All articles tagged with #substack
Dr. Jeremy Faust, a Brigham and Women’s Hospital emergency physician, blends lifesaving care with boundary-pushing journalism through his Inside Medicine Substack, delivering timely scoops to about 85,000 subscribers—including an early report on hantavirus aboard the MV Hondius—while also conducting the Longwood Chorus.
A rising cohort of journalists and writers is turning newsletters into viable media businesses, leveraging paid subscriptions, podcasts, and services outside traditional outlets. Garbage Day, Pantsuit Politics, and others demonstrate how direct relationships via email—bolstered by platforms like Substack and beehiiv—can generate substantial revenue, with creators adding coaching, live events, and merchandise. Experts say the model hinges on trust, expertise, and a shared community, even as platform dynamics and competition intensify.
Jenny Mollen’s divisive Substack essay about being a “boy mom” — in which she describes raising two sons as emotionally high-maintenance, jokes about future daughters-in-law, and even says she wants them to marry women with dead mothers — has sparked widespread online backlash. Critics on Reddit and social media called the piece disturbing and tone-deaf, especially after a viral post featuring her with her son. The column also references her separation from husband Jason Biggs (they’ve split after 18 years but are reportedly on good terms). Mollen has not publicly responded to the backlash as of now.
Rosie O’Donnell published a Substack poem about her January deep-plane facelift, explaining how significant weight loss reshaped her view on aging and feminism. She recounts her daughter Clay’s warning about how young women look up to her and ultimately argues that choosing surgery was a personal act of autonomy that doesn’t betray feminism. The piece adds to the ongoing celebrity conversation about cosmetic procedures and self-expression.
Writers are fleeing Substack as its 10% revenue cut, rising fees, and limited customization push publications toward rivals like Ghost and Beehiiv (and subscriptions like Patreon). High‑profile departures such as The Ankler, The Rose Garden Report, Extra Points, and Culture Study illustrate the trend, with critics arguing Substack’s closed ecosystem and new features pressure creators to move elsewhere; Substack counters that subscribers can be exported and points to ongoing platform expansion.
The Ankler, a Hollywood-focused media startup led by Janice Min and Richard Rushfield, is migrating its publishing from Substack to Passport—a new subscription platform created by Ben Thompson and built with Automattic. Passport will give The Ankler more ownership of its audience and data, enabling personalized marketing and bundled subscriptions (including podcasts and events) while the outlet continues to publish on an owned site backed by Passport. Substack will still host a weekly newsletter and Rushfield’s live video product. The move exemplifies publishers shifting toward durable, customizable business models; The Ankler remains profitable with tens of thousands of paid subscribers and did not disclose new funding.
Jake Reiner, the eldest son of Rob and Michele Reiner, writes about learning of his parents’ December 2025 murder in a Substack post. He says he’s lost the chance to share milestones—like his wedding and future grandchildren—and that waking up each day feels like a living nightmare, while fond memories from his childhood underscore the magnitude of the loss.
Jake Reiner, Rob Reiner’s and Michelle Singer’s eldest son, pens a deeply personal Substack tribute about the December 2025 deaths of his parents, calling the loss a “living nightmare,” and recalling their influence and love while expressing grief and a plea for privacy; he notes his brother Nick’s arrest after their bodies were found and mentions that Romy will tell her story in her own time, following a prior family statement to People.
Substack announced Apple TV and Google TV apps for videos and livestreams, plus a For You recommendations feed and planned audio content, available to free and paid subscribers. The move has drawn early pushback from writers and users who worry Substack is pivoting away from its core newsletter/writing focus toward video.
Victoria Wolff is transforming her lifestyle and her husband's public image by creating newsletters and social media content that showcase their life at their Amagansett home, blending domestic charm with media influence.
The article discusses how digital media companies are turning to creator-focused subscription platforms like Substack and Patreon to find sustainable audiences, amid a landscape where traditional news and search referral traffic are declining due to AI and changing consumer habits, highlighting a shift towards authenticity and parasocial relationships in media.
The private Reddit community r/malefashionadvice, with over 5 million subscribers, is encouraging its users to migrate to Discord and Substack as part of the ongoing Reddit protest. The Discord platform allows members to chat and share fashion-related content, while the Substack hosts guides from the subreddit. Although smaller in size, both platforms offer alternative homes for the community's resources. The subreddit's moderators have received a message from a Reddit admin, stating that they will be replaced if they don't reopen the community. Other subreddits are also participating in protests and seeking alternative platforms.
Mary Trump, E. Jean Carroll, and Jennifer Taub have collaborated on a romance novel, The Italian Lesson, which will be published on Substack. The novel follows the familiar romance pattern of an American woman opening a café in Tuscany and meeting a hunk. Despite pushback from some members of her circle, Trump defends the project, saying that romance isn't fluff and can be transformational. The first three weeks of content are free, but readers will have to pay $60 a year or $6 a month to access the rest.
Twitter Blue subscribers now have a 10,000 character limit and support for bold and italic text formatting, as Twitter aims to compete with newsletter platforms like Substack. The company has rebranded its "Super Follows" feature to "Subscriptions" and is offering attractive monetization terms to creators. However, Twitter Blue is struggling to attract subscribers, with only 0.1% of Twitter's daily active users estimated to be subscribers.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk faced criticism from Substack writers and some of his allies for restricting interactions with tweets containing Substack links, which were disabled without any official announcement. The restrictions were lifted after a day, but Twitter searches for "Substack" still yield results for "newsletter." Musk's commitment to free speech has been questioned, with some pointing to his accommodating demands by the Indian government to disable accounts of opposition politicians, activists, and journalists. Musk's tenure as Twitter CEO has been criticized for petty fights, boosting conspiracy theories, and bad management.