Two years of Public Notice

Thank you, readers, for making this newsletter a success.

October 5 marked two years since the first edition of Public Notice. That inaugural newsletter featured an interview with Brian Klaas about the fragile state of American democracy that I think holds up well.

Public Notice has grown beyond my wildest dreams over the 393 editions since then. From October 2021 to May 2022, I was the sole author of the newsletter, writing four of them a week. (Sheesh, that was a lot of work!) The birth of my son Owen in the summer of 2022 prompted me to take a breath and start working with contributors, and now in addition to my own writing I’m regularly publishing a fantastic group of people — Liz Dye and Lisa Needham on legal affairs, Noah Berlatsky on politics, Thor Benson’s Q&As, David Lurie’s explainers, and many, many more. I’m blessed to collaborate with such a brilliant group of thinkers under the banner of my newsletter.

While it might be hard to top getting banned from Twitter by Elon Musk, I’m confident that the third year of Public Notice will be the best yet. I’m starting to feel like a grizzled veteran — 2024 will be the third presidential campaign I’ve covered. The prospect of Trump retaking power is obviously a scary one, but there’s also a good chance his movement is decisively defeated, and I’m grateful to have this platform to cover these historic times. From the debates to the conventions to the campaign trail to media coverage of all of it, we’ll make sure you’re not only informed about the political, policy, and judicial landscapes, but understand the bigger cultural forces shaping them.

To paid subscribers, thank you so much for supporting us. None of this would be possible without you and I very much appreciate it. We’ll keep working hard to make this newsletter is worth your time and money. (By the way, please make sure your payment info is updated when it’s time to renew.)

And to free subscribers — I have something special for you. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to full access, now’s the time. To commemorate the second anniversary of Public Notice, I’m offering annual paid subscriptions for the special rate of $40, or barely $3 a month. (To redeem, click the button below by October 15.)

Whether you’re a founding member or a free subscriber who signed up yesterday, I’m thankful for every reader. So as always, if you have difficult financial circumstances but would like a paid subscription, please email me.

Leaving Vox to go independent was a tough call back in the fall of 2021, but it turned out to be a wonderful career move. Building this newsletter from scratch has been demanding, but among the most rewarding things I’ve done. Thank you for making Public Notice possible. Onward.

Cheers,

Aaron

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