onward
why i am introducing a paid subscription
Since launching this weekly newsletter, it has grown faster than I could have imagined. I am truly honored by the many many individuals who’ve joined in this work of recognizing our shared, common life together and advancing the good and flourishing of all people.
However, as this newsletter has grown, so has the amount of time needed to create the content that fills this site.
The easy option would be to fill this space with previously published work, share broad and abstract ideas, or simply cut down on the number of posts released each week. I don’t want to do any of these things.
Instead, I have decided to utilize the paid subscription model that Substack has highlighted as a flagship feature of this platform.
If you ask any writer, they are lying (or simply foolish) if they tell you they’re in it for the money. There are much more lucrative careers. However, writing is a craft. It is a skill that is developed over years and takes time and dedication. As someone who writes from my faith and personal experience, there is also a degree of risk involved in this career. With opportunities to give of myself and my story for the encouragement of the community come great rewards (like stories of meaningful change); but these opportunities also open space for critics and trolls to aimlessly punch and stab. I have no shortage of these people interacting with my work.
To find some semblance of equilibrium between desiring that this platform remain as accessible as possible while also balancing a full-time job, consulting firm, freelance writing, social life, and marriage, I have opened monthly subscriptions at $5 (the lowest that Substack will let me set it to). Yearly subscriptions also are open at $50. (If my math is correct (which is rare), that is a savings of $10).
For those so inclined to support this space and my work beyond these amounts, I have also opened a “Founding Member” plan that provides you a full-year subscription for a cost of your choosing (above the $50/yr subscription).
So, you’re probably wondering what you get for giving your hard-earned money to this platform.
First, you’ll receive access to exclusive interviews between me and some of the leading voices in the church, academy, and society today. This includes field builders like Eboo Patel, social commentators like Wajahat Ali, religious leaders like Fr. Aaron Damiani, and scholars like Erin Raffety and Daniel D. Lee.
Second, you will receive additional original writing from me (how exciting…). As I embark on several new projects in 2023, you’ll receive both casual musings and thought-out reflections around disability, Asian America, Christian theology, interfaith dialogue, activism and empathy, and, of course, this common life we share.
But Amar, what if I don’t want to pay!?
Hey, that’s fine too. A weekly blog post and periodical podcast episode will still be available to you, just as it has since the beginning of this project.
To be clear, if you do not choose to a paid subscription, you won’t receive anything less than what you’re receiving now. However, if you want more content like what I mentioned above, it’ll cost a few dollars.
That said, If you are strapped for cash but really would love access to the paid content, please reach out (aa[dot]amardpeterman[at]gmail[dot]com) and I will be more than glad to gift you a subscription.
Reading:
David A. Hollinger, Christianity's American Fate: How Religion Became More Conservative and Society More Secular (Princeton University Press, 2022)
“This Is Not the Most Important Election of Our Lives,” Daniel Silliman & Michael Wear (Christianity Today)
“Ken Burns Tells America’s History Through Six Photographs,” Ken Burns (The Atlantic)
Watching:
The Old Man (Hulu)
Blockbuster (Netflix)
Inside Man (Netflix)
Listening: