Two Hundred Subscribers since Substack Blastoff!

Two and a half months ago, as I began phasing out of academic life, I started this Substack. I wanted to share more widely than I ever could through scholarly publishing some of what I have learned—and some unusual experiences that I thought might be of wider interest.

I am pleased that, in this short time, as of this morning, 200 people have subscribed. To my surprise, more than 10% of you have also become paid subscribers. That is humbling. I did not begin this venture to make money but your support does cover some of the expenses that my wandering, researching, photographing, and writing entails.

I began my Substack by explaining who I am and what I intend with my Substack. I followed that introduction with a foundational essay, The Liberating Power of the Sociology of Knowledge, about how we come to believe that we know what we think we know. I also introduced readers to dark green religion, a subject I have been exploring for many years.

I then introduced “Terranaut Dispatches” by writing about my recent experiences in Egypt; another essay about mummies is still to come. Next came two dispatches inspired by an unusual journey to Iran a decade ago—with more to come about the war still unfolding there with no end in sight. And a week ago I posted Going Home to the Range of Light, musing about my return after many years to California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

These initial essays have only begun to scratch the surface of the subjects and experiences I intend to ruminate over—and occasionally muckrake about.

If any of these essays has struck you as worthwhile, would you consider sending it to one person who might appreciate it? There is nothing like a personal recommendation from a trusted friend to bring worthwhile writing to new readers.