Giving Thanks
I guess it’s time for a post-election update! Since it is Thanksgiving (ish?), I wanted to thank you all for being subscribers (both paid and unpaid!), explain how I use the money I get from Substack, and pick your brains about what you would like to see moving forward. Also there’s a coupon!
I know I don’t write here often, but I am truly grateful for everyone who contributes to my work. As a freelancer, I’m responsible for all upfront costs — and I’m not reimbursed. That means if I travel for an event, it’s on me (I am sure more established writers are able to sell stories in advance, but that is just not the case for me).
Sometimes things I dedicate time and money to are a bust, like when I followed Scott Presler to Lancaster, PA after he said he would be using the $100,000 Chevy Suburban his fans bought him to drive the Amish to vote a week before the election (instead, he stood around taking selfies and making TikToks, and I sat outside on my laptop). But usually things pan out! Here are some of the stories I was able to cover this year thanks to paid subscribers:
Less than two weeks before Election Day, I went to a Trump Force 47 event outside of Pittsburgh to verify that Richard Spencer’s podcast co-host, Luke Meyer, worked for TF47. Politico picked it up and ran the story the day before the election. Paid subscriptions covered the cost of my hotel, rental car, tolls, and gas (fun side story - I was in line for the Grand Rapids rally when Politico published the story, and I was very worried about getting kicked out!).
I livestreamed Trump’s Madison Square Garden Rally from the audience on TikTok and Twitter. Paid subscriptions covered the cost of Amtrak and my hotel.
After Donald Trump said Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and cats, I spent several days in Springfield. Paid subscriptions were used for airfare
Nick Fuentes held one of his white nationalist rallies in Detroit, and I sat outside of the VIP event, taking notes on who was in attendance. Since the audience included RNC delegates and guests, The Intercept ran the story during the RNC (which I was also at, thanks to subscribers and an amazing reader who let me crash at their home in Milwaukee!).
I spent most of the DNC following around the extremists lurking on the perimeter, which I covered for The Baffler (you might have seen the clips of Jack Posobiec and I having a nice little chat on his show). I also monitored the pro-Palestine protests, going live on TikTok and Twitter. Like the RNC, I crashed with a friend, but did use revenue from subscriptions to get to Chicago.
Perhaps most significantly, I followed the Take our Border Back Convoy to Dripping Springs and Eagle Pass, Texas, and wrote about it for Daily Dot. In some ways, this trip (which was wildly expensive, given how few hotels are in Eagle Pass!) was one of the most significant of my life, as Stalker Bryan discovered me there.
I tried to livestream from my weekend with the gun cult in Pennsylvania, but TikTok shut it down right away. Thankfully, The Nation ran my story about my extremely weird time there, including riding around on Ivan Raiklin’s golf cart (not mentioned in writing: the overpriced hotel that promised a full restaurant/bar and had neither, or my 45 minute wait for an Uber one of the days. Tragic).
Things like Madison Square Garden, Springfield, and Eagle Pass are likely to be parts of future stories. Even the gun cult is still relevant now that Trump has won the election — Tom Homan, Jack Posobiec, General Flynn, and Ivan Raiklin were all speakers throughout the weekend.
One of the many reasons I dislike being freelance is that it is much harder to get feedback, and I don’t really have anyone to bounce ideas off of. I would love input from you guys on what you want to hear, see, or read:
Something I am interested in doing is a live Ask Me Anything, either on TikTok, YouTube, or Twitter — but I have no idea if people would join!
Is it annoying if I announce on Substack that I have a story running elsewhere? I usually have a bunch of video clips and photos from events, and outlets rarely want to use my iPhone photo — if I include photos or videos from the event in my announcement post, is it less annoying?
As Twitter crumbles, is it better to do on the ground livesteams on TikTok? Or YouTube? I have tried to alternate, and I’ve cut clips for different platforms.
I’ve long been interested in talking to authors of books I love, but I have no idea if I’m a crappy interviewer, or if you guys want to read Q&As with authors.
As far as the rest of the year — later this week, I’ll have a story on Substack about post-election harassment on Twitter. In a little over two weeks, I will be in Phoenix for Turning Point USA’s America Fest. I’m not allowed inside, of course, but I’ll be right out front — this is especially fun, because before the conference, I will have a story out elsewhere about Turning Point USA.
Since Phoenix is far away, and because it is Cyber Monday, annual subscriptions are 15% off here (you should be able to manually take 15% off Founders subscriptions). Comments are open, so please share your thoughts on what you’d like to see and where!
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Love all of your work. Is there a link to the youtube and tiktok pages? I should be able to pitch in as a subscriber once I finish my Christmas shopping.
Glad I can support your work. Also, nice to see you Bluesky, since I quit looking at Twitter.