Why subscribe to The P Word?

Hello, curious person!

This might sound a little odd to some people, but I enjoy politics. I like reading about it. I like talking about it. Like a lot of journalists, I also get a weird satisfaction out of informing people about political stuff they didn’t know about (you can read more of my past work here).

But the “P” word—that’s “P” for “politics”—has become a dirty word. Some folks won’t engage in discussions about politics because they don’t want the conversation to get uncomfortable when people disagree* with each other (or them).

Also, I’ve found that conversations around politics, like most ~serious things~ in the world, can get a little bit wonky and have been dominated by certain demographics for too long, which oftentimes ends up whitewashing or even muddling the conversation.

But politics is such a big part of our lives! There is nothing that politics doesn’t touch in some way—especially when it comes to hyperlocal politics—so it’s important that people engage in political conversations to some degree. For that to happen, people need to feel like they can join the conversation, no matter what their background.

Through The P Word, I want to contribute to a political conversation that’s accessible and doesn’t take itself too seriously. That doesn’t mean making light of important issues but finding humor in the absurdity of politics, and talking about it in a grounded way so everyone can follow what’s going on and even participate in the conversation.

Of course, I’d be lying if I said creating this newsletter was jUst FoR tHe GreAter GoOd!! Like many unnecessarily opinionated writers, I have my own self-serving interests in this. I hope that this newsletter can be a place to curate my unpublished thoughts and exercise my brain cells so they don’t get wasted away by the crushing banality of the daily grind…. I know you know what I’m talking about.

So, I guess that’s kind of my newsletter manifesto: politics, but the good stuff. If you subscribe, you can expect The P Word in your inbox every two weeks on Tuesday nights filled with analysis and commentary, and news about local, national, & global politics (also very important to keep up on, no matter where you live)!

I look forward to building this space up for folks who are interested in staying informed—and, hopefully, have a good time doing it.

If you’ve made it this far, what are you waiting for? Consider subscribing to this newsletter! It’s freeeeeeee!!

*Note: disagreeing about politics & policies is <<very different>> than clinging to a set of principles that at its core diminishes the very being of other people who are different or already marginalized. That’s not political differences, that’s just being a terrible human 🍒