Having wondered how long you would hold out before naming Trump the Freak of the Week Nina… I’m proud of your ability to hold out till today, considering he was clearly eligible every week so far! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m having a really hard time with Substack. Literally everyone I want to hear from regarding current events has a separate Substack newsletter/podcast/whatever — and literally every one of them charges between $50 & $100 a year.
Of course, everyone says, “Well, you can just pay monthly.” I suppose that’s true, but it’s still DOZENS of writers of fine work with different points of view - all valuable to me. Still, my sole income is Social Security. I’m caregiver for my terminally ill husband who’s in end stage kidney disease. When he passes, my oh-so-affluent income of $3000/mo will be cut in half. In my state of Idaho, my $1500/mo when I’m widowed will still be too much for me to qualify for Medicaid or food assistance.
Legacy media is dead & I wouldn’t give them my money anyway — except The Atlantic. But how can I stay reliably informed without going bankrupt supporting every worthy writer & journalist out there with important things to say?
I’m glad Substack has given these writers a home, but it’s created a nightmare for me.
That's true but what you get for free varies. You won't get live stuff, you usually can't comment or read comments. Sometimes you don't even get the entire newsletter which kinda sucks. And paid upgrade has gone up in many cases from $5/mo to $8 or more. I only pay for 2 and got a good annual price on one. I could have gotten a good annual price for Ruth Ben-Ghiat but I left it at $5/month because she is well-worth the extra buck. Just found your page and will explore! Maybe Substack could create a "package monthly" subscription for $10-12 per month for 3 writers, or $15 for 5 (just #s for discussion's sake), and maybe could change your group each month if so inclined. Or maybe $15 a month could enable you to dip into X# of live streams or discussions per month. Some kind of participatory/community dynamic or "menu". If I could I'd probably upgrade to to 5 or 6 paid (or more) which would get expensive. Or, maybe authors could gift subscriptions to folks in need-- like the lady from Idaho. We all benefit from passion and clarity such as hers in dark, grotesque times such as these.
Thank you for your favor of a reply. I’m a Substack newbie & I’ve got so little energy for learning the ins & outs of new, complex apps. It’s not that I’m a Luddite; my career was in bleeding-edge point-to-multipoint wireless broadband data access. I used to be one of the tech people family & friends turned to for PC help.
But I’m exhausted by the challenges & defeats of being shut in with my slowly dying life partner. Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself. But I feel like I’m being asked to pull myself up by my bootstraps with my stomach muscles.
I don’t have friends anymore - an astonishing number went MAGA & when I quit drinking, I lost the rest ‘cuz I’m no fun.
I had a community on twitter that lifted me up, they checked in on me if I went quiet for a few days. Now I’ve lost that, too. Headlines club me to my knees before I get out of bed. But I’m chained to that bed by the man I’ve loved for 40 years who’s fading away, one tiny increment a day . . . I just feel lost, alone, afraid, powerless & out of anyone’s marketing model except AARP. I don’t know how to find joy in my day or hope in my future. I don’t know what to do.
Having wondered how long you would hold out before naming Trump the Freak of the Week Nina… I’m proud of your ability to hold out till today, considering he was clearly eligible every week so far! Thanks for sharing!!
When is he NOT our "Freak of the Week?"
I’m having a really hard time with Substack. Literally everyone I want to hear from regarding current events has a separate Substack newsletter/podcast/whatever — and literally every one of them charges between $50 & $100 a year.
Of course, everyone says, “Well, you can just pay monthly.” I suppose that’s true, but it’s still DOZENS of writers of fine work with different points of view - all valuable to me. Still, my sole income is Social Security. I’m caregiver for my terminally ill husband who’s in end stage kidney disease. When he passes, my oh-so-affluent income of $3000/mo will be cut in half. In my state of Idaho, my $1500/mo when I’m widowed will still be too much for me to qualify for Medicaid or food assistance.
Legacy media is dead & I wouldn’t give them my money anyway — except The Atlantic. But how can I stay reliably informed without going bankrupt supporting every worthy writer & journalist out there with important things to say?
I’m glad Substack has given these writers a home, but it’s created a nightmare for me.
You can subscribe to this for FREE. Most substacks have a free version.
That's true but what you get for free varies. You won't get live stuff, you usually can't comment or read comments. Sometimes you don't even get the entire newsletter which kinda sucks. And paid upgrade has gone up in many cases from $5/mo to $8 or more. I only pay for 2 and got a good annual price on one. I could have gotten a good annual price for Ruth Ben-Ghiat but I left it at $5/month because she is well-worth the extra buck. Just found your page and will explore! Maybe Substack could create a "package monthly" subscription for $10-12 per month for 3 writers, or $15 for 5 (just #s for discussion's sake), and maybe could change your group each month if so inclined. Or maybe $15 a month could enable you to dip into X# of live streams or discussions per month. Some kind of participatory/community dynamic or "menu". If I could I'd probably upgrade to to 5 or 6 paid (or more) which would get expensive. Or, maybe authors could gift subscriptions to folks in need-- like the lady from Idaho. We all benefit from passion and clarity such as hers in dark, grotesque times such as these.
Thank you for your favor of a reply. I’m a Substack newbie & I’ve got so little energy for learning the ins & outs of new, complex apps. It’s not that I’m a Luddite; my career was in bleeding-edge point-to-multipoint wireless broadband data access. I used to be one of the tech people family & friends turned to for PC help.
But I’m exhausted by the challenges & defeats of being shut in with my slowly dying life partner. Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself. But I feel like I’m being asked to pull myself up by my bootstraps with my stomach muscles.
I don’t have friends anymore - an astonishing number went MAGA & when I quit drinking, I lost the rest ‘cuz I’m no fun.
I had a community on twitter that lifted me up, they checked in on me if I went quiet for a few days. Now I’ve lost that, too. Headlines club me to my knees before I get out of bed. But I’m chained to that bed by the man I’ve loved for 40 years who’s fading away, one tiny increment a day . . . I just feel lost, alone, afraid, powerless & out of anyone’s marketing model except AARP. I don’t know how to find joy in my day or hope in my future. I don’t know what to do.
Next freak of the week suggestions; JD Vance, Felon Musk, MAGA and any trump voters.
Thank you Diane. We are spoiled for choice there are not enough weeks in the year ...