State of the Stack, One Year In

Taking a break today while waiting for various shoes to drop. As it happens, however, almost a year has passed since I took this newsletter out of hibernation, with a post about why DOGE would fail. So I thought some readers might want an update on how the venture is going and be interested in a glance behind the scenes.

First, yes, I’m finding an audience. Here’s the total number of subscribers over time:

I’d like to add a few hundred thousand to that total. I keep running into devoted readers of my NYT column who still aren’t aware that this newsletter exists. Please spread the word! It’s almost every day, and free except for the Sunday primers, which involve an immense amount of work to produce.

Substack also maintains bestseller lists based on paid subscriptions. Here’s the top 10 for U.S. politics, which isn’t exactly what I write about, but close enough:

Except for the admirable and inimitable Heather Cox Richardson, every Substack above me is a group effort. So I think we’re doing pretty well.

I say “we” because Robin Wells, my wife, is very much a part of this project. So let me tell you how this newsletter is produced.

First, both of us are more or less constantly doing background research. This involves flagging and saving news reports, articles, working papers and so on that look as if they might come in useful. It also involves downloading data that might be relevant at some point. There’s a running joke among data-oriented commentators: “Do you even FRED, bro?” I do. I also Eurostat, OECD, IMF, World Bank and, lately, Haver Analytics.

Every morning I get up, make coffee, and feed the cat. Then Robin and I have our coffee and discuss what the next post should be about. Next, I try to get exercise in — running in the park when weather permits, stationary bike when it doesn’t. Then time to start writing, generally producing whatever charts I think the piece needs along the way.

I’m a fast writer, but the process of drafting a post involves a lot of time staring into space and thinking, so a first draft can take most of a working day. Then Robin edits, often suggesting that I put in things I should have included and take out material best left for another day. I then edit her edit, and