Res Obscura | Benjamin Breen

Recommended by Benjamin Breen

Weekly insights into technology, ethics, AI, and the history of engineering.

This is a newsletter about drugs, history, and the endlessly fascinating interaction of the two. Like a favorite college course delivered right to your inbox, without the homework.

Humane AI

By Roya Pakzad

Topics include the societal impacts of AI, human rights implications of surveillance technologies, consumer privacy and data protection, social media governance, and more.

My partner Roya Pakzad's newsletter about her important work at the intersection of technology and human rights.

- Benjamin Breen

weird medieval guys

the only substack that is about weird medieval guys :)

weird medieval guys is exactly what it says on the tin. Recommended for anyone who enjoys medieval art and illustration.

- Benjamin Breen

French Reflections

By David A. Bell

My writings, mostly but not entirely about French history

A new Substack about French history from one of the greatest living French historians.

- Benjamin Breen

Notes from an Everything Historian

By Surekha Davies

History, culture, art, ideas, food & monsters; transcending academe in order to write All The Things.

SubMakk

By Rebecca Makkai

Rebecca Makkai's Substack: mostly writing and books! but also Zillow, true crime, etymology, food, general inanity

My favorite newsletter about writing as vocation and profession.

- Benjamin Breen

Modern Medieval

By Matthew Gabriele

european middle ages, history, news, books, pop culture (by David M. Perry & Matthew Gabriele)

One Useful Thing

By Ethan Mollick

Translating academic research into mostly useful insights, with some ephemera on the side. Mostly AI stuff recently. By Prof. Ethan Mollick

Noted

By Jillian Hess

Tips from the world's best note takers

One of the best historical Substacks. Like Letters of Note, it's successful because it hones in on a specific type of historical source: notes and note-taking methods from the past.

- Benjamin Breen

Ancient Beat

By James

All the latest news about the ancient world. Curated, summarized, and in your inbox every week.

Experimental History

By Adam Mastroianni

1) Find what's true and make it useful. 2) Publish every other Tuesday. 3) Photo cred: my dad.

Surely the best Substack newsletter focused on social science, with a unique authorial voice and perspective.

- Benjamin Breen

Read Max

By Max Read

Explaining the weird new future, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe for a twice weekly delivery of internet culture, mega-platform grotesquerie, crypto conspiracies, deep forum lore, fringe politics, and other artifacts of what's to come.

The Microdose

An independent journalism newsletter supported by the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics

Pasts Imperfect

By Sarah E. Bond

Supporting writers, editors, and creators of a global antiquity.

Great newsletter related to ancient history by Sarah Bond, a historian of the Roman Empire.

- Benjamin Breen

Snack Stack

A curiosity-filled newsletter about the cultural history of snacks around the world, by travel and food writer Doug Mack.

I love this hyper-specialized take on historical writing. Each post is a Robert Caro-level deep dive into a snack from the past.

- Benjamin Breen

The Intrinsic Perspective

By Erik Hoel

Bridging the two cultures of science and the humanities

The Honest Broker

By Ted Gioia

A trustworthy guide to music, books, arts, media & culture by Ted Gioia

Chartography

By RJ Andrews

Information-design insights and inspiration. Featuring charts and more, from yesteryear to today.

Justin Smith-Ruiu’s Hinternet

Speculative Fiction | Criticism | Belles lettres | Philosophy

Atlas of Wonders and Monsters

By Étienne

Hic sunt dracones and many other things

Letters of Note

By Shaun Usher

Nothing but history's most interesting letters.

One of my favorite Substacks and a gem of the internet. Letters of Note makes primary source research approachable by highlighting historical letters.

- Benjamin Breen

Age of Invention, by Anton Howes

Tales from the history of innovation.

Histories

By Andrew Chapman

Regular stories from the hidden corners of history, in the words of those who were there. Paying subscribers also receive the History by Numbers series.

Strange Times

By W.M. Akers

Strange Times is a day-by-day rereading of the 1921 New York Times—a free, twice-monthly reminder that the past was stranger than we think. This newsletter includes Strange Pulp, an irregular journal of weird fiction. Subscribe now and get both!

A twice-monthly free newsletter exploring the strangest material found in the archives of the 1921 New York Times

- Benjamin Breen