Pubbed in DC: Newsletters
The newsletters and podcasts from the swamp.
Perhaps it goes without saying: we love newsletters. When we started 730DC in 2013, a lot of the editorial and design decisions followed from the conclusion that we wanted to do a newsletter, a form that had numerous benefits for us. Emails can only be so long, and, as people with day jobs, we could only write so much. They can be scheduled in advance and accessed afterwards; we send the email at 7:30 am every day, but we’ve worked on it whenever we want beforehand, and we expect you to open it whenever you want afterwards.
For these reasons and others, email newsletters lend themselves very well to serving as a resource. That’s not really surprising, especially since newsletters spring from listservs, an aesthetic and politics we try to embrace by accepting and promoting reader-submitted content.
But a newsletter ultimately is more like a listserv with an editor, because every send comes straight from a single source. That’s where any newsletter gets its fire: from curation that imparts personality.
Like listservs, useful newsletters crop up around any number of topics. I subscribe to newsletters on women’s history, media, energy and the environment, and of course tons of sources from around DC. Here are some of your favorites, plus the ones in my inbox:
The Newsletters You Submitted
- The B-Sides, “a bi-weekly newsletter and playlist that brings underrated pop to yr ears n’ political commentary to yr brain,” and Link Plz (which takes the tasteful gif to another level) combine stimulation for the ears and mind.
- CNHED’s email newsletter is heralded as a great way to stay in touch with non-profit housing and economic development in DC.
- Girls Night In is exactly what it sounds like: a Friday newsletter for the women who’d rather not go out.
- District Links by Cuneyt Dil, an American University student and Eagle writer. He wrote this great piece on dining workers’ contract fight — as a freshman!
- In the delightful Once Around the Block, Edmond van der Bijl films a walk around a block with a different guest.
- For fresh business happenings and dialogue around what’s important to local businesses, check Think Local First.
- The ForeRunner and howtoresist2017 focus on progressive activism after Trump.
- Scavenger is an epistolary short story collection by Michelle Delgado: each week she “delves into the history of a mundane or popular item, animal, or invention. Past topics have included everything from how Meyer lemons came to America to Twix candy bars to how one man’s persistence brought leeches back into the operating room.”
Plus a Couple More I Recommend
- Morgan West’s A Creative DC is amazing, as is Philippa Hughes’ Pink Line Project. Between these two, you’re bound to hear about all the gallery shows and crafty workshops. Sign up for CultureCapital, too, if you want theater and musical info.
- Washington Post’s Julia Carpenter’s A Woman to Know highlights an underappreciated woman every day — sometimes showcasing quirky lesbian socialites, sometimes ancient Chinese queens, always total bosses.
- The Atlantic’s Ed Yong compiles his favorite science stories every week, too.
- RIP Today in Tabs, but I guess NextDraft isn’t half bad for keeping trakc of the big stories if you get past the dad jokes.
- I have no idea who writes Three Weeks or how I signed up, but it’s amazing, conversational while also erudite, and always has a “Frock of the Week” ???
- For academic highlights, peep Arts & Letters Daily.
- But for my money The Morning News, where I am a contributing editor, has the best links roundup out there, combining the edgy, artsy, political and newsy. We recently redesigned our daily newsletter — subscribe at the bottom of the page!
