I appreciate the way you explained your thoughtful curation of a healthy information diet. Substack is the best place to build your own newspaper. The horseshoe theory is real - Caitlin is also my favorite lefty/socialist writer because she has anti-war principles.
My paywalled posts contain travel guides, recipes, and podcasts that could tell you a few things you don't already know ;)
Aug 15, 2023·edited Aug 15, 2023Liked by Zork (the) Hun
Thanks for the shout-out bro.
I see basically three eras in my own personal media/news consumption. I first developed sincere political interests for the first time in the context of the Iraq war, when I was a student in the US. I read a lot of left-leaning anti-war publications then, and some left-trending blogs. Most of what I read was quasi-mainstream but I found it at least minimally engaging.
Sometime after the financial crisis in 2008, I noticed an increasing uniformity in the content of the mainstream press that caused me to lose almost all interest in it. I also became indifferent to politics for a while. I was writing a dissertation/trying to get a job/trying to get my first book published, so I didn't have much spare time or attention anyway.
I returned to the scene for Brexit and Trump – a movement and a candidate I at first regarded with hostility, simply because everybody around me did, and which I increasingly saw as positive developments the more I read about them. I was appalled to see what a circus the press had become, and also amazed at how the German press merely recycled headlines from the Anglosphere at a few days' delay. When the wokery really hit American universities around the same time, I started reading more English blogosphere material on the phenomenon.
The third era would really be Corona and the aftermath. Late in 2020, after a viral twitter thread, I found myself with a small audience of my own, and I started reading all the legacy media I'd spent years neglecting, because people kept asking me about it and I also realised that understanding 'the narrative' itself is 70% of everything. Now that I do this professionally, I force myself through the same five or six tedious major newspapers everyday, as well as a small collection of other Substackers and blogs.
I also follow eugyppius, excellent stuff! The Epoch Times (the only news source I'm subscribed to). The Free Press has some EXCELLENT articles e.g., "How to Live After Profound Loss" and "Home is Where the Revolution is", mostly non paywall. The work of Daniel Greenfield (Sultan Knish) gives information you won't find about current news items. American Institute for Economic Research (especially articles by Joakim Book), which doesn't just do excellent, short pieces on economic stuff.
In addition to lots of YouTube/Rumble/etc. videos (AnarchoCapitalist Jeff Berwick, Insomnia Stream), 5-30/day (from gun laws to Jab effects) are forwarded to me by a previous work associate, those alone keep me busy and make me so glad I can increase the playback speed!
I've become a little obsessed with the problem of starting at zero, discoverability, indexing, serendipity and all the things that go into finding writers. I'm sure Hamish and Mills have heard it all.
And yeah, I'll walk and beat the drum, one tiny little step at a time.
I haven't subscribed to a newspaper in over 20 years. And the only time I watch TV news is if my wife turns on the local news and I don't think to turn it off afterward for the network news, because I barely pay attention to it.
I will say that I used to get a lot of my news from social media but Substack Notes is a pleasing substitute, without all the ads.
Oh, and by the way, I have a whole box of CDs someplace that I packed for my second-to-last move six years ago - they're still in the box. Couldn't even tell you where it is. It took me almost 20 years of living here before my wife finally dragged me out to a movie (Top Gun: Maverick).
Basically I spend my time reading, writing, or working at my "real" job with some ballgames thrown in during the summer. Suits me just fine.
What is fascinating to me is how irritable MSM news can make me. It is the language that irritates me. The insinuations, the manipulative assumptions and the bullshit. I cannot take it for more than a few minutes.
Luckily for me, the person who is even more irritated by it than I, is my wife.
I have always been a news/business/economic junkie reading the WSJ everyday, thinking I was reading real objective journalism. Ha! Sometime starting with Trump and the 2020 election, then on to Covid I started noticing a complete blackout in the media on anything that challenged the official narrative, including in my beloved WJS, so I cancelled my subscription in disgust (something I never thought I’d do). I then subscribed to the Epoch Times (which I still get), but It was a tough couple of years until I stumbled upon substack when it first came out. And boy was I in awe...and still am quite frankly. So many amazing writers and the information, my god the information - direct from the source with no filter! I’ve been in heaven ever since like a kid in a candy store except in this case the candy never runs out and there’s always something new to try! Any way, I love this platform, and like you, spend most of my entertainment via digital and audio platforms. My only complaint is with so much to read and listen to, there is literally not enough hours in the day to get through it all!
I appreciate the way you explained your thoughtful curation of a healthy information diet. Substack is the best place to build your own newspaper. The horseshoe theory is real - Caitlin is also my favorite lefty/socialist writer because she has anti-war principles.
My paywalled posts contain travel guides, recipes, and podcasts that could tell you a few things you don't already know ;)
This is the best wink I ever got!
Thanks, you made my day.
"building your own newspaper" is exactly how I would like to picture the new reader focused front Substack is working on.
Thanks for the shout-out bro.
I see basically three eras in my own personal media/news consumption. I first developed sincere political interests for the first time in the context of the Iraq war, when I was a student in the US. I read a lot of left-leaning anti-war publications then, and some left-trending blogs. Most of what I read was quasi-mainstream but I found it at least minimally engaging.
Sometime after the financial crisis in 2008, I noticed an increasing uniformity in the content of the mainstream press that caused me to lose almost all interest in it. I also became indifferent to politics for a while. I was writing a dissertation/trying to get a job/trying to get my first book published, so I didn't have much spare time or attention anyway.
I returned to the scene for Brexit and Trump – a movement and a candidate I at first regarded with hostility, simply because everybody around me did, and which I increasingly saw as positive developments the more I read about them. I was appalled to see what a circus the press had become, and also amazed at how the German press merely recycled headlines from the Anglosphere at a few days' delay. When the wokery really hit American universities around the same time, I started reading more English blogosphere material on the phenomenon.
The third era would really be Corona and the aftermath. Late in 2020, after a viral twitter thread, I found myself with a small audience of my own, and I started reading all the legacy media I'd spent years neglecting, because people kept asking me about it and I also realised that understanding 'the narrative' itself is 70% of everything. Now that I do this professionally, I force myself through the same five or six tedious major newspapers everyday, as well as a small collection of other Substackers and blogs.
Thanks for taking my question seriously.
It seems to me that if you start thinking seriously about the world, our path will eventually converge.
I think I should write about the evolution of my political views in light of the above recognition.
For me it started very early with the questioning of the world around me, in this building:
https://zorkthehun.substack.com/p/a-pinch-of-communism
I hope you can fit me in to your busy schedule. I publish once a week. Maybe twice.
It’s very much appreciated, Zork! Hope you are able to grow your substack with the added benefits from Books That’s Made Us
I cannot wait to see my piece on it. I also cannot emphasize enough how glad I am that you inspired me to write it.
I also follow eugyppius, excellent stuff! The Epoch Times (the only news source I'm subscribed to). The Free Press has some EXCELLENT articles e.g., "How to Live After Profound Loss" and "Home is Where the Revolution is", mostly non paywall. The work of Daniel Greenfield (Sultan Knish) gives information you won't find about current news items. American Institute for Economic Research (especially articles by Joakim Book), which doesn't just do excellent, short pieces on economic stuff.
In addition to lots of YouTube/Rumble/etc. videos (AnarchoCapitalist Jeff Berwick, Insomnia Stream), 5-30/day (from gun laws to Jab effects) are forwarded to me by a previous work associate, those alone keep me busy and make me so glad I can increase the playback speed!
Same here (The Epoch Times)
I could not resist their $1 for three months offer.
As for the rest, I will check them out
One more I read: Bad Cattitude https://boriquagato.substack.com/
Thank you for the mention!
I've become a little obsessed with the problem of starting at zero, discoverability, indexing, serendipity and all the things that go into finding writers. I'm sure Hamish and Mills have heard it all.
And yeah, I'll walk and beat the drum, one tiny little step at a time.
I haven't subscribed to a newspaper in over 20 years. And the only time I watch TV news is if my wife turns on the local news and I don't think to turn it off afterward for the network news, because I barely pay attention to it.
I will say that I used to get a lot of my news from social media but Substack Notes is a pleasing substitute, without all the ads.
Oh, and by the way, I have a whole box of CDs someplace that I packed for my second-to-last move six years ago - they're still in the box. Couldn't even tell you where it is. It took me almost 20 years of living here before my wife finally dragged me out to a movie (Top Gun: Maverick).
Basically I spend my time reading, writing, or working at my "real" job with some ballgames thrown in during the summer. Suits me just fine.
What is fascinating to me is how irritable MSM news can make me. It is the language that irritates me. The insinuations, the manipulative assumptions and the bullshit. I cannot take it for more than a few minutes.
Luckily for me, the person who is even more irritated by it than I, is my wife.
“I replaced authoritative sources with authentic ones.”
I love this statement as well as the real-life case study you have provided on how to recover from menticide!
• “Letter to the Menticided: A 12-Step Recovery Program” (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/letter-to-the-menticided-a-12-step)
I am also honored and grateful to be included in your list of paid subscriptions, Zork.
And thank you for supporting Lew Rockwell. He is a dear friend and a courageous warrior on behalf of truth and liberty.
I have always been a news/business/economic junkie reading the WSJ everyday, thinking I was reading real objective journalism. Ha! Sometime starting with Trump and the 2020 election, then on to Covid I started noticing a complete blackout in the media on anything that challenged the official narrative, including in my beloved WJS, so I cancelled my subscription in disgust (something I never thought I’d do). I then subscribed to the Epoch Times (which I still get), but It was a tough couple of years until I stumbled upon substack when it first came out. And boy was I in awe...and still am quite frankly. So many amazing writers and the information, my god the information - direct from the source with no filter! I’ve been in heaven ever since like a kid in a candy store except in this case the candy never runs out and there’s always something new to try! Any way, I love this platform, and like you, spend most of my entertainment via digital and audio platforms. My only complaint is with so much to read and listen to, there is literally not enough hours in the day to get through it all!