What's ahead for 2024 with some free essays.
Welcome to the many new readers!
Welcome to the many new readers who discovered this newsletter when my essay about why I am moving to Italy went a bit viral.
I was really affected by how much the essay connected with people. I figured there would be some resonance, but I severely underestimated the dissatisfaction so many people are feeling about the state of America, and that’s without me even mentioning the political situation.
I paused this newsletter in April when I realized it was not aligned with where I am in this season of life, which is one of unapologetically ‘changing the channel’ on what is not working. (Hello, Italy!) For those who are new here, I explain a bit about how I got to that point in the essay below.
In mid-September, I re-launched this newsletter as Changing the Channel after leaving a two-decade career in the political media. I've included the relevant posts below if you want to get up to speed on that.
There has been a lot of change in my life this year, and I wasn’t sure if I would find a readership for my work if I weren't writing about politics and without the big brands of CNN and USA Today behind me.
So it means more than you can probably imagine that you are here and that you are making this work possible. I've been able to connect with readers in a way that was never possible on social media. It’s been wonderful to write about issues that I am passionate about and with the space to really dig into them in a way that I couldn’t in the 800-1200 words I was typically limited to in my prior life, and where I probably would never have gotten sign off anyway on many of the topics I write about here.
I’m looking forward to doing more of this in 2024 and would love to hear in the comments any topics you would like me to tackle.
Don’t worry there will be lots about the Italy move and what I’m learning along the way! And I will continue to address the issues that are making life so hard for so many in the United States, and it turns out the UK too.
I’ve begun recording 15 minute video interviews with some of my favorite people about what they would like to ‘change the channel’ on, and those will begin running in January as an additional post a few times a month. We will start with Kate Bowler on changing how we think about the mundane and therapist Courtney Leak on changing how we think about where home is (she left the US for Panama last year).
My small gift to you as a thank you for all your support is to remove the paywall from some of my more popular posts (including those linked to above) until the New Year.
I will continue to keep comments just for paid subscribers, opening it up occasionally. I initially did this to avoid the trolls I picked up from my career in political journalism, but in doing so, I realized it created a very thoughtful comments section, and I don't want to disrupt that.
If you have enjoyed Changing The Channel, please consider a gift subscription for someone you love.
I won’t be doing a holiday sale because I already keep my prices lower than most of my peers in order to make this as accessible as possible, while still covering my costs.
This will be my last post until 2024, so please enjoy the holidays and I will see you in the New Year!
Continuing to look forward to that touch of clarity you provide in this tempest of a world we live in. I suspect we’ll all appreciate it against the backdrop of 2024. Happy Holidays, Kirsten!
I’ve loved being a part of your Substack and it’s great to hear that it’s grown. When you used to be on CNN, I remember often feeling like you were talking directly to me, and it’s a talent you’ve brought to your pages here too. All the best in 2024!