These 4 (Mostly) Philly-Based Newsletters Are Getting Us Through Right Now

Sara May, author of the Splatternalia newsletter.

The newsletter — the tinyletter, the substack jawn — may be the signature high-style, low-cost communique of this dark little time we are in right now. And though the times are wild, we love this particular thing about them. The art of letter-writing spans the centuries and cultures, and somehow, the form never gets old.

This is probably because the letter remains one of the most pure forms of communication. It’s not spoken, it can’t be garbled; you cannot respond immediately, and you must take it in before you do; and yet, it’s inherently personal, even when it’s just passing along information. 

Here’s four newsletters with Philly connections that bring will a bright spot to any dread-laden inbox.

Splatternalia

Splatternalia is the newsletter of Sara May, who’s one of what we imagine to be a legion of Philly restaurant industry folk considering a career change right about now, even if that means becoming a writer, which arguably has even lower prospects. (That said, if you’re reading this, and this describes your profile, drop us a line? We’d love to hear a pitch or two from you.) After having worked in Philly kitchens for 15 years — including her last stint at Bloomsday — May started this newsletter, which cribs equally from her handwritten recipe books over a decade in the making, and her life itself, both in and out of the kitchen. “I’m deeply obsessed with cooking,” she says, “and passionate about examining the inequities of race, gender and sexual orientation in restaurant culture.” Which means you get soul-searching and a bangin’ recipe for vegan pot de creme. 

Never Just Science

Billing itself as a “newsletter at the intersection of science, history, and politics,” Audra Wolfe’s Never Just Science does exactly what it says on the wrapper: It intersects. Wolf is a writer/editor/historian and the  author of Freedom's Laboratory and Competing with the Soviets, and she brings all of this to bear in a way that is somehow both casual and deeply satisfying to the present-day frayed-AF mind. Like this bit a couple of weeks about what we’re doing when we decide to push back about bad ideas and conspiracy theories (or not): 

[...]  it does seem clear to me that these different kinds of mis/disinformation and pseudoscientific claims require different rhetorical strategies. A person convinced that Monsanto is somehow implicated in the coronavirus pandemic via cell phone towers is unlikely to be swayed by factual evidence—their concerns likely have more to do with either general or specific experiences related to the alienation and betrayals of global capitalism than anything involving radio waves. They need an intervention, but not from a historian.

See? You’re already on board. 

Mindy’s Newsletter

Mindy Isser is a writer and activist based in Philly who often writes about social justice (with a deeper focus on democratic socialism) but also plenty of other stuff: well-being, spirituality, gender, and beyond. Half of the newsletter is often just advice for readers who’ve written in, which opens up the floor even more. Throughout, Isser’s tone is relaxed, clear and kind. 

Dearest 

Monica McLaughlin’s Dearest may be the sleeper hit of this bunch, if we’re honest. It’s a newsletter about jewelry, principally, but by way of that, it is also about history, craft, wealth, and all kinds of other ephemera. Take for instance, her most recent missive, “Biggie's crown, Slick Rick's diamond eye patch, and a remembrance of Rammellzee.” Prompted by the recent hip-hop auction at Sotheby’s, which made international news, she tells the stories of all of these items, but also gives a whole window into how jewelry and hip-hop have been in a strange arrangement since the first breakbeat got dropped.