# five things — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 31 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover five things. Page: Feed: --- ## [Introducing The Memoir Collection](https://myfivethings.substack.com/p/introducing-the-memoir-collection-df8) _2026-08-19 · Five Things I've Learned · Five Things I've Learned_ Plus: a special offer for readers of The Metropolitan Review. ## [S2E25: Tim Pilgrim on gardens, creativity and learning to work with what you can't control](https://megdunley.substack.com/p/s2e25-tim-pilgrim-on-gardens-creativity) _2026-08-19 · Meg Dunley · Musings with Meg_ Gardener and designer Tim Pilgrim on observation, time, happy accidents and why a garden is never really finished. [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211659021/15a86423dc1f931ccc43e9af1cb180b9.mp3) ## [The Demons! The Demons Are Free! The Calamities Is Out!](https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2026/08/18/the-demons-the-demons-are-free-the-calamities-is-out/) _2026-08-18 · terribleminds · Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds_ The Calamities (Book One of The Fiends) is now out, rampaging through the populace, gamboling about, claws at the ready, teeth sharp, and its countless eyes fixed upon you. So, I do hope you’ll check it out! Here’s how, and where: Order Now: Doylestown Bookshop | Bookshop.org | B&N | Amz | Kobo | Libro.fm | Apple Books | BAM | Powells Now, if you are enticed, you can stop \[…\] ## [Educated Beyond Common Sense](https://www.gadflynotes.com/p/educated-beyond-common-sense) _2026-08-18 · Frederick Alexander · The Gadfly_ How the confidently stupid captured our institutions. ## [What Anti-Oppressive Practice Means in My Therapy Room](https://pavankherapattar.substack.com/p/what-anti-oppressive-practice-means) _2026-08-18 · Pavan Khera-Pattar · the Connected Self_ What does anti-oppressive therapy actually mean? ## [Arrivederci, Ping Pong?](https://livingatthemargins.substack.com/p/arrivederci-ping-pong) _2026-08-17 · Wayne Millan · Wayne Millan_ So far, I've always bounced back. ## [Eden: The Original Garden](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/eden-the-original-garden) _2026-08-17 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Spoiler: It's at Jerusalem ## [Five things this investor looks for before backing an African company](https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/p/five-things-this-investor-looks-for) _2026-08-17 · How we made it in Africa · How we made it in Africa_ Ibrahim Sagna reveals the five things he looks for when investing in a company. ## [Why are we so tough on ourselves?](https://megdunley.substack.com/p/why-are-we-so-tough-on-ourselves) _2026-08-17 · Meg Dunley · Musings with Meg_ How to understand and work with our inner critic. ## [Giants Are Coming](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/giants-are-coming) _2026-08-16 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Listen now | Gilbert House Fellowship #491 [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211438983/3d325f46b5f7e55ab8a81d15878ae03e.mp3) ## [Play Both Sides Of The Lie (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/jVWPtLoZsU6E) _2026-08-16 · **Sponsored**_ Two operatives, one manufactured war — uncover the Complete Truth after both campaigns. ## [On living in a body in its second half-century](https://lauralynndennis3.substack.com/p/on-living-in-a-body-in-its-second) _2026-08-16 · Laura · Rural Reflections - The Reboot_ A letter of apology from Laura to Ruth ## [How to Create a Timeline for Your World](https://angelinetrevena.substack.com/p/how-to-create-a-timeline-for-your) _2026-08-16 · Angeline Trevena · Step-by-Step Worldbuilding_ By the time your story begins, your world has likely already existed for many eras. ## [The Strong Covenant](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/the-strong-covenant) _2026-08-15 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Listen now | P.I.D. Radio [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211324981/fd957ded514b7ee50b431c2a36d945d9.mp3) ## [West Africa: Five entrepreneurs to watch](https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/p/west-africa-five-entrepreneurs-to) _2026-08-15 · How we made it in Africa · How we made it in Africa_ We highlight five entrepreneurs building businesses in West Africa across sectors ranging from retail and footwear manufacturing to fitness. ## [Writing Opportunities & Competitions | August 2026](https://megdunley.substack.com/p/writing-opportunities-and-competitions-12c) _2026-08-15 · Meg Dunley · Musings with Meg_ A curated monthly roundup of competitions, grants, residencies, submissions and opportunities for writers, artists and illustrators. ## ["But How?..." I Actually Stay Sane With Three Kids, A Business, and Everything Else](https://themindfulblonde.substack.com/p/but-how-i-actually-stay-sane-with) _2026-08-14 · Danielle Shugg · The Mothership_ Five things that have nothing to do with productivity and everything to do with staying sane and steady in motherhood. ## [Gardens of the Kings](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/gardens-of-the-kings) _2026-08-14 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Cult centers for venerating dead royalty ## [Africa’s Business Heroes Announces Top 20 Entrepreneurs Advancing to 2026 Semi-Final in Nairobi](https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/p/africas-business-heroes-announces) _2026-08-14 · How we made it in Africa · How we made it in Africa_ The Top 20 were selected from an expanded Top 100 cohort drawn from more than 24,000 applications across all 54 African countries. ## [Kate's Five Things #82](https://housecall.substack.com/p/kates-five-things-82) _2026-08-14 · Kate Arends · House Call With Kate Arends_ Coming to you from the shoulder of 394. ## [5 Things of Joy](https://megdunley.substack.com/p/5-things-of-joy-ccb) _2026-08-14 · Meg Dunley · Musings with Meg_ Five things that brought me joy this week: More good reasons to knit | Family | Wattle season | Warm hands | New place to write ## [Refer a Friend, Earn Rewards (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/MVlHhJ05JMsT) _2026-08-14 · **Sponsored**_ Earn rewards when a friend signs up for the Graphite Business Card ## [Money for Nothing and Kids for Free](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/money-for-nothing-and-kids-for-free) _2026-08-13 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Listen now | P.I.D. Radio Throwback Thursday [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/210657384/a14ac9f1a439f0a147d1d28573d5ff0e.mp3) ## [The making of a honey export business in Tanzania](https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/p/the-making-of-a-multimillion-dollar) _2026-08-13 · How we made it in Africa · How we made it in Africa_ Swahili Honey sources honey from 3,000 smallholder beekeepers in Tanzania and exports it around the world. ## [How to Show Big History in Small Details](https://angelinetrevena.substack.com/p/how-to-show-big-history-in-small) _2026-08-13 · Angeline Trevena · Step-by-Step Worldbuilding_ The big events that have happened in your world shouldn’t simply exist in the history books, monuments, or royal family trees. ## [Roswell and the Reich](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/roswell-and-the-reich) _2026-08-12 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Listen now | A View from the Bunker Wayback Wednesday [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/210646588/4763f14ade77b8642c034ed99822f508.mp3) ## [Six Things the Light-Touch Sermon Leaves in the Wings](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-anomaly-was-built-by-the-hand-he-wants-still/) _2026-08-12 · Fintan O'Toole · Straw V Steel_ A calm man is right that abundance is history's rare exception, but wrong to credit its rarity to the absence of the very coordination that produced it. ## [S2E24: Megan Dalla-Camina on creativity, truth and making space for what wants to come through](https://megdunley.substack.com/p/s2e24-megan-dalla-camina-on-creativity) _2026-08-11 · Meg Dunley · Musings with Meg_ Author, researcher, women's leader and founder of Women Rising Megan Dalla-Camina on slowing down, trusting your creative instincts and moving beyond the inner critic. [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/209887754/844850546e750a0222103354fd473dbb.mp3) ## [The business of fashion in East Africa](https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/p/the-business-of-fashion-in-east-africa) _2026-08-11 · How we made it in Africa · How we made it in Africa_ “I don’t come from a fashion background, so I tend to approach things purely from a business perspective,” says Wandia Gichuru, founder and CEO of Vivo Fashion Group. ## [The Plague-god and the Exodus](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/the-plague-god-and-the-exodus) _2026-08-11 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Apollo and the underworld ## [One Week To Calamity](https://terribleminds.com/ramble/2026/08/11/one-week-to-calamity/) _2026-08-11 · terribleminds · Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds_ In one week, the demons are free! The Calamities hits shelves next Tuesday, 8/18, and let me just be the first to say: AHHHHH. And, in addition: AHHHHHH. It’s very exciting to have this story on the precipice of emerging from its long dark cosmic prison — this is the first of two parts, the \[…\] ## [I Figured Out Why I Hate When He Golfs... And It’s Not Why I Thought](https://themindfulblonde.substack.com/p/i-figured-out-why-i-hate-when-he) _2026-08-10 · Danielle Shugg · The Mothership_ He’s not the problem. The way we’re both talking about “time off” is. ## [Try Before You Buy, Risk-Free (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/oTLu3U9NPg4z) _2026-08-10 · **Sponsored**_ Free trial hosting plus refunds processed in 12-24 hours, guaranteed. ## [Just Five Things You Should Know About... Armageddon](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/just-five-things-you-should-know-be3) _2026-08-10 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Watch now | Just Five Things [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/210529697/3cdf36fe5464293eeebf2f1b6fbeb392.mp3) ## [Just a bunch of life stuff.](https://sgrstk.substack.com/p/just-a-bunch-of-life-stuff) _2026-08-10 · Monday Mutiny_ Monday Mutiny | August 10th, 2026: Happy Monday. Below are five things that challenged, motivated, or entertained me this past week — hopefully they will do the same for you. ## [To Multiply Is to Count](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/to-multiply-is-to-count/) _2026-08-10 · Giordano Bruno · Straw V Steel_ The phrase force multiplier for human expertise honors a worker's unwritten knowledge in the same gesture that lifts it out, names it, and makes the body that held it unnecessary. ## [Who Holds The Other End Of The Leash?](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-leash-has-two-ends-and-one-fastens-to-nothing/) _2026-08-10 · H.L. Mencken · Straw V Steel_ The libertarian's fear of concentrated power is memory correctly filed, but refusing to hand the state a decision does not abolish deciding — it merely awards it to whoever is strongest in the room. ## [The String Pulls Hands That Were Already Reaching](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-string-pulls-hands-that-were-already-reaching/) _2026-08-10 · Marcus Aurelius · Straw V Steel_ The claim that outrage is manufactured is true and useless, because naming the machine runs on the machine, and vigilance is just attention rented back as commentary. ## [Notes from Below the Threshold Where War Hides](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-blow-with-no-return-address/) _2026-08-10 · Leonardo Da Vinci · Straw V Steel_ A colonel warns Britain to brace for a war that announces itself, but the patient adversary has learned that the deniable blow, engineered to sit beneath the line of response, costs the target most when it dares to name it. ## ['The Undefended Interval' and the Fear That Fills It](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-undefended-interval-is-where-the-door-was/) _2026-08-10 · Christopher Hitchens · Straw V Steel_ A retired chemical-weapons officer's mild warning about Britain's unreadiness exposes a shared reflex: the state and the self both fill the unresolved moment with procedure rather than stand inside it. ## [Where have you been?](https://lauralynndennis3.substack.com/p/where-have-you-been) _2026-08-09 · Laura · Rural Reflections - The Reboot_ An answer in five things ## [5 Tips for Quickfire Worldbuilding](https://angelinetrevena.substack.com/p/5-tips-for-quickfire-worldbuilding) _2026-08-09 · Angeline Trevena · Step-by-Step Worldbuilding_ Summer isn’t always a great time for heavy four-hour writing sessions. ## [The Debunking Worships the Same Pattern It Destroys](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-debunking-worships-the-same-pattern-it-destroys/) _2026-08-09 · Terence Mckenna · Straw V Steel_ The blue zone longevity myth collapsed under an audit of bad pension records, but the correction circulates with the same appetite for pattern it claims to cure. ## [The Engine Demands Authority But Refuses The Liability](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-engine-demands-authority-but-refuses-the-liability/) _2026-08-09 · Laozi · Straw V Steel_ A man defends prosperity by counting the other side's dead, but the word he chooses—engine, not river—implies designers, and designers answer for what their machine burns. ## [The Idle Motor and the Unbuilt Line: Who Owes the Work](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-idle-motor-and-the-unbuilt-line/) _2026-08-09 · Nikola Tesla · Straw V Steel_ The claim that automation will strand a third of all workers treats labor as a fixed count of sockets, hiding the real question: whether anyone will choose to build the demand the surplus is waiting for. ## [Death and Temples](https://livingatthemargins.substack.com/p/death-and-temples) _2026-08-08 · Wayne Millan · Wayne Millan_ Cheap Sandals by Sandstone Columns ## [Not Existential Is a Place to Put the Eyes](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/not-existential-is-a-place-to-put-the-eyes/) _2026-08-08 · Miyamoto Musashi · Straw V Steel_ The phrase that ranks a threat as survivable does not measure it — it excuses the mind from watching, aiming attention away while paying out the warm coin of feeling defended. ## [Who Answers the Questionnaire, and Who Actually Chose?](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-questionnaire-interviews-the-survivor-who-arrived-late/) _2026-08-08 · Philip K Dick · Straw V Steel_ A study on mate preference caught a real gap, but not the one it claimed: the lag between the self that reports a choice and the self that already made it. ## [Does the Telling Save the Animal or Price It?](https://strawvsteel.com/articles/the-light-that-saves-is-the-light-that-prices/) _2026-08-08 · Hunter S Thompson · Straw V Steel_ A conservationist spends twenty years shining light on a vanishing tortoise, only to discover the same publicity that funds its rescue advertises its worth to the poachers. ## [Memoir: “You Don’t Know How To Handle Me” - My Narc](https://lisastlou.substack.com/p/memoir-you-dont-know-how-to-handle) _2026-08-07 · Lisa St. Lou · LAUGHING MATTERS_ Sometimes "handlers" get their faces ripped off. ## [Gatekeeper of the Dead](https://gilberthouse.substack.com/p/gatekeeper-of-the-dead) _2026-08-07 · Giants, Gods & Dragons · Giants, Gods & Dragons_ Molech and the gates of hell ## [She Knew Her Mom Loved Her. She Never Knew Her Mom.](https://themindfulblonde.substack.com/p/she-knew-her-mom-loved-her-she-never) _2026-08-07 · Danielle Shugg · The Mothership_ What a therapist’s confession taught me about the difference between being loved and being known. ## [In Defense of Mary Bennet](https://housecall.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-mary-bennet) _2026-08-07 · Kate Arends · House Call With Kate Arends_ A more compelling story from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.