The five Substack articles I enjoyed the most in 2024

Postcard #11

Fortepan / MHSZ

Hello and welcome back to another edition of THE POSTCARD, Unregistered’s fortnightly roundup of recommendations.

Thoughts, tools, and treats

Here are my five favorite posts on Substack in 2024:

• To Learn to Live in a Mundane Universe by Freddie deBoer

  This article about the inevitability of the ordinary is a piece I wish I had written myself. The mundane, Freddie argues, is the only place we can shape: „You live here. This is it.“

• exit interview by Jasmine Sun

  Jasmine’s nuanced take on theory and practice is a gem: „My generation is well-practiced in the art of ironic detachment, but too much coolness can end up as incuriosity: a premature assumption that there’s nothing to learn. This role, meanwhile, was a rare opportunity to sit in the position of making tough decisions and unsexy trade-offs—to learn to deploy power and not only critique it“.

• Against Stories by Sam Kahn

  Business, politics, and culture all thrive on „narratives.“ Sam makes the case to choose „the non-story sensibility, and life becomes almost immediately richer and more complicated — anything can be interesting, anything can be rewarding, the only limits on expression and on wonder become your own anxiety, your own lack of imagination.“

• There's a place for everyone by Adam Mastroianni

  Adam writes that he doesn’t „just believe that there should be a place for everyone. I also believe that there is a place for everyone, and there’s plenty of evidence for that belief, and there are some unfortunate reasons why not everyone believes it.“ In his text, he presents all of them.

• The 2% Manifesto by Michael Easter

  2% is the percentage of people who take the stairs when they can also take an escalator. For Michael, getting out of your comfort zone is crucial for living well today. Read his manifesto, which is basically a small, free e-book jam-packed with value, to learn more. Then, give it a go in 2025.

Noteworthy

“The most difficult part of the diet, though, for me as it will be for all, is to not contribute to the bullshit ourselves. To listen to what we say to others, to be aware of how we speak, to be honest about our own opinions, actions, drives, desires, angers, fears.“

—Shalom Auslander elaborating on his New Year’s resolution: a bullshit diet

A mystery link leading into the unknown

Creativity is on the rise.

• Here’s how to find it.

As always,

Dirk

P.S.: Feel free to send me pointers to articles, books, sites, pods, tools, and treats that could be interesting for this roundup. While I cannot promise to link them, I read and appreciate every hint.