Archive - Alex Writes

How to save media and keep AI startups alive

A big thanks to my dear friend Holden Page who read a version of this essay, and helped me improve it. — Alex OpenAI closed new content deals last week…

Mar 18 •

TikTok, capitalism, and whose side are you on?

A 50-0 vote in a House committee to advance a bill that would require the divestment of TikTok from its Chinese parent company or ban it from the United…

Mar 13 •

January 2024

Ghosting Substack

I am very tired

Jan 12 •

Yes, we took your stuff and are making a killing. Why aren't you happy when we offer you scraps?

Show me the money

Jan 4 •

The best books I read this year, 2023 edition

Jan 1 •

December 2023

Four things I'm curious about in 2024

Curious or worried, your call

Dec 22, 2023 •

September 2023

In defense of looking like shit

Or, why Senator Fetterman is doing something actually interesting and good

Sep 18, 2023 •

July 2023

The platforms will never stop hungering

All Internet platforms eventually devolve into a mess of advertisements, algorithms, self-dealing, and bloat. An iron law of the Internet: If a product…

Jul 4, 2023 •

May 2023

Seven years of not drinking is a good time to question your life's direction

Or: How having kids consumes all your remaining creative hours

May 24, 2023 •

April 2023

One good way to engender a crisis of self is to have a baby

Or: Who am I, really

Apr 11, 2023 •

March 2023

Sorry, but I don't think that you deserve a bailout [Updated] [Updated again]

Update: Everyone hates this take

Mar 10, 2023 •

February 2023

There’s an old riff that if you want to make a friend, ask them for a favor. It’s counter-intuitive advice. Wouldn’t you want to offer a favor to cement…

Feb 3, 2023 •

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