Today I want to write something different: other people’s newsletters. Why? Well, I think there is value in curating information for others.
I have been subscribed to many newsletters over the years and most of them I ended up unsubscribing. The main reason is that the emails would fatten my spam folder, I wasn’t reading them, and it is best to unsub.
If you’re not going to read a newsletter, unsub. Having their emails go to your spam folder hurts the author in terms of newsletter metrics and authority!
While I was organizing this list, I didn’t know how many to include, or what parameters to organize them by. I decided to leave it at 9, because recommending too little might not provide for enough serendipity and recommending too many might beat the whole purpose: amplifying signal.
Without further ado, here are 9 newsletters I enjoy and their reasons.
Leon Castillo
Leon Castillo’s newsletter is about peak performance. Simply put, it is a newsletter for people who have already reached a point of success, but want to take it to the next level.
I am biased because Leon is my friend and business partner, but if there is a newsletter to learn about oneself in the context of entrepreneurship or career success, it’s this one.
Focused on a wide arrange of topics like neuroplasticity, environment changing, habit formation, etc. The newsletter is a great resource to systematize your development and performance. You can check it out here.
Niels
Niels’s newsletter is about dating, relationships and sex. You can check out his archive here. The reason why I enjoy this newsletter and it is the only one I am subscribed to on these topics is because Niels has a non-dorky and non-cringe understanding of it all.
Anyone who has had a minimum dating life and experience can attest to the poor quality of the usual dating content out there. It is all try hard, written for college kids and usually more as an ideal the author would like to become.
Niels’ newsletter is a great place to read on the usual relationships content, but with a human and real spin to it, not an algorithmic and unreal one.
Kairon – Mercurial Space
Kairon got recently banned from Twitter. An interesting character who I found a few months ago, his newsletter is great for those who love to speculate on how the future technology will be, and where the present might lead to.
A newsletter which brings up concepts like the balkanization of the Internet, 4th generation warfare, the ever-atomization of the individual and decentralization.
You can check out his newsletter here.
Mimetic Value
It is almost heresy that I need to introduce you to Mimetic Value, but he did have his original account banned from Twitter a year ago, so many haven’t had the chance to meet his more serious side (his current account is geared towards humour and cheeky commentary).
Anyways, Mimetic Value was the guy who introduced many to René Girard, mimetic desire, the scapegoat mechanism, Peter Thiel’s ideas, etc.
He doesn’t write too often, but he writes when he has something to say. Check out his newsletter here.
Luke Burgis – Anti-Mimetic
Following the topic of mimesis, I recommend the newest newsletter I have been subscribed to, Luke Burgis’ Anti-Mimetic Newsletter. It also touches topics on mimetic desire, specifically how to avoid it and how to identify it in our own behaviour.
I personally have tried to read René Girard to no success, as I found it difficult. I do understand the concepts of mimetic desire and the scapegoat mechanism, but Luke’s writings make the rest of Girard easy to understand.
I really enjoy when complex ideas are made simple.
Thomas Bevan – The Commonplace
The idea of sending an email recommending other people’s newsletters I owe it to Thomas. A unique character, Thomas likes to write about how much he love-hates technology, how his town is the ugliest in the United Kingdom yet he as found beauty in it, how to write…
I have been reading Thomas’ writings since 2018, he is the person in this email who I have known the longest. Ideas like the commonplace, how to not confuse gigs with flyers, why you should read fiction in a sea of non-fiction readers, etc. have all been popularised by him.
You can check his newsletter here.
Chief Chuck
Chief’s Newsletter is different. He writes more often, and he writes shorter emails. Sometimes it’s about whatever is on his mind, others it’s about commentary on some recent event, others it’s about a lesson learnt throughout his life.
The main reason I enjoy Chief’s emails is because he is a person who already has life sorted out and is writing not to create a personal brand. But just to share his wisdom and knowledge to whomever may listen.
There is a lot of value in listening to someone who has already gone through the path most of us want to go through. You can check out Chief’s newsletter here.
Vaughn Tan – The Uncertainty Mindset
Vaughn’s newsletter has the honour of being the newsletter I have most recommended on Twitter. Why? Well, Vaughn’s newsletter is about uncertainty, how to understand it, how to think about it and how to prepare for it.
I discovered his newsletter back then when the lockdowns started. As you can imagine, a newsletter focused on uncertainty really came into handy back in March and April of 2020.
Vaughn’s newsletter focuses on topics Nassim Taleb focuses on, but with his own style and way of understanding it, which is refreshing. Not to discredit Taleb, of course, but he is such an influential character that anyone who touches on similar topics cannot avoid writing using the same words he does. Something which Vaughn can. Check out his newsletter here.
Idea Market
Idea Market is the newsletter of Mike Elias, who I have mentioned before in my ‘Curating information in times of misinformation’ piece. I really enjoy Mike’s ideas (pun not intended), he really touches on subjects of my interest regarding narratives, trust, ideas, influence, etc.
He has many interesting projects going on, Idea Market being one where people get to vote/tip on what is true or not. A way of putting money where your mouth is and a possible solution to misinformation, clickbait, fake news, etc.
You can check out Mike’s newsletter here.
Closing thoughts
A popular idea on self-improvement social media is that “creating is more important than consuming”. And to a certain point they may be right.
However, to create one must have exposed him or herself previously to other ideas which serve as a base. Reading great ideas from others shapes our worldview.