12/31/20 Recommended Issues: 2020 Newsletters in Review
Good day!
Each week we handpick newsletter issues by independent writers you may have missed that provide new or unique perspectives.
If you read last week's and would like to subscribe or leave a review of any of the highlighted newsletters, you can do that here: Idea Journal Weekly 3 , Mental Health Update, and Why is this interesting?. The narrowSCALE community really appreciates it!
Also, if someone forwarded you this and you'd like to subscribe, you can do that here -- thanks!)
2020 Newsletters in Review
Instead of the normal "Here are three issues worth reading", it seemed fitting to wrap up the year with a review of newsletter data. Hope you enjoy a slightly more macro view than usual...
Newsletters that were subscribed to most
- Letters by an American, by Heather Cox Richardson
- The Tipping Point Prophecy, by Jimmy Evans
- Exponential View, by Azeem Azhar
- Notes on the Crisis, by Nathan Tankus
... that's quite a range, from American politics to religion to tech & society to what's happening with the global depression caused by the pandemic & related policies.
Interestingly, per a recent article in the New York Times Heather Cox Richardson has been the most successful individual writer on the newsletter publishing platform Substack, with over 350,000 subscribers-- wow! If you feel like you're missing out on a nicely distilled, well-written summary of the day's events in American politics, you can sign up here and join the masses...
Over the summer, Nathan Tankus shot into fame as well, being highlighted in publications like Bloomberg: "A 28-Year-Old With No Degree Becomes a Must-Read on the Economy"... and his readership growth confirms that. Want to subscribe too?
It's definitely intriguing to see traditional media calling out new newsletter writers.
Newsletters that received the most reviews
- Marketing BS with Edward Nevraumont
- Exponential View, by Azeem Azhar
As "Marketing BS" implies, Edward is there to cut through the marketing crap; it's not for traditional brand or performance marketers, but instead for rebel marketers of the "third way" who want to do the right thing for the business, create long term impact, and leverage data. 5 stars all the way. He's also recently started podcast interviews of CEOs and CMOs which have gotten very positive feedback. Subscribe here...
Azeem of Exponential View also has amassed quite a following that loves how he bridges technology and society. He curates and summarizes what's going on from a multidisciplinary perspective to help explain trends and what that may mean for the future. It's definitely food for thought. Subscribe here...
# of narrowSCALE newsletters sent this year: 36
# of unique newsletters cited as “worth reading”: 65
Newsletters cited most as "worth reading":
- Peter Attia, MD and Age of Invention by Anton Howes (3 times each)
Peter has a phenomenal way of breaking down useful health information into digestible, actionable articles and Anton is a historian of innovation, often with a focus the causes of the Industrial Revolution in Britain...but I promise that what he writes is much more fascinating and eye-opening than the subject might imply!
Newsletters with the most “interesting” facts:
- Why is this interesting, by Noah Brier and Colin Nagy (by far the most… I guess the newsletter’s name is accurate!)
- Understandably, by Bill Murphy Jr, and Age of Invention by Anton Howes (tied for 2nd)
If any of the above pique your interest, feel free to subscribe by following their link. They're all fascinating, information-filled, and often quite thought-provoking newsletters; you can't go wrong!
Thank you for your continued readership, feedback, and questions. It makes it all worth it!
Also, if you're not subscribed to THIS newsletter yet, please subscribe here.
Happy 2021 - may it bring you happiness and lots of newsletter reading :).
All the best,
Jessica