These Substacks Covering Brands, Media and Culture Are Pure Fire

Nike's there. Are you?

Ari Shapiro is leaving NPR, but he’s joined Substack, like every other journalist on the planet who ditched a regular gig voluntarily (Taylor Lorenz, Jim Acosta) or otherwise (WaPo’s Karen Attiah, ABC News’ Terry Moran).

The newsletter company, with a reported $1.1 billion valuation, has exploded in popularity, and not just for its political and financial ‘stacks, though those often make the most waves and bring in the biggest bucks.

The writer-centric platform—ad-free for now but sponsor-friendly, with multimedia functions—counts 5 million paid subscribers for long-form storytelling that serves most any imaginable niche. There are erudite and literary offerings, noted historian Heather Cox Richardson, famous chefs dispensing recipes, Hollywood insiders chasing gossip and more.

Singling out a handful in any category is tough, but sticking to media, marketing, advertising and brands, here are seven must-reads:

Link in Bio, Rachel Karten
A consistently top-ranked business ‘stack, Karten’s newsletter “about working in social media” deftly leans into platform features like live video (her Q&A with Duolingo’s outgoing superstar Zaria Parvez was perfectly timed) and community building (her Link in Bio Discord is an “always-on chat” where the cool kids brainstorm and commiserate). Along with posting quarterly trend reports, Karten is surveying social media pros for a sweeping salary benchmark study. Recent stories look at why brands are launching cinematic short films and how Netflix handles its social and creator marketing across finsta and 17 other channels.

Feed Me, Emily Sundberg
Another chart-topper in business, Feed Me has become a whole ecosystem, with a podcast coming this fall to add to the daily newsletter, live events and breaking news machinery already in place. Kamala Harris and the Washington Post started ’stacks? You might have read about that first on Feed Me, along with Erewhon’s price-gouging arrival in New York. Billed broadly as a newsletter about “the spirit of enterprise,” Feed Me somehow logically hops from Graydon Carter’s favorite burger and its readers’ GLP-1 use to Gigi Hadid’s Zyn of choice and the 10-story luxury retailtainment project it dubbed the “FAO Schwarz-ification of Louis Vuitton.”

Sex Happens, Julie
The emergency contraception brand has internalized the first rule of Substack: Do not use it as a sales tool. Rather, treat it as a way to cozy up to your fans and cultivate new audiences by posting engaging content. The thought-provoking, soul-baring, highly readable work on Sex Happens comes from guest authors. It has recently included essays about sex, love, relationships, situationships, etc, from comedian-actress Ivy Wolk (“On Being a Virgin at the Orgy”), writer-consultant Tish Weinstock (“The Summer I got a Brazilian and Became Hot Again”) and journalist-podcaster Justine Harman (“These Books Will Leave You Positively Dicksmacked”). The light, nearly invisible branding seals this ‘stack with a kiss.

In the Margins, Nike
The sneaker and sportswear behemoth, trying to regain its footing under a new CEO, also got the memo about not plastering the swoosh all over its ‘stack. The newsletter, “dedicated to new sports writing,” features a variety of fresh voices (nary a pro athlete in sight, unlike its iconic mainstream advertising). Highlights: a U.K. journalist opines about the found family that makes his brutal, time-sucking hobby (cricket) worthwhile, and a Brooklyn-based screenwriter writes poignantly about coming of age as a ’90s “tomboy.” The latest piece explores the first-ever women’s championship basketball game in 1904, nearly 100 years pre-WNBA.

Good Thinking, Chris Danton
As head of brand consultancy In Good Company, Danton globetrots to gather intriguing trend and marketing tidbits. A veteran CMO called Good Thinking “creative strategy gold” with “ideas that make you see things differently.” Danton, who just recapped the Paradigms brand conference in Morocco, posted recently about Google AI as a personal shopper, supplements versus natural foods, old-school vices at New York Fashion Week and the surge in the “nerd economy.” She’s known to ask questions like “where are the edgy tennis brands?” and tisk-tisking marketers for overlooking the “silver” demo.

People Brands and Things
By reading this anonymously-authored ‘stack, you can find out why “it’s never been a better time to be an Etsy witch” and how musicians, athletes and other celebs are increasingly building their own ad agencies (for the latter, there’s a Q&A with F1 driver Charles Leclerc’s partners at the newly announced Sidequest studio). PBT, devoted to “consumerism, culture and creativity,” has become a go-to for posts that dissect Rhode’s intrinsic value, point out #RushTok’s co-marketing opportunities and quiz brand creatives about their collabs and campaigns. Original reporting, as well as a sharp eye and unique POV, sets it apart in a cluttered landscape.

Adolescent Content
A few ad agency heavyweights like Deutsch, Mischief @ No Fixed Address and VaynerMedia have waded into ‘stack territory with a mix of media-marketing insights and couched self-promotion. Indie shop Adolescent Content uses its newsletter to share the whims, behaviors, phobias, TikTok obsessions and style choices of Gen Zalpha. Tapping into a research pool of 50K “Youthtellers” across 25 countries, the weekly newsletter can tell you why the demo is romanticizing today’s to-do list, watching a shit ton of Tubi, and hating on Sephora’s customer service. A constantly updated section called “Scroll Says So” gives a quick peek into what’s fire with the kids rn.