Substacks recommended by The Contrarian

Recommended by The Contrarian

Weekend Reading

By Michael Podhorzer

Michael Podhorzer on politics, economics, and democratic crises.

Letters from an American

By Heather Cox Richardson

A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

A New Perspective

By Olivia Julianna

I write about politics, power, and the fight for our future—unfiltered and unapologetic. I’ve seen the system up close. Now, I’m bringing you the truth behind the headlines and the battles that matter. No fluff. No silence. Just the real story. Subscribe

OLD GOATS with Jonathan Alter

Ruminating on politics and power.

Redeeming Democracy by Robert P. Jones

Research and reflections on religion, racial justice, & the moral work of protecting democracy. Hosted by NYT bestselling author Robert P. Jones, president/founder of PRRI.

Adam Kinzinger

I’m terrified by America’s fascism trend and disgusted that my party is now a Trump cult. My time inside the system and in the probe of the January 6 attack has left me with just an ember of hope. Making it grow requires the hard truth. Can we handle it?

The Freedom Academy with Asha Rangappa

A Substack that explores how we can develop our "moral muscle" to stand up for democracy -- and each other -- in this critical moment. Plus insight and analysis at the intersection of law, national security, and the intelligence community.

How to Survive the Broligarchy

By Carole Cadwalladr

Girl power vs Tech bros

Katie Phang

Law and Disorder

Word on the Street

By Jeremy Ben-Ami

We fill the gap between extremes on Israel/Palestine and on critical issues for Jewish Americans, providing thoughtful commentary and practical solutions for readers to bring into their community conversations. Published by J Street.

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week!

Laurence Tribe

I’m the Carl M. Loeb University Professor Emeritus at Harvard University

The Golden Hour by Karen Attiah

On writing, fighting, and beauty in dark times.

Citizens Reunited

By The Citizens

Stopping the tech coup starts here.

Words to Win By

By Anat Shenker-Osorio

Research-backed insights, baked inside snark, on which messages resonate while others falter. Timely ideas for how to frame political debate to animate the progressive base, convert the conflicted, and marginalize the opposition.

Word Salad

By David Litt

I'm a bestselling author who also wrote speeches and jokes for President Obama. On here, I write about political persuasion, how obscure cultural references explain everything, and how to live courageously when it takes guts just to read the news.

Talking Feds Substack

By Harry Litman

Talking Feds Substack with Harry Litman is a series of dispatches from the front of a constitution in crisis. Harry explains how the maneuvers of Trump and his circle transgress constitutional norms and threaten national security and the rule of law.

Justice Connection

The rule of law is under attack. Our network of former Justice Department officials explain what’s happening & why it matters.

Home of Truth

Independent, data-driven analysis of politics, public opinion polls, and elections. From author, journalist, and pollster G. Elliott Morris.

Home of the Brave

Home of the Brave is amplifying the voices of the brave Americans speaking out against the Trump administration.

One First

By Steve Vladeck

A weekly newsletter aiming to make the Supreme Court’s rulings, procedures, and history more accessible to all

Hopium Chronicles By Simon Rosenberg

Expert commentary from a 30-year veteran of US politics. Here at Hopium we work on strategies to defeat MAGA, tell our story more effectively, and ensure freedom and democracy prevail. Expect sharp analysis, live events, and all sorts of Hopium!

The Long View

By Julian Zelizer

Have we ever seen this before? Let's put the news in perspective and take the long view with political historian Professor Julian Zelizer.

Telos News

By Ryan Lizza

Telos is a new publication by veteran journalist Ryan Lizza about the crisis in Washington.

The Next Move

By Kasparov's Next Move

In-depth analysis of the shifting frontlines in the battle against authoritarianism and strategic insights on what to do next.

Dialogue and Dissonance

By Ilan Goldenberg

Writing about Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, the Middle East, the American Jewish Community, U.S. foreign policy, Antisemitism, and other things as they come up.

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

By Joyce Vance

Worried about the state of the republic? Get the legal knowledge & analysis you need to be an advocate for democracy, along with a dose of savvy optimism.

Politics Made Easy

By Ben Sheehan

Simplifying government.

The Message Box

By Dan Pfeiffer

A newsletter for people who want to defeat Donald Trump and MAGA extremism from a former Senior Advisor to Barack Obama

The Civics Center

By Laura W. Brill

The Civics Center is on a mission to make voter registration part of every high school in America. Every year, 4 million Americans turn 18 and become eligible to vote. But less than half of them do so, because they are not registered. thecivicscenter.org

PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT

By Pablo Torre

Subscribe, free, to find out what it is.

The Lede by Carron J. Phillips

New posts from your favorite columnist's favorite columnist, and your favorite journalist's favorite journalist.

April Ryan

Brian Tyler Cohen

A deep dive into what's happening in politics from one of the biggest content creators on the left.

Mi Gente News

By Carlos Eduardo Espina

Luchando por un mejor futuro 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇺🇾

All Rise News

By Adam Klasfeld

Fearless journalism about the law, your rights and your powers to effect change in the Trump era.

Lucid

By Ruth Ben-Ghiat

A newsletter for big-picture thinking about autocracy and threats to democracy around the world

In Pursuit

A national project to debrief the America experiment at 250 years. In Pursuit is a non-partisan, not-for-profit initiative of More Perfect.

Marissa Rothkopf-Bakes: The Secret Life of Cookies

By Marissa Rothkopf and The Secret Life of Cookies

A weekly newsletter with new sweet and savory recipes every week, where I talk about politics and culture (and bake) with people you know, plus a vault full of nearly 200 recipes. MY COOKBOOK: The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies (Page Street, 2025).

Barb McQuade

Professor from Practice, University of Michigan Law School, former U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Michigan.

Ben Wikler

Updates from Ben.

The Contrarian loves Ben Wikler! He's an innovator, a get-it-done guy, and one of the brightest voices in the Democratic party. He played a major role in rallying Wisconsin to collectively rebuke Elon Musk, has great stories to share, and is the proud owner of an activist dog. What more could you want?

- The Contrarian

Behind The Headlines

By Andrew Weissmann

Paul Krugman

Notes on economics and more

Crooked Media

Featuring Pod Save America. Politics + culture for folks not ready to give up on democracy.

Crooked Media epitomizes the best qualities of independent media – smart, funny, entertaining and insightful. It’s a place to build a lively, engaged community – just what our democracy needs to survive and flourish.

- The Contrarian

Eliza Orlins

Career public defender for 15 years in Manhattan.