I’ve been meaning to update you on the changes that have taken place at this publication, as well as the planned changes going forward. There’s no better time than now.
Too many of my attempts to bring guests to you have felt like sending an outgoing signal into a void, with nothing coming back. The scientists who have spent their entire careers listening for a signal come to mind.
Angie Nixon’s team has been one of the few to respond and make arrangements. I’ll give them credit for that. They’ve asked to revisit scheduling later this week, though we don’t have a new date yet.
The work we’ve done with Deuce Davis , Harold Michael Harvey, Georgia District 16 candidate Sonya Wimberly, and Ashley E. Jones has also been a success. The behind-the-scenes support from Finale Norton Katherine White, and the public support from The Fractured Line, have been invaluable.
The point is that for every Duece or Harold Michael Harvey, there seem to be ten others who have not responded to my inquiries or follow-ups to the follow-up. I’ve lost count.
I want to account for those efforts to the people whose support made this publication possible. YOU.
This operation started off as a personal outlet of sorts to help me sort through what I was feeling in response to the wholesale deconstruction of our nation and the world of Pax Americana we’d all grown up with. It was an imperfect world, and these changes have brought a considerable amount of anxiety. And yes, I realize that’s an understatement.
Where the writing has taken me
War After War: The Big Payback is a novel I started before Substack, around the time of January 6, 2021. I still have lots of writing to do, but it’s a story of an enslaved boy, a planter’s son, and an enslaved girl whose lives are transformed by the Civil War and the events of Reconstruction. It’s a story of people trying to create lives in freedom, and armed white men trying to terrorize Black voters and elected officials, burn Black schools and churches, and otherwise intimidate Black people back into submission. [1]
I became interested in Reconstruction because I was curious about the blues, and how events of that time laid the groundwork for spirituals, gospel, slow drag, and rock n roll reverberate through history and reach down into Black American music today. I wanted to know more about the people who made this music that grew out of older forms like spirituals and work songs, and what freedom meant to them. [2]
The more I learned about Reconstruction, the more I realized that the warfare against Black freedom didn’t end with the surrender, but took on a different form, a struggle over what freedom would mean. [1] That work also led me to the idea of Payback Politics. Punishment can be mistaken for strength. Payback Politics can lead people to make unforced errors that strengthen their opponents, and can result in harm to the very people and things they claim to be defending.
I’ve begun another project, a sort of companion piece, The Deconstruction Era of America. This one looks at the ways that rights are protected on paper but institutions are weakened or used to undermine the people they’re supposed to protect, and how history is rewritten, and who benefits from the history that sticks. All of these projects have influenced this publication, and point to where I want to take it.
The essays will lead again
I love my readers and I love my publication. And I want to figure out a way to keep both.
I hate to use the phrase “content creators,” but some of the videos from people running these Substack publications make me wince, man. They look like hostage videos.
I get it. I do. There’s pressure to keep a publication alive. Substack has figured out how to turn video into an automatic acquisition channel. The company says that clips made from livestreams are shared in Notes automatically, and this is turned on by default. [3] And in December 2025, the company reported that clips had generated nearly 500,000 free subscriptions across Substack. [4]
My essays have been secondary to videos for a while now. Videos came first in the publication and the essays were built around them. I’ve reversed that relationship. The essays will lead again while I figure out a way to have my cake and eat the damn thing too.
I suspect that leading with videos may have cost me some subscribers. For those of you who came to read, an email that starts with a video with a play button may have made it look like it was asking you to do something else instead. I’ve tried hard to make sure the essays are self-sufficient but the video at the top of the page may have undermined that. I don’t want to lose any more readers that way.
Acquisition ain’t retention. Sometimes acquiring new subscribers is just backfilling unsubscribers. It’s the same at Netflix, Time magazine, and here. If more people leave than come in, you get smaller. I want to use video to reach new people to offset the attrition.
Videos will remain in Notes, and essays will lead in email. I’m working on figuring out how to have it both ways.
What’s changing with the Blackout Brief
The Blackout Brief used to be a long laundry list of stories from the previous day or two. It will be shorter, with more frequent editions.
Five minutes to read, six at most. If it takes you longer, maybe I should be writing a shorter Blackout Brief. TLDRs out. Getting to the point more.
I’m making an effort to feature reporting from LGBTQ outlets (Them), [5] outlets focused on covering news for/by/with Black communities (Capital B, TheGrio), [6][7] and outlets outside of the U.S. (Al Jazeera, The Guardian, France 24, the BBC, etc.).
I clip video like a madman on my timeline as if someone was paying me per clip, which no one of course is. Those clips will continue to be on my timeline in Notes, but will reflect the reporting I’m featuring in the Blackout Brief.
The plan is an overnight edition of the Blackout Brief in the morning to catch you up on what you missed while you were sleeping and a Blackout Brief Daily in the afternoon to catch you up on what you may have missed throughout the day. There will continue to be room for breaking news. But my focus will remain on centering people and issues too often left out of the news cycle, intentionally buried or otherwise, particularly issues impacting Black people, brown people, LGBTQ people, the whole rainbow.
I work for you
I work for you. You’re my bosses, some of the nicest I’ve ever had. And as such, I should’ve communicated this sooner.
Some of you have financially supported this project ($300? I felt that one, thank you). Somebody sent me a dollar, too. Others have shared my posts or given me their time and attention. Regardless of where you fall or don’t fall on that spectrum, know that I appreciate and respect your support and will continue to work just as hard for you.
I realize subscriptions aren’t for everyone and neither is supporting multiple Substackers. Kudos to you if you’re also supporting Heather Cox Richardson and/or Robert Reich, I respect that. So I’ve left Buy Me a Coffee open in case you want to chime in every now and again.
Writing this brings back a little of that “come into my office” feeling. In my police days, a supervisor might tell you to “come into my office” after roll call. Could be good news. Could be bad news. Could be your performance review. Could mean you’re getting a new detail or assignment, sometimes just standing in one spot or driving around in circles. Either way, you walk in there not really knowing what’s in store for you. I hope I’m living up to your expectations.
What have I been working on when there isn’t a post or it seems as if posts are less frequent?
Essays, still the bread and butter.
My book and other reporting.
Building out code to make my workflow more efficient.
An app… sort of… it’s awaiting Apple’s approval and honestly, I haven’t seen much interest in it, so I’m going to have to figure out if it’s worth my while to keep plugging away at it. I don’t want to develop yet another app that goes absolutely fucking nowhere.
More coding/database-y stuff that won’t necessarily involve you installing anything. For example, I’m working on a way to display certain comments made on Substack’s live-chat feature on the livestream itself so you can literally see what other folks are saying while we’re talking about said comments/questions/etc. Damn it. Just gave that one away.
Why am I still doing this stuff
Because I still want this reporting to reach you. Money is tight for me as I know it’s tight for a lot of you, which is why it’s important for me to be cognizant of where my time and money go. I don’t want to piss it away. Subscriptions from those of you who can afford them help offset costs so that this can remain free for those of you who can’t or simply prefer alternate methods of support. Perhaps there’s room in your budget alongside a meal or a drink out. If there isn’t, I get it. But if you can and do choose to subscribe, thank you. That means a lot.
If you’d like to support my work at XVOA, but aren’t interested in subscribing, you can still make a one-off donation via Buy Me a Coffee. All donations are gratefully received and help keep the reporting going.
Hi. I'm one of your paid subscribers, and I just wanted to let you know where I'm coming from. I'm an old white guy, early boomer, strong supporter of the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. Also a Vietnam veteran, generally socially conservative, politically/economically liberal. But I am also the product of 1950s "white flight," though I never thought of it like that at the time (I was nine when we moved to the suburbs). I have had very little social interaction with Black people in my life and have never had a Black personal friend, though I have had many Black work colleagues and sports teammates. And, as you can see from what I've just written, I'm aware of the situation. I am not dismayed by its description as "white privilege." Hell, when you're the point of reference, the standard by which "normal" is established, it's hard to think of yourself as privileged. Especially when you don't have much money. :-)
I subscribed, and shall continue to subscribe, because I admire your writing and am impressed by your dedication to this project. But I also subscribe for two other reasons: you cover subject matter that is otherwise ignored by most mainstream and social media and you provide a Black perspective on subjects with which I thought I was familiar. You provide a way of looking at things that helps me better understand the world, our country, and our culture.
I'm a reader more than a listener or viewer. I don't do podcasts and rarely watch videos. So I like the idea of you returning to your emphasis on essays. But in this case I'm probably in the minority, so I'm also glad that you will be keeping the videos/podcasts for those who prefer them. The more support you receive (and you do deserve it) the better it is for all of us. Please keep up the good work and don't let "them" or the perceived indifference of your intended audience grind you down. We're listening (or reading, as the case may be). Best wishes.
I'm a paid subscriber. I try to support independent voices that offer a unique perspective--and you do that. I didn't learn about Reconstruction until I started reading history books- it was one page in our American History class- should have been a couple chapters. I taught in a prison before I retired and met a lot of Black students who shouldn't have been there--WOULDN'T have been there, if they had been given a decent set of goals when they were young and could get away from the culture of violence our society is steeped in. I will watch a video once in awhile but I am primarily a reader. If you finish your book I would be willing to collaborate on a graphic novel, as I am also an artist.