30 Comments

Honesty stick: I have to be in the right space to read your newsletters. I am somewhat old school in my preference for 'letters (as opposed to "feeds" and the socials etc). I like the fact that they show up, but I have the choice of when to interact with them. I can manage my energy and my headspace and my heartspace by making a conscious decision when I do (or do not) read something. And I find I cannot always open your newsletters. Though drawn by curiosity to find out what it is you have to say today, it's not always the right time. Then in saying that, I like to challenge myself to ask "why"... why is today not a good day? Am I truly not well enough to absorb the energy and the passion on offer? Or am I hiding, from the world and the issues and the discomfort that will undoubtedly be illuminated?

I like your newsletters, I like the challenge. Sometimes I find you're hard work... but I like that. We should work hard for the good stuff.

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Ah, crazy world I say. Makes me want to move to the little cottage in the middle of the forest and growing my own food... Just because virtual everything sounds so horrible.

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I agree with the comments below. Sometimes hearing what you are sharing is hard to swallow and all I want to do is bury my head. But I also know it’s important. I want to do my bit and I think how ? I’m only one person and looking around all I see is the rest of the world getting on with life. How can we not want to be aware. For us, for our future generations. If we want our future to solve the problems of today the least we can do is to start having these conversations at the dinner table.

Re the Librarian Campaign… please send detail on how I can support.

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I really like your ideas and your info about stuff like the elephants. Its so good to know Im not only one who feels so overwhelmed by the world going to pieces. We can do better. It does feel like all us little people are busting our gut to right the ship but the big guys are still not doing their part. I am kinda hoping there is a bunch of superheroes to help us fight the good fight 😎

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As always Sarah, I enjoy reading your newsletters each week. Sometimes I have a re-read it a couple of times to fully grasp and understand some topics, but it's always worth it. Also listened to your podcast this week with Saul. Absolutely love the topic. Next year I am starting to work for an architectural practice that specialises in sustainability and energy-efficient housing. In every project, only electric hot water, heating/ cooling systems and induction cooktops are put in. The practice also uses science and energy efficiency tech to optimise its designs. Very much looking forward to deep diving into the impact that new buildings have what I can do as a designer to make them better :)

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I am enjoying your newsletter. It is a short n sweet invitation to dig deeper into important issues that I am not aware of or informed about. It is a 'nudge' to care without lecture or expectation and an opportunity to expand my awareness whilst encouraging me to participate in some way. The snippets say look at this or don't...but you've had a peak now which is often times enough 😉

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I truly appreciate your podcast Sarah. The episode with Saul was so accessible and was one that I shared with my husband, so that we could align future plans (and the intentions behind them). I have pre-ordered the eBook too, to go deeper.

I find audio easier to digest but your newsletter is one that I save for a proper read through and actually do come back to (others I may save for a 'later' that never comes). It's real and thought provoking, rather than glossy and salesy - very in line with your values and also my own.

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Libraries are so much more than meets the eye. Would love to help. Enjoy reading your thoughts and takes on all of these issues. Challenging and provoking - keep it coming. Emma

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So many thoughts on this one, Sarah.

Firstly, love librarians and also libraries in general. You reminded me of a woman I met last year who was doing her PhD on how libraries might be one of the last spaces we have to commune together where no transaction occurs. If you were looking for the binary opposite of the metaverse, the library would be it, don't you think?

I also listened to that conversation with Ezra Klein and Katie Haun on cryptocurrency, mainly because I want to get my head around it. Like you, I wasn't satisfied that this has been given enough thought, or if human beings even want this. And I'm also hoping that there will be some rebellious solutions. You've probably listened to it, but when Krista Tippett talked to Ezra Klein for On Being, he talked about how everything is always encoding its opposite. He meant that there would be no Trump without Obama, but I think the same applies here. It makes me feel a tinge of optimism.

And speaking of optimism, Seth Godin had a good blog the other day about using optimism and pessimism as a strategy. I think pessimism might be a good strategy to apply to the metaverse. The world we live in today doesn't suggest we should hope for uptopia despite investors and best intentions.

Lastly, I like your big chunky emails. I think we all need a bit of handholding right now, and you do it so very well, nudging us forward even though we're all tempted to look away because we have a backlog of processing we're not sure we can get through and that little cottage on a farm looks pretty amazing right now. Thank you! x Steph

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In response to your "PS" at the end of the newsletter, I am really appreciating how you structure these weekly newsletters. I am a reader by nature, so perhaps that's why I enjoy them, but you also format it in a user-friendly way which makes it more easily digestible for our busy lifestyles. I really resonate with what Michelle Dickson and Sammy shared in this comments section (and your responses). Thanks for all your hard work with sharing your domestic and global beautiful human stories and blatant "red flags" to the masses.

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Thank you for the shout out to librarians! In the US, there were some libraries that loaned hotspots with Internet access, and during the Covid-19 pandemic this service spread out to many more. We offer this service in my Library (it's a college library), and I know specific students who, if they wouldn't have received our hotspots would have dropped out of college.

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Love your newsletters so much - perfect length and range of topics. I've love to hear mostly about climate change / the environment and what we can do to get the government voted out at the next election.

Also - for activists, how do you cope mentally with disengagement and judgement from people.

Thanks!

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👋 hand up to help with the Librarian's campaign. That broke my heart (although it was already broken after the elephant story) 💔 Loving your new substack Sarah x

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Totally clicked with your thoughts on the Metaverse, Futurama pegged it more than 20 years ago: you step into the VR-internet, only to get bombarded with ads and besieged by sleazy hookup requests. Sorry Mark, your concept is neither fun nor original.

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Thankyou!!!

Yes I reluctantly signed up to Facebook. Was a latecomer and now I know why

Xx resonate deeply with all that

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I genuinely love your newsletters. I particularly love that they pop into my email, and I love the rabbit holes they lead me down. As others have said, sometimes I read it straight away, other times I need to file it away for a better moment (usually when I'm less tired!).

And I loved your podcast with Saul last week - I've actually listened to it 4 times already, and have forwarded it to at least a dozen people. The one topic that didn't get covered was around nuclear energy. The topic seems to be popping up everywhere at the moment, and I would have loved to hear Saul's and your thoughts on it.

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