Historical Snapshots publishes short narrative profiles of little-known or overlooked historical figures, such as inventors, adventurers and abolitionists, drawing on documented accounts and quotations. Each issue tells a vivid story and gives readers a clear sense of the person's life and the era around them.
Website: https://historicalsnapshots.substack.com
Long-form essays on the history of innovation and the causes of the British Industrial Revolution, drawing on archival research. Recent issues cover the salt trade, Scotland's outsized role in invention, and Tudor labour laws and trade.
Venkatesh Rao writes personal, theory-driven essays that build loose models of technology, history and culture, including his world machines theory and his experience of working with AI coding agents. Issues also cover his book club readings, protocol fiction and commentary on debates about humanism and AI.
Unpopular Front is an independent newsletter of left-leaning essays on politics, history, and culture, including psychoanalytic and Marxist readings of media and commentary on current US political events. It also offers paid subscribers a regular roundup of reading, watching, and event recommendations.
A weekly newsletter that explains one mental model per issue through a detailed historical story, then ties it to creative work. Issues cover topics such as hostile attribution bias, design thinking and the Gestalt law of closure.
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