🇺🇸 The Sunday Digest 🇺🇸
Everything we published this week + Noted
Happy Sunday!
Not everyone will read this from the U.S. — that’s one of the great things about the internet. But that’s where we’re writing this from. And today, things look a little different than they did yesterday.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are now President and Vice President-Elect, and we would be remiss if we didn’t extend our heartfelt congratulations to them for their historic win. (And let you know that their first speeches were pretty hype.)
It was a rollercoaster week and it left us wondering — did you get anything done? And if so, what was your secret?
Everyone reacted to The News from different mental and emotional places, but whether you were infinitely scrolling, tuning everything out to stay focused, or simply dissociating altogether, we tried to put out something for everyone.
For the Stat Heads, or anyone with an opinion on political betting, a special guest wondered if bets could ever beat polls as a prediction model. If you tried to tune out the horse race and get productive, here’s a quick guide to indistractibility. And for those who just wanted to hear other people ride a mental seesaw: Our podcasts have you covered.
Wherever you were this week mentally and emotionally, now you’re here. Take a deep breath, put your feet up, and get ready to read.
Everything Index - Week of 11/8
Articles we published — 4
Podcasts we released — 3
Live Conversations we hosted — 2
Amazing Average — 53%
(Average number of readers who thought our articles were “Amazing” this week)Days Since the Election — 5 or 1, depending on who you ask 🤪
This Week’s Top Posts
Ranked by the % of people who rated the post “amazing” in our feedback forms.
📐 Can Political Betting Markets Predict Election Outcomes? by Conor Durkin in Napkin Math (2,004 words)
⚡️ Action Item: How to Become Indistractible 🔒 by Dan Shipper in Superorganizers (996 words)
💞 #41 - A Bad Situation…Compounded 🎧 by Dan Shipper & Nathan Baschez on Talk Therapy (38 min)
📐 Your Uncle Is Still Your Uncle: Ant Pulls Its IPO 🔒 by Yiren Lu and Grace Zhang in Napkin Math (660 words)
💝 Aella on Being a Top 0.08% OnlyFans Creator, and Opportunities for Tech in the Adult Content World 🎥 on Means of Creation (48 mins)
🗣 Episode Three: Ask a Journalist, with John H. Richardson 🎧 on The Long Conversation (31 min)
💝 News Roundup #7: Glenn Greenwald Goes Independent Following Biden Story Dispute 🔒 in Means of Creation (1,521 words)
💞 #42 - Keeping Up...with the News (and Work) 🎧 by Dan Shipper & Nathan Baschez on Talk Therapy (12 min)
CHAT OF THE WEEK
This week on Means of Creation, Li and Nathan chatted with top OnlyFans creator Aella. They discussed OnlyFans’ trailblazing role in the broader social platform landscape, how it can affect attitudes toward sex workers, and what drew Aella to the platform in the first place. Check out the recording on YouTube!
DAN TWEETS TLC
Want to check out The Long Conversation on Friday evenings, but too busy for livestreaming? Check Dan’s Twitter for live highlights and quotes from the panel’s chat to hold you over until the podcast edition. (You might even get a peek at Rachel’s grad-school notes!)
NEWS YOU MIGHT’VE MISSED
The Election: The Great Media Disruptor…depending on who you ask
At the top of election week, approximately a decade ago, Ben Smith used his Times column to wonder how either result might affect media, from retirements to biases. Nestled in the analysis was a tidbit so juicy Smith tweeted it with the article:
Substack leadership, however, had a…different take:
In real Substack news: You can now bless your images with captions and alt text!
How to reach a billion, Fast
It’s been two months since the launch of Fast — the online shopping startup that wants to bring one-click checkout to the world — and eight months since Stripe led the startup’s $20 million series A. This week, The Information reported that Fast is eyeballing a second round…that could reach $1 billion.
It’s still just a rumor, so you have to wonder where it’s coming from and why it got leaked. But assuming it’s true, that’s a pretty — quick — path to unicorn status even for a guy like Domm. It’s probably because of the hoodies, right? Read more.
Also happening:
SMART ARTICLES FROM GOOD PEOPLE
Millions of Votes are in Postal Workers’ Hands. Here are Their Stories (read this on desktop!)
EAR CANDY
TWEETS OF THE WEEK
Undisputed Photo of the Week:
Napkin Math:
Advice more of us should probably take:
If you’re not already following Web, do it:
An invitation to Everything
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This post was written by Babe Howard and edited by Dan Shipper.