Newsletters I Recommend

I subscribe to too many newsletters. I like to think everyone does, but after my most recent inbox clear out I'm beginning to think I might have a bit of a problem. They just all sound so intriguing when you sign up! In an effort to declutter my inbox, here is my priority list of the newsletters that I regularly read and never leave to languish unread for days... mostly.

List subject to change as my newsletter-habits do. Based on free content/publicly available content.

The design-ish ones

Dense Discovery

One of my longest running subscriptions, Dense Discovery is the perfect mix of thoughtful yet concise, fresh yet topical content. Also highlights some great tools and articles every week, as well as a more conscious perspective on the industry. The no frills, community-support rather than paywalls is also an awesome gesture.

Every

I'm cheating because this is actually a bundle but I enjoy the newsletters and the Sunday roundups are a great way to catch up without worrying about reading every (see what I did there) newsletter to hit your inbox. The business breakdowns and napkin math are some of my favourites. Alas, the full subscription may be prohibitively expensive for some but it is top of my wishlist.

Exponential View

AI, Climate, and academic-meets-real-world data. Each issue is jampacked and offers an insightful take on current world and tech affairs with an eye towards the future.

Smashing Magazine

The most overflowing newsletter I subscribe to. There's almost too much to actually read but always great for highlighting helpful tools, interesting articles, and general web stuff from UX to frontend.

UX Collective

UX-y goodness from around the web. Its short and to the point link curation highlights articles that otherwise would be lost to the medium/twitter/RSS ether. On the downside, I do have a bad habit of bookmarking the interesting articles and then forgetting about them, which doesn't solve the problem.

The news-ish ones

Matt Levine's Money Stuff

The latest market news and business deals with a helping heap of razor wit and cynicism. I won't pretend to understand half of the finance concepts covered in each dense issue but it's still interesting to skim sections crammed with stock market shenanigans, even if I can't quite follow all the details. However, I always come back for Matt's no holds barred commentary and perspective on the biggest business deals going down (especially tech 'unicorns').

Margins

Tech/business breakdowns, opinions, and personal perspectives. Always thought provoking and I appreciate the alternating viewpoints and more considered take on the news that goes beyond recapping top issues.

The random ones

James Clear

Productivity, business, self-help, habit-goodness. The content is top notch but the laser focus is a big part of what makes this one work: each issue is structured into three identical, bullet point sections, can be read in a few minutes, and always has at least one thought-provoking takeaway.

Why is This Interesting?

WITI covers a wondrous array of topics, from semiconductors to marmalade and specialization trade-offs. Each super short essay can make the mundane fascinating or illuminate a new topic. Always enjoyable and sometimes a source of surprising information and research rabbitholes. One of these days, I would love to write an issue.

The personal ones

Kelli Anderson

Kelli Anderson is awesome and I love her refreshing, hands-on approach to design and crafting. Her newsletter is irregular but never fails to excite when it does land in my inbox, packed with type, design, and paper engineering goodness. Also great if you're tired of the same old tech stuff and want to get excited about pop-up books, printing techniques, and exhibitions.

Robin Sloan

Robin Sloan does cool things at the intersection of writing, coding, and gaming. His newsletter is also irregular but always exciting because it usually means another glimpse into his process and what he's tinkering with at the moment, like writing sci-fi with AI suggestions.

Tobias van Schneider

Hit or miss for me but I always make a point to skim. These days it can be more irregular and less personal, but I enjoy the essays and 'top of mind'-style issues with their honest and blunt takes. Don't always agree, but that's what makes it interesting.