Summer 2022 - Mic Drops
The HOTLIST Top 5 - Writers Edition
THL Top 5 Writers for July-August to Follow + Subscribe
Have you read anything about current events that just has a way of putting a whole new light on it. This months writers do just that. They are all about shedding light on the truth about our nation, and exposing how totally effed it is. If you are into learning about nefarious industry and government plots, or the not so secret ways people are racist, homophobic, misogynist on the web, this one's for you. Read these creators/scholars for a master class in saying the damn thing, laying bare the truth, and doing it in a way that makes you say "Damn kid, that's fucking brilliant."
Finding great creators outside the mainstream is not hard. We try and tell you all the time... "Hey we know stuff too." Still, white news guys forget we know stuff, and they announce their "revelations" as if they are geniuses. Of course, often they are realizing the obvious for the first time.
From time to time we need to remind them, women, trans, queer, Black, Brown, Indigenous, Latina, disabled, neurodivergent, gay et al...we know stuff too. If more people listened it would save the world a lot of time. There are so many hot writers worth reading. Here are some of my favorites who nail the mic drop often.
Read them, subscribe to them, and compensate them for their work!
1. Heather Richardson Cox - Letters from an American
Read: Every day. Especially this recent one from July 30th, 2022
Platform: Substack
Theme: Current Events in the U.S. News Newsletter title: "Letters from an American" For: Americans, duh. People who want a passionate yet very understated account of current events told through the eyes of a professor of American History who never swears and whose outrage always seems both nonpartisan and justified.
Read it when you want to know what happened. (An alternative option: WTFJH. More on why WTF is also a good option later this month.)
Her July 30th issues...You couldn’t write a movie more gripping or salacious than this if you tried. In this recent "Letters from an American," Cox is a great storyteller, but not in a spinny and dramatic way. In a just the facts are enough to make your jaw drop so no need to embellish. I mean seriously even if you can't keep up with January 6th, read her newsletter every few days. You will know what you need to know.
I am happy to support this Substack because she is a professor who updates every American nearly every day. I would say alongside Sharon Hurley's Anti-racism newsletter and Anne Helen Peterson's Culture Study, LTAA is one of my daily go-tos.
In truth we have to support as many "creators" as humanly possible because it means less working for The Powers That Be and THE Man and more working for ourselves. It also means we will still have some integrity in journalism...because right now, the media is all owned by the same people, and they are writing the story.
Her recent posts have all been mic drops for me. I also find she is getting better acknowledging the systemic issues that lay under our nation's decisions and policies. As a historian, she does lean a bit idealistic for me in that we are still a great democracy which I find is becoming less and less true by the day. But, I appreciate her moderate left voice the days I am totally losing the forest for the trees.
2. Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin's - Branded from Check My Ads
Platform: Substack (but designed and branded beautifully, obvi.) Read: Nandini Jammi's Twitter and LinkedIn, actually. She drops her scathing take downs and is totally fearless. And you can get a quicker read of what they do. It's not hard to understand; it is however technical af and they are bada$$.
Another pre-Branded must read from June 2020 is Jammi's backstory on Medium; she share why she left the org Sleeping Giants, after her partner tried to erase her, then yelled at her for finally speaking up. The bro totally accepted a Cannes Lion for her work and forgot to mention he was going to France. I found her Medium article very relatable as I had started my own thing after similar, albeit less egregious circumstances, after I left Ad/Design agency life behind. The way she was treated in the Ad world and all the ways the guy gaslit her felt like an echo of my own workplace trauma.
Watch this bada$$ explain how Ad buying works to infuse social media with B.S., and how brands don't know their Ad dollars are used to dund disinfo...to a tune of $235 million annually.
For: Anyone wanting to cheer on two women taking down right wing media and doing so unabashedly. People in Ad Land. Feminists and those who lov to cheer for the underdog, especially when they become the big dog, and make the work with their former co-founder (Sleeping Giants) look like childsplay.
Deets: https://checkmyads.org/branded/
Subscribers: 50k
Platform: Squarespace website; previously producing longform posts on LinkedIn. Read: Any of his "Monday Opening Thoughts" and anything else he writes about HR, White Supremacy, Workplace toxicity, and living your goddamn life on your terms.
For: People who loathe bull shit. Anyone who wants to be challenged and especially white people who are ready to get uncomfortable and really be faced with someone NOT catering to them, but instead calling out White Supremacy in all its insidious forms.
Bonus: Love his sense of humor and his style. This graphic is the bomb:
Deets: https://www.pharoahbolding.com/blog
"Show a Brotha some appreciation."
Venmo: @Pharoah-Bolding
Cash App: $PharoahBConsult or https://cash.app/$PharoahBConsult
Paypal: pharoahbolding@hotmail.com or https://paypal.me/pbhrpro
Above is an update Bolding shared July 11th, after he took a Social Media break...one that I admire greatly and one of the reasons I am writing more here, (until we can set up a proper blog or publishing site.) I agree, social media is not entitled to anyone's content for free, especially while we get trolled and have to self-moderate and pay them.
In other words, I returned to another week on social media as an unapologetic Black person who isn't looking for validation and "debates."
So I'm going to return my ass back into an extended vacation from social media.
I'd rather sit on my porch with a La Croix and read a good book than entertain the thought of putting my whole self on platforms built on pushing legitimate hate speech and silencing Global Majority folx. Some of y'all prove every day that you are the reason we all can't have nice things, so I'm going to make sure you don't get to have a place to be a white supremacist on my time.
From now on, my primary content will be built for my website, a possible newsletter, and an eventual paywall at the beginning of 2023. I will no longer post complete content pieces on social media platforms, just off-site links to said content pieces. And even though I'll be creating more regularly scheduled content, sharing the links to that content on social media won't be a regular occurrence.
We obviously approve this message...and this call to action to divest from Social Media as our primary repository for content. Eff that. They made plenty off of the trauma and drama of activists and truth tellers...especially those fighting White Supremacy like Pharoah, Claire, Nandini, and Heather do daily with their writing and work. So instead of supporting LI Premium, maybe pay them instead?
4. Matt Kiser - WTFJH
Newsletter Title: What The Fuck Just Happened Today? Curated by @matt_kiser
Tagline: "Today's essential guide to the daily shock and awe in national politics. Read in moderation."
Platform: Self hosted
Content: Quick recaps of the mind blowing political f&%kery that is American Democracy.
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/podcasts/
3 Things to love about Kiser's work:
1. The note and guidelines for his self-hosted community forum.
Hello. I’m @matt – your guide to the daily shock and awe in national politics.
And, you’ve just joined today’s essential forum. 🎉
WTF Just Happened Today is a newsletter, a blog, and – most importantly – a community.
While the blog and newsletter are produced every morning by @matt, this community exists 24/7/365 to discuss the news, coordinate actions, share perspectives, and connect with likeminded people. It’s a place for civil discussion.
There are three ground rules here:
Be humble
Show respect
Practice gratitude
This is not is a place for assholes, self-promotion, marketing, campaigning, pushing your political agenda, showing off, bragging, provoking others, or drama. There is zero tolerance for personal attacks, trolling, baiting, flaming, hate speech, etc.
Welcome to the WTF fam. –Matt
2. His pay structure and notes to support his work.
Who The F*ck Supports This?You do.
Invest in the continued production of WTF Just Happened Today by becoming a supporting member. Choose from three levels of monthly recurring membership:
$5, 7, 10
As an alternative to the monthly options, you can also support WTFJHT annually at $50/yr and $100/yr.
Tip Jar Just want to make a one-time contribution? While the recurring memberships above are preferred, I'm happy to accommodate four different one-time contribution options at $25, $50, $100, and $200.
He goes on to provide TOTAL pay transparency so you know where the money goes!
"Here's the deal: This is my job. And, I plan to keep doing this for as long as you keep supporting me. So, if you find my work valuable or you find yourself relying on my work, please consider becoming a supporting member so I can continue to tell you wtf just happened today.
I started this project to keep track of an impossible news cycle. It was a personal challenge to become a better consumer of political news. As it turns out, a lot of other people also wanted to be better political news consumers. So here we are.
My goal has always been to earn enough to cover my costs so I can keep writing and reporting WTF Just Happened Today. To do that, we need to make sure WTFJHT is sustainable as a member-funded project. That means covering all the costs associated with hosting, email delivery, site search, the community forum, web development, "salary," health insurance, the podcast, and more.
As a reminder, WTFJHT is 100% free, but supported entirely by your optional contributions. No ads, no sponsorships. It's why I try to be as transparent as possible about this process, in part because of my own reluctance to ask, but also my own ethos about transparency and openness. So here's where we’re at..."
He goes on to provide TOTAL pay transparency so you know where the money goes!
3. The Curation and summaries are on point!
Just subscribe already. It's free but you should support his work!
5. Tressie McMillan - NYT OP Ed Newsletter
If you are a nerd who loves the academic take, read this first. Where Platform Capitalism and Racial Capitalism Meet: The Sociology of Race and Racism in the Digital Society, Published October 9, 2020 Tressie McMillan Cottom is also touched up by many of her articles and in her Newsletter.
Her Newsletter, which I wish would come more often, her Op Eds are all about the things coFLOWco is into (the intersection of solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, the economy, culture, gender and race). Needless to say we are HERE for her work. There is so much to promote that is pure gold and our admiration is high! First, her Newsletter is only for The New York Times subscribers.
While this is technically a summer 2022 list, the truth is, like all good writers we get behind. With that we now have McMillan Cottom's own words in "What a MacArthur Foundation ‘Genius Grant’ Gave Me" that sum up her work history through August 2020.
"At that point in my career, I had an enviable public profile: I had tenure and had written award-winning books. I took professional risks, like weighing in on academic misconduct and inequality in education, and the biggest risk of all: I talked about popular culture through an academic lens and in an accessible writing style. My combination of rigor and accessibility meant that I had a sort of split status. I was well regarded, but not part of any inner circle.
That suited me fine. I value the authenticity of writing from an outsider’s perspective. But it also meant that my work was always bootstrapped. I had not won major fellowships or grants to complete my dissertation research or first genre-bending book. I mentored students but had little institutional support to share with them.
I produced good work at a rare pace, fueled by egg rolls and intellectual curiosity. It was thrilling. It took its toll."
This October 12, 2022 Newsletter/Op-Ed, written 2 years after the paper on Racial Capitalism and Tech linked AND after she became a MaCarthur fellow covers how much has changed for her as a writer, while so much remains the same.
This early (April 2020) pandemic piece, What the Pandemic Means for Women in the Hustle Economy she discusses why "Workers in the hustle economy share a risk position: their economic activity is necessary for their financial well-being, but it does not afford them job-related protections. For women, the risks are especially acute."
Her Twitter is always on point. We love her website too! Lnk Tree for Tressiemcphd
This piece on hustle culture in one of our go to magazines, Dissent, is why we fully stan.
"The concept of racial capitalism posits that racialization is a primary project for all capitalist activities, from accumulation to extraction. This holds for the future of work as much as the past. Racial capitalism identifies the hustle not just as a response to inequalities in the formal economy but as a kind of racial theater. Black people—and Black women especially—are shut out of traditional employment, but our culture applauds the hustler who responds to exclusion by striking out on her own. As brands and digital platforms celebrate grit and urge us to “respect the hustle,” the realities of who succeeds and who stays struggling are lost."
And, finally, lest we wrap a curated Hot List without irony, we'll end with this quote from her March 2022 Newsletter piece, How to Avoid Drowning in an Ocean of Information. Who better to sum up the cultural and journalistic purpose of Newsletters? We'll let McMillan Cottom highlighting Heather Cox Richardson close out this Top 5.
"Another way to look at information sources is to focus on genre, rather than platform. Newsletters are a powerful entry into the information ecosystem. My theory is that newsletters are an evolution of a very old genre: the new iteration of pamphlets. Political pamphlets are hundreds of years old. They are somewhere between “objective” journalism and polemic. They often present deep explorations of topics and explicitly unsettled arguments. Good newsletters during information events put those window frames up for debate. They are systematic in their analysis of the event but also think critically about the sources that shape the analysis. The historian Heather Cox Richardson’s newsletter is a good example.
A good media diet is about more than diversity of sources. It is also about information with different purposes. Investigative journalism takes time and resources. Social media shrinks time and resources but can respond quickly. Newsletters give context and help us make meaning of information events. We cannot parse everything."
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