Substacks recommended by Amanda Montei

Recommended by Amanda Montei

Musings on post-divorce life, sex and culture by a mid-40s mom who's figuring it out as she goes along.

A podcast that digs into the comments sections of buzzy articles, essays and posts, from Amanda Montei and Veronica Wong.

Out of Your League

By Frankie de la Cretaz

Dispatches from the intersection of queer sports and pop culture.

A vital voice on gender, pop culture, bodies, identity, and queerness.

- Amanda Montei

The Culture Study Podcast

By Anne Helen Petersen

A podcast about the culture that surrounds you — with Anne Helen Petersen and a bunch of very smart co-hosts

Cult of Perfect

By Sara & Virginia

A podcast about the intersection of motherhood, public performance and bodies, from Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole-Smith.

Playing with Fire

By Shannon Watts

Playing with Fire isn't just a free newsletter, it’s a community of badass women (and supporters!) who want to find and nurture the spark inside and learn to live on fire.

Dispatches From The Shed

By Lyn Slater

Essays, Ideas, "Butterfly Thoughts", Vignettes, Experiments and more by Lyn Slater

Real Self-Care

By Pooja Lakshmin MD

A newsletter from psychiatrist Dr. Pooja Lakshmin MD

the braid

By Rebecca Woolf

a newsletter that explores the braided experience of mother, lover and self. personal essays & conversations on sex, death, love, loss, parenthood, paradigms, identity, culture and coming of age. written by rebecca woolf with special guests.

a little something sweet

By The Sweet Feminist

A Little Something Sweet is a space for people who have abortions to feel seen, supported, and affirmed. Also, simple recipes for decadent things and the occasional gift guide/movie review/pet photo because we all contain multitudes.

Between Us

By Chelsea Conaboy

Many of the stories we're told about the nature of parenthood are wrong. Let's write a new one.

Cup of Stars

By Carmen Maria Machado

Inconstant essays, nostalgia, big feelings, writing thoughts, food, rage.

More to Hate

By Kate Manne

Misogyny and more

Kate is THE leading voice on misogyny, male entitlement, and fatphobia. I deeply value everything she writes.

- Amanda Montei

Listening in the Dark with Amber Tamblyn

Creative-minded community and cultural catharsis. Full of feminism and always algorithm-free.

Pine State Publicity

By Cassie Mannes Murray

Pine State is a newsletter that offers chatter on publishing, DIY publicity advice, and as much fun as the Hokey Pokey for writers & readers by Cassie Mannes Murray of Pine State Publicity

Excerpts from Pocket Observatory

By Meg Conley

Hi! I’m Meg Conley. I write about the intersection of capitalism, culture and care work at Pocket Observatory. Select essays are republished to Substack. If you'd like to receive my official (FREE) newsletter, subscribe here + I'll take care of the rest!

In Pursuit of Clean Countertops

By Sara Petersen

Unpacking my obsession with momfluencer culture to destroy the myth of the perfect mama.

Wise and witty cultural criticism from one of our smartest voices on motherhood, gender, influencing, and identity in the digital age.

- Amanda Montei

Hmm That's Interesting

By Clara

Culture thoughts of/for/by the Chronically Online, from that girl you may have seen on Instagram or TikTok (alas). Essays, pop culture, interviews, and literature.

Consider This By Jade R. Fox

By Jade Fox

A home for those who love fashion, loathe small talk, and long for guilt-free conversations about style, culture, career, motherhood/womanhood and how it all fits together.

The Mother Lode

By Cindy

A feminist exploration of motherhood, marriage, and divorce

Gee Thanks, Just Bought It!

By Caroline Moss

Products we love and where you can buy them. Plus exclusive discounts, really good sales, and some of the best gift guides around.

Recovering

By Holly Whitaker

Examining current cultural trends through the lens of addiction, recovery, alcohol, and all the other drugs like your smartphone

Love Story

By Laura McKowen

Your life is a love story, just not the kind you think. An honest look at relationships, recovery, and writing from the bestselling author of We Are The Luckiest and Push Off from Here.

Loving Sylvia Plath

By Emily Van Duyne

Hot goss about Sylvia, bad jokes about Ted

Write More, Be Less Careful

By Nancy Reddy

why writing is hard & how to do it anyway

Butt News

By Lindy West

we're here to watch movies and talk about butts, and we have a lot of both, don't even worry about running out AT ALL

Matriarchy Report

By Lane Anderson

A feminist newsletter about care work, family, and capitalism and how to make things better for everyone. Gender, motherhood, occasional rants. By two journalists + uni profs.

A Writer's Notebook

By Summer Brennan

essays, art, and inspiration from an American writer in Paris

Rich Text

By Claire & Emma

Cultural obsessions from your Internet BFFs Emma and Claire. You can sit with us.

The Audacity.

By Roxane Gay

Writing that boldly disregards normal restraints.

Now What

By Melinda Wenner Moyer

A newsletter that brings science and nuance to parenting advice and challenges fear-mongering, shame-inducing content.

KHÔRA

By Khôra

KHÔRA is a dynamic online arts space produced in collaboration with groundbreaking author Lidia Yuknavitch’s Corporeal Writing. Subscribe for full access to KHÔRA’s monthly newsletter and publication highlights.

TCF Emails

By Tracy Clark-Flory

A newsletter on sex, pop culture, and feminism.

One of my favorite feminist thinkers.

- Amanda Montei

radical love letters

By raechel anne jolie

thoughts and feelings on sex, pop/culture, feminism, & radical politics.

Write Like a Mother

By Sara Fredman

how to do a hard thing when you're already doing another hard thing

The Review of Beauty by Jessica DeFino

A critical review of the beauty industry prioritizing people, not products.

Momspreading

By Sarah Wheeler

The inexpert endeavors of a supposed parenting expert.

Ask Polly

By Heather Havrilesky

Advice and wisdom from Heather Havrilesky, published since 2012 (formerly at The Awl and NY Magazine). Paid subscribers receive 1-2 weekly posts on how to navigate our broken world with compassion, realism, and an open heart.

the examined family

By Courtney Martin

figuring out how to be and care for ethical, joyful humans in beautiful, horrible times

sweater weather

By Brandon

essays about literature, culture, and so many feelings.

LOST ART

By Sarah McColl

A monthly collage essay on the creative lives & works of (mostly) dead women

Donita Reason

By Angela Garbes

explicitly laid out like a fruitcake

Abortion, Every Day

By Jessica Valenti

All things abortion. Feminist commentary & community.

Cry, Baby Newsletter

By Amil

An honest testimony of motherhood, pop culture and most importantly, television.

Memoir Land

By Memoir Monday

Four verticals edited by Sari Botton: MEMOIR MONDAY, collab w/ Granta, Narratively, The Rumpus, Orion, The Walrus, Electric Lit, LitHub, Oldster; FIRST PERSON SINGULAR original essays; THE LIT LAB interviews + craft; GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, NYC stories.

Burnt Toast by Virginia Sole-Smith

An anti-diet, fat positive community about body liberation. And good snacks.

Virginia has long been a leader in exposing the misogyny of diet culture, fatphobia, and anti-fat bias. Now she's given us the gift of Burnt Toast—a community for all bodies who want to revel in abundance and eat in the face of those who seek to control us.

- Amanda Montei

Evil Witches Newsletter

By Claire Zulkey

We are people who happen to be mothers.

astrology for writers

By Jeanna Kadlec

spiritual practices for creative living.

Men Yell at Me

By lyz

Written from a journalist in a red state, this newsletter is personal, political, sometimes funny and always raises hell.

Lyz is a national treasure. Where would we even be without her thoughts on marriage, misogyny, politics, feminism, and getting free?

- Amanda Montei

HONEY STAY SUPER

By Kimberly Harrington

A newsletter that's pro-Big-Life-Changes. Creating a new life after 50, after marriage, after kids, after publishing, and after moving 11,000 times. So sick of learning and growing I could barf. Making you think, laugh, and feel. Sorry.

Mad Woman

Recommended by Amanda Montei