Substack, thank you.

Just a brief post tonight before I get back to organizing some thoughts about trust.

Substack has become a much-needed source of news and opinion at a time when too much traditional media has not only dropped the ball, but in some cases seems to have fallen on its face and taken the lamp table down with it. So tonight I just want to say thank you to the people here who keep showing up and doing the work.

I have my own Substack, and I know how much effort it takes me to put up something a couple of times a week. I can’t even imagine the time and energy required to post once, and sometimes twice, a day without eventually staring at the keyboard like it personally betrayed you.

I follow a dozen or so writers and podcasters here. They keep me occupied, out of my wife’s hair, and, for the most part, out of trouble.

My one hang-up with Substack is that there is simply more good material here than I can keep up with. If I tried to read or listen to every subscription every day, I’d still be back in February by the time we get to Labor Day. I enjoy the variety, but because time is a real thing, I’m doing well to get through five or six a day. A couple of my favorite podcasters routinely turn out programs that can last an hour. I’m retired, and even I don’t have that kind of daily free time. The problem is not the quality. The problem is time. Retirement gave me freedom, but not nearly as much spare time as advertised.

One thing that would help with podcasts would be a text version. Even if it came later, I can read faster than I can sit and listen—not that the podcaster guys and gals don’t have great voices.

And I especially appreciate the creators who offer both free and paid subscriptions. I pay for a handful and would gladly pay for more, but as I may have mentioned, retirement and budgeting tend to travel together.

So to everyone here who writes, records, reports, questions, and creates—thank you. I may never catch up, but I’m grateful to be here. Substack feels a little like home.