State of the Stack, One Year In

I guess I’m not retired yet

Taking a break today while waiting for various shoes to drop. As it happens, however, almost a year has passed since I took this newsletter out of hibernation, with a post about why DOGE would fail. So I thought some readers might want an update on how the venture is going and be interested in a glance behind the scenes.

First, yes, I’m finding an audience. Here’s the total number of subscribers over time:

I’d like to add a few hundred thousand to that total. I keep running into devoted readers of my NYT column who still aren’t aware that this newsletter exists. Please spread the word! It’s almost every day, and free except for the Sunday primers, which involve an immense amount of work to produce.

Substack also maintains bestseller lists based on paid subscriptions. Here’s the top 10 for U.S. politics, which isn’t exactly what I write about, but close enough:

Except for the admirable and inimitable Heather Cox Richardson, every Substack above me is a group effort. So I think we’re doing pretty well.

I say “we” because Robin Wells, my wife, is very much a part of this project. So let me tell you how this newsletter is produced.

First, both of us are more or less constantly doing background research. This involves flagging and saving news reports, articles, working papers and so on that look as if they might come in useful. It also involves downloading data that might be relevant at some point. There’s a running joke among data-oriented commentators: “Do you even FRED, bro?” I do. I also Eurostat, OECD, IMF, World Bank and, lately, Haver Analytics.

Every morning I get up, make coffee, and feed the cat. Then Robin and I have our coffee and discuss what the next post should be about. Next, I try to get exercise in — running in the park when weather permits, stationary bike when it doesn’t. Then time to start writing, generally producing whatever charts I think the piece needs along the way.

I’m a fast writer, but the process of drafting a post involves a lot of time staring into space and thinking, so a first draft can take most of a working day. Then Robin edits, often suggesting that I put in things I should have included and take out material best left for another day. I then edit her edit, and it often takes several passes before we think it’s good enough.

Finally, I upload the post into Substack and schedule it for publication the next morning, always allowing for the possibility of last-minute updates and changes.

The Sunday primers are a sort of extra-strength version of this process. I reserve Saturdays for video interviews conducted earlier in the week, so writing each primer is a two-day marathon beginning Friday morning, which often involves having to do a lot of additional research. Also, my initial plan usually turns out to be too much for one post, which is why so many of the primers end up being series.

We don’t have anyone else working for us, except for some technical help when I do video interviews/podcasts.

PS: There’s currently a YouTube channel that looks as if it features me speaking. It’s not me, it’s AI, and we’re trying to get it shut down.

I never envisaged this Substack as a full-time job. It was supposed to be just a way to keep my voice out there post-NYT. But as it turns out, both Robin and I are working longer hours than we ever did in the past.

And the truth is that it’s great. I just hope that readers find what we’re doing useful in these scary times.

MUSICAL CODA