Subscriber Writing, December 2025

Hello folks! Here’s the latest bimonthly roundup of writing written by subscribers, for the month of December 2025. Readers, please take a little time and see if any of these descriptions appeals to you. I’ve discovered so much great writing through these roundups, and many who submit things report that they’ve meaningfully grown their audience this way. If you aren’t a subscriber and you want to take part in this opportunity in the new year, you know what to do. Be kind in the comments, far kinder than you feel you have to be with me.

Zack Morris the Elder, Cats: The worst pets in the world

Here is why cats are indisputably the worst pets in the world.

T. Scott, Advise and Consent

How do these Senators manage to sleep at night?

Eric Stinton, Be Tough On Public Education, But Also Be Thankful For It

When people care enough to criticize you thoughtfully, be grateful they don’t just dismiss you outright.

Peter James, The True Horror of The Shining

A failed comedian gives his read on a movie about a failed writer who goes insane

Iain Carlos and Sam Carlen, Q&A: Retired Chicago cop weighs in on Homan Square, alleged “black site”

Q&A with Detective Michael Hammond, a former Chicago police officer who worked at Homan Square. Hammond challenges The Guardian’s use of the “Black Site” analogy to describe the facility, while confirming much of the substance of the original Homan Square reporting. He confirms that police at Homan Square likely intentionally made it difficult for outsiders—including loved ones and attorneys—to find detainees, and confirms the secretive and opaque nature of operations at Homan Square.

Jimmy Nicholls, David Beckham doesn’t deserve a knighthood

Or why the United Kingdom keeps giving honours to unsuitable people

Triangulation, What Daniel Naroditsky’s Untimely Death Reveals About Generational Conflict and the Fragility of Trust

The sudden death of a chess grandmaster prompted many to connect it to the cheating allegations and the ensuing social-media drama. Here, I explore the psychological and sociological forces shaping these events.

T.J. Elliott, Chasing The Dead - Amateur Adventures in Genealogy

Chapters from a forthcoming book on a decades long pursuit of facts and stories about my ancestors all as an attempt to figure out how the heck an oddball like me became a branch this family tree

Adam Rosen,