God of the Desert Books
My 40 Favorite Substacks of 2023
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My 40 Favorite Substacks of 2023

These are the publications and writers who made the biggest impression on me last year.

David Swindle 🟦's avatar
David Swindle 🟦
Jan 07, 2024
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My 40 Favorite Substacks of 2023
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Fishing for substacks

I am currently subscribed to 427 Substacks. The obvious question: how on earth do you find the time to read all of those?!

And the answer is equally obvious. I don’t. I only read the ones whose headlines jump out or whose authors I’ve come to respect. I subscribe to so many for the same reason a fisherman casts his line over and over again. Most of the time we’ll come up with nothing, but every now and then we’ll catch something wonderful.

I’m happy to sample a publication and give it a chance. If it turns out after many months that it hasn’t jumped out at me then I might unsubscribe, but rarely do I take the time to clean house and cull newsletters which seem of little use.

So here are the ones which have grabbed my attention and admiration the most over the last year. Do check them out - I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I have. These are listed alphabetically, not in any ranked order.

And a disclaimer which I hope is also obvious: I most definitely do not agree with everything these writers publish.

After Babel
Using moral psychology to explain why so much is going wrong
By Jon Haidt
Alan Dershowitz Newsletter
Defense of civil liberties, human and Constitutional rights for all
Alex Nowrasteh's Deep Dives
Thoughts on immigration, economics, social science, public policy, and book reviews
Amran Gowani's Field Research
Novelist Amran Gowani's personal publication, featuring humor essays, cultural satire, parenting riffs, gonzo journalism, and other delights from life's rich pageant.
And the Quest for Pop Culture
Exploring what works and doesn't work in writing, books, comics, TV, and movies.
By Daniel Sherrier
The Banter - Washington DC
A newsletter for the politically informed. Straight out of Washington DC.
By Ben Cohen
Bet On It
Caplan and Candor
By Bryan Caplan
Beyond Bloomsbury
Historical artist and writer biographies.
By Victoria K. Walker
Blacklisted
The dangerous things I think out loud
By Eve Barlow
The Bulwark
Analysis and reporting on politics and culture in America. Home to Charlie Sykes, Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, Bill Kristol, JVL and more. No partisan loyalties. No tribal prejudices.
Clarity with Michael Oren
I’m delighted to provide you with deep, multifaceted, and first-hand insights into Israel. No longer in public office, I can show you Israel up close, from the inside, as well as from 25,000 feet — all with total clarity.
The Cultural Futurist
Visions of the future from a cultural lens and insights for the culture from a futurist lens
By Rachel Haywire
Eye of the Storm
The world filtered through the lens of psychopathy. Strange and mysterious stories. Other weird and interesting things.
By Athena Walker
Fern Musing
Fern muses on the war; books & publishing; Israel & Jews; memoir & lit agenting; Covid & health; $5/day travel & quirky retirement; work-life balance & homeschooling; and all things writing, especially if funny.
By Fern (writing FernMusing)
The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa
A interactive community and college-level course about disinformation, its impact on democracy, and how we can make America's social fabric more resilient to this new threat.
Hacking Narcissism
I write about power, control and navigating narcissism in relationships, institutions and our own behaviours.
By Nathalie Martinek PhD
The Healthy Jew
Find wellness with purpose: eat well, move well, be well. Discover Natural Israel, the healthy body of the Jewish nation. Lots of spirituality, stories, and science - but no politics.
By Shmuel Chaim Naiman
Horse of a Different Colour
Get access to unique commentary beyond the algorithm, on the world and Judaism from an out-of-the-box Millennial.
By Sadie-Rae Werner
I Read This Over Shabbos
The best time to start reading is now, and if not now, then on Shabbos.
Inkygirl by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates books for young people. Her posts include nuts & bolts tips about the craft and biz, behind-the-scenes process, bibliophile comics.
James Bloodworth
Essays, reviews and early access to my books and documentaries.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares thoughts about sports, politics, and popular culture and how they define America.
Lucian Truscott Newsletter
I've covered everything from three wars, a few presidential campaigns, the Stonewall riots and the Rolling Stones. This column reflects that history and is about politics, culture, personal stories, and the nation's descent into anti-democratic madness.
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
MILLER’S BOOK REVIEW 📚
Classics, Memoir, History, More
By Joel J Miller
A Pisgah Site
Writing from Israel about Israel, Judaism, and Antisemitism, and drawing closer to the Creator. And coming to terms with unrealized dreams.
By Ehud Neor
Plato Was a Dick
Writer, editor, former Cracked staffer during the really good years
By S Peter Davis
A Pondering Jew
A nuanced and meaningful outlook on religious life, in a secular age
By Yaacov Lyons
The Popehat Report
A newsletter about law, liberty, and leisure.
By Ken White
The Prism
A guide to navigating the Digital Age
By Gurwinder
Radical Reports
Research, Analysis, and Intelligence on the Radical Right.
By Teddy Wilson
Random Minds by Katherine Brodsky
From one curious mind to another: Random musings from a writer w/ glossy bylines about the world and our role in it. An outsider, looking in. Covering: culture, social politics, critical thinking, media, freedom of speech & diverse thought + technology.
Rigid Thinking
Stuff that crossed my mind and caught my eye.
By Damian Penny
Rushkoff
I write about how we can sustain our humanity in a highly digital world.
By Douglas Rushkoff
Shane Vander Hart
A piece of Shane Vander Hart's mind on faith, culture, media, politics, and public policy.
So What
Chris Cillizza's wit and wisdom on politics, sports and a whole lot else too.
By Chris Cillizza
Substance
drugs and crime
By Tana Ganeva
Theory of Change Podcast With Matthew Sheffield
Lots of people want to change the world. But how does change happen? In this weekly podcast, host Matthew Sheffield and his guests explore the intersections and trends in politics, religion, technology, and media.
The UnPopulist
Defending liberal democracy against illiberal authoritarianism in all its forms.
By Shikha Dalmia
The Watch
Reporting and commentary on civil liberties and the criminal justice system. Plus other stuff.
By Radley Balko
Yashar Ali | The Reset

Do you have any favorites I should check out? Please leave some links in the comments.


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I Read This Over Shabbos's avatar
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My 40 Favorite Substacks of 2023
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Amran Gowani's avatar
Amran Gowani
Jan 8, 2024

Appreciate the shoutout, David! Select company indeed.

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Rachel Haywire's avatar
Rachel Haywire
Jan 13, 2024

Great choices! Honored to be on this list.

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2 more comments...
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God of the Desert Books
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The Real Reason J.K. Rowling Needs to Be Arrested Immediately
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God of the Desert Books
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