Vol. 47 Thursday Third Things

When the Good Stuff Feels Scarce: A New Plan

Greetings Human Beans,

“Wowee y’all, has it been a week” is a phrase I am worried I will want to write every week between now and January 19th, 2029.

I feel VERY informed and really wish I wasn’t. But the day job requires me to know what, for example, budget reconciliation is and I can honestly say I’m worse for it. I am so pained watching billionaires utterly gut the few shreds of beauty we have left so that they can get…more tax breaks?

Man, I wish I could say I’m vastly oversimplifying that, but I really am not.

I’ve been searching for tasty tidbits in between the dire news headlines, knowing there are still yummy stories out there to share and chew on together—but they’re getting tougher to find. Each week as Thursday approaches, I look through the folder of links I keep for this newsletter, usually having to sift through the faff to bring you only the best that I read that week.

But the last couple of weeks have been different. Thursday approaches and I see that I have just a few links saved and even those I’m not super wowed by. The political news is overwhelming (perhaps rightfully so) and that kind of news in so many ways is not what The Third Thing is about.

This morning, I sat down to write the newsletter and scrolled back through my saved links to see that I had nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Of course I read some things this week, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing different. Just…stuff.

I don’t know what to recommend when I’m taking in the same things each week: Dropout TV, Search Engine podcast, one or two pieces in the Atlantic or Wired or the New Yorker, and whatever dregs are left of the same book I’ve been attempting to get through for weeks. Those don’t feel like much in the way of interesting recommendations.

Perhaps the media landscape will shift once we get through the early days of a new administration, but I have a feeling this could be a theme for a while.

So with that, I’d like to announce a small change to the newsletter. Rather than a weekly recs roundup, I’m going to shift it to a monthly roundup on Third Thursdays (so that I can continue with the absolutely ridiculous alliteration of Third Thursday Third Things). This will give me time to compile lists and be more mindful about what I consume.

I love the recs updates because they do often drive me to seek out new media and get outside my routine. I’m watching more movies, reading more long-form journalism, and listening to new podcasts because of it. I also love other recs updates from other creators for the same reasons.

So with that, expect your next roundup on Feb 20th. And until then, might I recommend a few recommendations from other artists and creators?

—Mari Andrew’s monthly updates (paid) [Such sweet stories in these recs]
—Emma Gannon’s Sunday Scrolls (paid) [I’ve modeled Thursday Third Things after this]
—Anne Helen Petersen’s recs and links (I think paid?)
—Brendan Leonard’s Friday Inspiration (free) [If I’m recalling correctly he’s posted these every week for something like over 10 years and has only missed one or two EVER]
—Ed Roberson’s Good News From the American West (free) [Similar work ethic to Brendan. I remember getting off the river with Ed after a 5-day float and he made sure his newsletter went out on time the following morning, meanwhile, I would have told my subscribers to eat a bag of dicks.]
—Austin Kleon’s 10 Things Worth Sharing This Week (free)

If you subscribe to other recommendation roundups that you think I should know about, send ‘em my way!