Sloppy AI spam is turning my inbox into a travesty.
I am spending more time deleting, blocking, and filtering than ever before—
You too?
I honestly wondered about abandoning email completely!
Do I run away from the spammer monsters and retreat back into my Cave of Texts?
But then again ... they’re there, too!
No.
I need to stay.
I need to fight!
One weapon in the ongoing battle are the beautiful email newsletters sent to me from actual human beings with faces who seem to continuously send me little nuggets of inbox gold.
Political economist Angus Hervey believes “progress is something woven into the fabric of human experience, and not just a collection of statistics.” Fix The News is an actual good news newspaper with an ‘Enlightenment Now’ (BO 2018) / Our World In Data-style zoom out on what’s going well in the world today.
Frequency: Weekly on Thursdays Perfect for: Anyone interested in stories of human progress and those looking for an antidote to bad news...
I was really taken by ‘Faith, Hope, and Carnage’ (06/23) by Nick Cave. I knew so little about him other than I loved the song “Into My Arms”. This email picks up where the book leaves up by simply answering 1 question from fans with the most giant-hearted, giant-minded replies. My friend Susan Cain told me she wants to “curl up inside every one of these emails” she loves them so much.
Frequency: Intermittent Perfect for: Deep souls looking for inspiration, advice, and a unique form of global community...
Every Thursday James Clear, author of Atomic Habits (10/18) shares 3 ideas, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you. A 30-second snack of entrepreneurial wisdom.
Frequency: Weeklyon Thursdays Perfect for: Anyone looking for quick motivation for growth, productivity, and self-improvement...
One of my all-time favorite humans on the Internet, Austin is a former reference librarian turned bestselling author (Steal Like an Artist, Don’t Call It Art) who points my brain at all kinds of fascinating articles, visual art, “ear candy”, quotes, and fun ideas every Friday morning. From a wise and dreaming doodler, this email always helps me challenge my own ideas and helps me explore endless cerebral squiggles.
Frequency: Weekly on Friday mornings Perfect for: Anyone who likes getting their brain poked with art, and those who feel a bit uncultured (like me) in big broad areas of music, painting, and film...
I was first introduced to Rich Roll by Jonathan Fields, and his story of addiction, empowerment, sobriety, veganism, and athletic endurance marries so well with the wonderful psychological feast that is his podcast and newsletters. I love his mind, his words, his outlook, and, of course, his pod, but if you can’t listen to 4-6 hours of Rich per week (I wish I was a trucker sometimes!), then his newsletter is a kind of flyover of what’s happening in the world through his uniquely articulate lens of upper echelon self-improvement.
Frequency: Weekly on Monday mornings with occasional Thursday supplements Perfect for: Anybody who wants to grow...
I love Maria Popova. Love! I was so chuffed when she joined me on 3 Books because she’s done like 3 ... ever. (Similar to Dave Eggers, Jenny Lawson, and Bryan Stevenson.) Why so few? Maybe because she’s crafting like FIVE GIANT MIND EXPANDING ESSAYS A WEEK and publishing them on her grandaddy-of-them-all blog The Marginalian. She is the most prolific writer I know. Her Sunday morning newsletter is an expansive summary—like doesn’t even fit in the email sometimes!—of the blog posts she’s published the previous week. They explore everything bibliophilic, creative, and meaning-of-life. Popova’s intentional and expressive words are “an act of resistance to the tyranny of algorithms,” making this newsletter a thought-provoking and much needed addition to your inbox.
Frequency: Weekly, Sunday mornings Perfect for: Thinkers leading an examined life and fans of out of print literature, poetry, outer space, children’s books, and intellectual exploration...
An intriguing, challenging, counterintuitive feed of blog posts by writer Paul Skallas, who goes by the moniker “LindyMan”, and who leads a life centered on the Lindy Effect—a concept refined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Black Swan,04/21)—which suggests the longer something has endured ... the longer it will endure. So the newsletter examines current trends through the lens of what’s worked since ancient times. Here’s an NYT profile on Paul and our 3 Books chat, too.
Frequency: Intermittent Perfect for: Fans of Stoicism, philosophy, and viral TikTok videos...
Lawrence Yeo is an illustrator and writer who creates cartoon-based stories reflecting on the human experience. Morgan Housel calls him one of his favorite writers. Yeo’s newsletter More To That offers a unique exploration of our existence and challenges through cartoon drawings, clear prose, and wonderful storytelling. Frequency: Intermittent Perfect for: Curious thinkers who grew up on Wait But Why...
Lecturer, journalist, podcaster, media analyst, and author of ‘Team Human’ (05/24), Douglas Rushkoff never sugarcoats his step-ahead observations on the state of the world. His newsletter shares strong-voiced thoughts on how technology is steering us today. Steer or be steered! Rushkoff helps.
Frequency: Intermittent Perfect for: People who think of themselves on “Team Human” and who those who want to counterbalance views from tech optimists and pessimists...
Ed Yong steered me through the pandemic! His science writing in The Atlanticwon a Pulitzer for a reason. He went on to write ‘An Immense World’, ‘I Contain Multitudes’, and has a new book coming called ‘The Infinite Extent’. These days his emails are mostly bird photos WHICH IS JUST FINE TO ME since it seems like me and Ed are falling into (rising up to?) birding at exactly the same time. (His pics are a zillion times better than mine, though!). A science genius, activist, and photographer extraordinaire, his emails provide deep beauty to my inbox.
Frequency: Intermittent Perfect for: Bird nerds, nature lovers, and anyone wanting to view the world through an erudite-but-accessible science lens...
Annnnnnnnd that’s it for now!
I subscribe to a ton more that I love so maybe I’ll do a 3.0 if you guys loved this one.
Most importantly:
I believe we can wrestle our inboxes back from the beast.
I hope you enjoyed or will enjoy a few of my 10 favorite newsletters currently filling me with joy.
Sign Up for a Dose of Inspiration:
Every other week, I send an email out with an article I’ve written, or one of my favorite speeches, essays or poems. No ads, no sponsors, no spam, and nothing for sale. Just a dose of inspiration or beauty!
