Substacks recommended by A Bear on a Wire

Recommended by A Bear on a Wire

funny & disarmingly honest missives from my spiraling brain, including but not limited to: recovery, queerness, art, mental health, parenting, existential angst, love, sex, the agony & excellence of being alive PLUS all things Shame Spiral Podcast!

Ely is so funny even when Ely is spiraling!

- A Bear on a Wire

Weirder Together with Ben Lee & Ione Skye

Join our fun, cozy, creative world of podcasts, music, film, art, friends, making stuff, curating stuff, debating stuff, celebrating stuff we love.

BEN & IONE!!!

- A Bear on a Wire

Is It Okay?

By Bonnie Morrison

Tackling uncomfortable conversations, one question at a time.

Bonnie Morrison is brilliant & we love her so much.

- A Bear on a Wire

What I Did & What I Ate

By Kristen Bartlett

Kristen Bartlett is trying to make herself leave the house to do fun things. Things like: Visit museums. Go to a beach & not immediately leave! Have fun! But what she really wants to do is stay home and cook. This Substack is about both those things.

Secret Society

By John Hodgman

You are invited to join a SECRET SOCIETY.

Barlow Family General

By Lou and Adelle Barlow

Thank you for joining us! We are Lou and Adelle Barlow, cohosts of your favorite podcast, RAW impressions. Here you will find Lou’s podcast music, lyrics, stories behind the songs, Adelle’s meal plans, cooking life, crafty projects and more!

Lou and Adelle are the best! We love so many "lifestyle" writeurs, but we just love their real life.

- A Bear on a Wire

Open Secrets

Open Secrets is an online magazine for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we're taught to keep "secret." Contact Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel at opensecretsmag at gmail.com

Weekend Water with Paul F. Tompkins & Janie Haddad Tompkins

Official substack spawned from the conversation podcast STAY F. HOMEKINS with comedian Paul F. Tompkins & actress Janie Haddad Tompkins. More random thoughts, tidbits, musings and movie watchalongs from podcast cohosts & married couple JHT & PFT.

Release McCracken

By Elizabeth McCracken

Occasional notes from Elizabeth McCracken

I’m Walking Here

By Liz Gumbinner

Culture, media, politics and parenting. Oh, did someone say pick a lane? Adorable.

The Direction of Motion

By Kathy Valentine

A coming of aging story. Also thoughts, music, pop culture, random facts and stuff that interests me.

Because it’s written by Kathy Valentine from the Go-Gos & she is the raddest woman. The raddest.

- A Bear on a Wire

Saratonin

By Sara Benincasa

A delightful weekly newsletter that is sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant & often full of useful recommendations & weirdly enchanting ideas

Sara Benincasa is a great writer and a better friend. She recently spontaneously channelled the spirit Caissie's favorite aunt in an Instagram DM, so if that doesn't explain how magical she is, nothing will!

- A Bear on a Wire

Stacks & Spoons

By Jen Wilde

queer books, sapphic culture, and disability justice. come for the book recs, stay for the cat pics!

Longer Tables with José Andrés

Every meal has the power to change the world.

Four Track Substack

By Joe Pernice

Musician and writer Joe Pernice shares recordings and some words about making them.

The Lucyverse

By Lucy Sweet

Random and sweary reviews of (pretty much) everything

Donkey Thoughts with Nick Offerman

More Carrots, Less Sticks

Nick is just the best.

- A Bear on a Wire

Permanent Retrograde

By Kelly Oxford

Happiness, sadness, and everything in between. No recipes.

Oliver Willis Explains

Oliver Willis explains politics, the media, and the world

Ask E. Jean

By E. Jean Carroll

Tormented? Driven Witless? Whipsawed by Confusion? Ask E. Jean is the longest currently-running advice column in American publishing.

morning person

By Leslie Stephens

Obsessively-curated recommendations and reflections, best served with coffee.

Still looking for the Joke

By Merrill Markoe

I probably started writing the piece you are about to read because I thought it contained something funny. Fingers crossed I was correct in this assumption.

The Audacity.

By Roxane Gay

Writing that boldly disregards normal restraints.

It's Roxane Gay? Enough said!

- A Bear on a Wire

What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking

By caro chambers

one ridiculously impressive complete-meal recipe delivered to your inbox every saturday morning that dirties minimal dishes and requires under an hour of time.

Cheryl Strayed's Dear Sugar

This is the home of two newsletters. Paid subscribers get Cheryl's Dear Sugar Letter monthly, plus her free newsletter several times a year, which includes her "Tells Us" author series. Free subscribers get everything but the monthly Dear Sugar Letter.

FEMINIST GIANT

By Mona Eltahawy

Global feminist resistance to patriarchal fuckery

The Nelson George Mixtape

By Nelson George

Black music, black culture and America.

tv i say w/ ashley ray

a podcast and newsletter about tv reviews, tv opinions and also sometimes other opinions

Charlotte's Web Thoughts

By Charlotte Clymer

Politics, religion, culture, and humor from a Christian trans woman. 2023 & 2024 GLAAD Media Award Finalist for Outstanding Blog.

Things I Buy As A Civilian

By Amber Katz

I've tested thousands of products in nearly two decades of beauty writing and blogging. Eighty percent are aggressively medium, 10% are actively bad—and 10% are AMAZING. This Substack is all about that latter 10% I buy with my American dollars.

CRAFT TALK

By Craft Talk

CRAFT TALK is a weekly newsletter about writing, creativity and productivity from author Jami Attenberg. This is also the home of #1000wordsofsummer, where, once a year, we write 1000 words a day together for two weeks straight. (In 2024 it begins 6/1!)

ASK MOLLY

By Heather Havrilesky

Essays by Heather Havrilesky, Ask Polly columnist and author of Foreverland: On the Divine Tedium of Marriage (2022), What If This Were Enough? (2018), How to Be a Person in the World (2016), and Disaster Preparedness (2011)

Yashar Ali | The Reset