Today’s Edition: Announcing audio companion to newsletter.

December 11, 2021

Dear readers,

          I am pleased to announce that I will be publishing an audio version of the newsletter and producing a weekly podcast that will feature readers who are engaged in organizations defending democracy. Both of these new features were developed in response to reader requests. Both features are free—but are made possible by those of you who are paying subscribers to the newsletter. Your voluntary subscriptions are helping to support the work of this newsletter and to expand its reach. Thank you! 

           If you would like to become a paying subscriber, click the “Become a Subscriber” button at the bottom of this newsletter. (If you are annual subscriber already, you will receive a reminder before your first renewal; most annual subscribers signed up in April when I moved to Substack.)

           I will provide links in the newsletter to the audio version of the newsletter and to the podcasts so you can listen without doing anything other than opening the newsletter. (My first audio recording of a newsletter is here!) The weekly podcast will be broadcast live and will feature interviews and discussions with readers. Those live podcasts will be recorded, and the link will be posted in the newsletter. So, you don't have to listen live but can listen to the podcast at your convenience.

           The remainder of this newsletter provides an explanation of why I have added these features and how you can download the Callin app. The Concluding Thoughts section includes reflections on how the newsletter started and why it will continue as long as readers find it helpful.

 Why am I doing this?

           Readers have frequently asked if I could produce an “audio” version of the newsletter or host a podcast. To my surprise, many readers tell me that they read the newsletter aloud to their partners over the breakfast table. Other readers are visually impaired and have asked for a version of the newsletter read by me. Others have asked to participate in the Zoom meetings that my Managing Editor and spouse (Jill) and I hold with Founding Members of the newsletter on a monthly basis.

          Jill and I tried to produce our own podcast a year ago, but the equipment, editing, logistics, and time commitment exceeded our bandwidth. Earlier this month, the developers of a new podcasting platform (“‎Callin”) asked me to launch a weekly podcast. The Callin app eliminates all of the burden of producing a podcast and allows me to create a podcast “on-the-fly.” I can also use the Callin app to record an audio version of the newsletter in a few minutes and send it with the print version of the newsletter. My plan is to record one or two audio versions of the newsletter each week to gauge reader reaction. If readers find it helpful, I will continue and increase the frequency. If not, I will stick to the weekly podcasts.

           I will launch the weekly podcast the third week of December and will provide advance notice of the dates and times for each podcast. As noted above, my plan is to use the podcast to interview readers who are involved in organizations dedicated to the defense of democracy. (I am looking at you PostCardsToVoters, Sister District, Field Team Six, Indivisible, . . . !) If you would like to be a guest on a podcast, send me an email with the subject line “Podcast Guest.” Please also feel free to recommend others as podcast guests. 

 How to download the Callin app.

           The “Callin” app is currently available only on devices using Apple iOS software. (Android version coming soon.) Download the app at the Apple Store on your iPhone / iPad.

• To participate in the live podcasts, you will need to create a profile in the Callin app.

• To participate as a speaker in a live podcast, you will need to grant the app access to your microphone.

• After you have installed the app and created a profile, please follow me in the app-- @roberthubbell and subscribe to the podcast titled Today’s Edition with Robert Hubbell. That will allow you to receive notifications of upcoming live podcasts.

Android and computer users will always be able to listen to the recorded material by clicking on links I will embed in the newsletter. An Android version of the app is coming soon to allow Android users to call into the live podcasts.

Concluding Thoughts.

          As most of you know, this newsletter started as a nightly email to my wife and three daughters, who were devastated after Trump’s accidental victory in 2016. It was shared among friends and has grown organically over the last five years. In the last few weeks, daily “opens” of the newsletter have exceeded 50,000 on several occasions. That is humbling and not something that I expected or sought to achieve. But having arrived at this point, I hear from dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of readers each day who are struggling to maintain hope and perspective during times that seem upside down. They tell me that the newsletter helps them maintain faith and remain calm. As I said, it is humbling and unexpected, but I am glad that the newsletter serves a useful purpose.

           As long as the newsletter makes a positive contribution in the lives of readers, I will continue to publish. Indeed, I feel a moral obligation to do so. I do not use the word “obligation” in any negative sense. The ability to get to know thousands of you and stand by your side in this struggle has been one of the blessings in my life. I am deeply grateful to all of you, and I look forward to working with you as we redeem democracy for our generation so that we can pass it to the next.

           A regular edition of the newsletter will be published Sunday evening.

          With warm regards to each of you,

           Robert Hubbell