Substacks recommended by Ty Burr's Watch List

Recommended by Ty Burr's Watch List

That Piece of Time

By Laura Spence-Ash

the craft of fiction; how fiction works; and what I'm reading

What Makes Great Writing?

By Todd Brison

Read the best writing on the planet. Learn why it works.

Crewdson Trail Log

By Gregory Crewdson

Production notes, picture details, and daily inspirations

The nuts and bolts (and thoughts and musings) behind an artist's beautiful tableau photography.

- Ty Burr's Watch List

Self-Styled Siren

The musings of an old-movie lover

Farran's one of the best writers and wittiest minds out there on the endlessly rich subject of classic movies.

- Ty Burr's Watch List

Black Umbrella by Josh Nathan-Kazis

Fragments from a genizah found behind the griddle of a shuttered diner on West 66th.

The Reframe

By A.R. Moxon

Weekly Essays on Politics and Fiction from author A.R. Moxon

Hung Up

By hunter harris

A twice-weekly newsletter about movies, tv, and personal pop culture obsessions. Hung Up is essays, interviews, recommendations, reviews, gossip, line readings, love notes, cool stuff to share with your friends.

Hunter Harris skates along the surface of popular culture with a delightfully lethal sting, dishing on its absurdities from what feels like a front row seat. Smart and plugged-in, Hung Up hearkens back to the glory days of Gawker in the 2000s, Entertainment Weekly in the 1990s, and Spy magazine in the 1980s. A fun read!

- Ty Burr's Watch List

Sisters Under the Mink

By Christina Newland

writing about women & crime in cinema, from serial killers to mob wives and beyond

Deep Voices

By Matthew Schnipper

Spotify and Apple Music playlists + writing about music

Things We Lost in the Fire

By Sam Adams

Sam Adams on movies, TV, and culture that slips through the cracks.

My critical brother from another mother weighs in with wit and passion on movies and other things you should know about.

- Ty Burr's Watch List

Letters from an American

By Heather Cox Richardson

A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.

The Will Leitch Newsletter

By Will Leitch

Will Leitch's weekly free newsletter with an original essay, and links to everything he writes.

Life viewed through sports the same way I see everything through the lens of film. Good stuff.

- Ty Burr's Watch List

Culture Study

By Anne Helen Petersen

Think more about the culture that surrounds you

Black Film Archive by Maya S. Cade

By Maya Cade

Black Film Archive is a living register of Black films. In its current iteration, it showcases every* Black made film from 1915 to 1979 currently streaming. This newsletter serves as its blog.