One Year of Substack

Tomorrow marks one year of this experiment. Let's reflect on what went right, what went wrong and the road ahead.

I started this venture on March 17th of last year. At the time, I had no expectations of what this could or even should be. That’s because I largely didn’t understand what I even wanted to do. The only thing I could be sure of was that I wasn’t exploring to my full potential. That is, I wasn’t covering as many kinds of topics as I wanted nor necessarily giving them the depth I desired. It wasn’t obvious to me where I needed to go, but that I needed to begin some kind of journey.

One year later, there is still much of the path left to walk, but if there is one lesson from the last twelve months it is that this platform has brought significant clarity.

For a moment, let’s consider what’s been done here.

On the sports side, this place has allowed me to do tape studies of Paddy Pimblett’s entire UFC career, Ilia Topuria’s destruction of Charles Oliveira and how Belal Muhammad bested Leon Edwards. But it wasn’t just more traditional sports work here. I also explored the darker side of combat sports. I wrote about how the UFC’s entire modus operandi has been to never bow to pressure. I’ve also been able to discuss the duality of the UFC White House event as both fight card and sportswashing.

In terms of political coverage, I was fortunate to speak with media figures like Kyle Kulinski on energizing the left. I spoke to W. Kamau Bell about the Saudi Comedy Festival, David J. Bier on immigration scholarship, Zeke Hernandez on his landmark immigration book, Omar Baddar on Gaza and Palestinian life as well as Fred Lambert on the future of Tesla and EVs. I even touched on the intersection of MMA coverage and politics.

In the last year, I’ve also bared my soul on personal difficulties.

I discussed being embroiled in huge controversies.

I started a book club.

I interviewed political candidates Saikat Chakrabarti and Abdul El Sayed.

I spoke to Lina Khan about the Ali Act and TKO.

I went on CNN and then talked about it here. Ditto for The Daily Show.

I discussed the growth of girls’ wrestling programs with a documentary film maker.

Oh, and I partnered with More Perfect Union, too.

I talked to Patrick Wyman about his new history podcast.

I spoke to a local DC reporter on the crime pretext to send troops to the city.

In short, I tried a lot. This was a lot of kicking the tires on new ideas. Some worked, some didn’t. More of that is needed. I’m grateful for the ability to experiment. Additionally, I want to start doing less of some of the projects in my professional life to make more time here. For as much as I’ve been fortunate and able to do, I also feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. In order to get to the next place I’d like to be, I need to do more to prioritize the vehicles capable of getting me there.

But there’s a more important truth underwriting all of this: YOU are the ones who enabled me to do this. YOU are the ones who made this possible. YOU are the ones who lifted me in a great time of difficulty and change. To the extent anything went right last year professionally, it is solely because of your generous support.

And that is why I’m hoping you’ll join me for another year. Your paid subscriptions enable me to keep exploring, keep iterating, keep spotlighting. Without you, this entire project ceases to exist. For those who supported me this past year with a paid subscription, I can’t thank you enough. For those willing to do it again or join me for the first time, I do not take your support for granted.

It’s also important to underscore the value of independent media at a time like this. We are living through media consolidation and regime alignment. Places that are willing to tell the truth and challenge authoritarian threats have never been more important in my lifetime. That’s true in sports and political media. Even if you can’t support this Substack, spending your money in places where media is unafraid to do its actual job is vital.

This next year, I want to build on what worked. I want to hopefully give smarter coverage of combat sports. I aim to give voice to those concerned about the onslaught of an authoritarian government. I intend to spotlight important authors, activists, thinkers, political actors and more. I want to make supporting independent media worthwhile.

The push to this point has been undulating and uncertain, but it has not been without success. The journey, in fact, has helped me find myself. Thank you for making this possible. If you can, please become a paid subscriber today.

The journey is just beginning.