Let Me Reintroduce Myself

Going back to the original ol' me

Today, September 28th marks my first anniversary of writing for Substack. I can hardly believe it’s been a year already and also hardly believe it’s only been a year -- a lot has happened since September 2020 and I’ve covered a fair amount of it.

I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about my Substack journey and where I want to go from here. I’ve immensely enjoyed writing for you guys about everything from the 2020 election, insane cancel culture stories, meltdowns over who gets paid to write for Substack, and the joys of taking a day off. To everyone who has been here since my launch day and even from back in my podcast days, thank you so so much for taking a chance on me. For everyone who came along afterward, thank you for coming along for the ride. I don’t think I will ever be able to fully wrap my head around the fact that there are people who have chosen to read what I write, and occasionally give me money for my writing. 

Wait, that paragraph sounds scarily like I’m leaving you all. Rest assured, I am not. You will never be rid of me that easily.

This year has been a really weird and difficult one for me, but it’s forced me to think about what it is I want to do creatively (and, like, with my whole life) going forward. I started looking back at my old pieces and my old podcast episodes not only to remind myself what content you guys like to consume but what content I enjoy making. I remembered how much I liked covering both the news cycle and what I affectionately refer to as “weird internet drama.” Some of my favorite podcast episodes were the ones where I take a specific article or op-ed and do a deep dive response. I miss doing media criticism. Hell, on a certain masochistic level, I miss doing the presidential debate roundups. 

I guess this is a roundabout way of saying I’m doing a soft relaunch of my Substack, to go back to my roots and focus on the topics I like to cover and you like to read. Mind you, don’t expect red meat cancel culture stories or media takedowns in every post. I will still cover news cycles and my opinions on them, especially in this more subdued but strangely more hyperactive Biden era. I still love covering weird internet drama, and now that weird internet drama can directly impact a person’s real life I think it’s important to discuss those stories critically. And I may still take you on tours of pretty outdoor settings because we all need to touch grass sometimes. 

As for subscriber-only content -- much like everything else in my life, I’m trying to figure that out. I do plan on having subscriber-only content in the future (hint hint) but...you guys tell me what you want to see. I was thinking about maybe possibly putting more private/personal musings behind the paywall? I see a lot of people are doing audio versions of their written pieces with additional commentary, is that something you’d be interested in? So many of you have been subscribing with no tangible subscriber benefits and I want to change that, so please let me know any suggestions you have. 

Thanks for indulging me in this break from our usual programming and allow me to say -

Hi, my name is Jen and I’m a libertarian writer who covers the insane news cycle and weird internet drama. Nice to meet you and I hope you stick around.