Hi there,
This is a taste. The shape of a real letter and the kind of sources it pulls from. Your real letters are fresh on every send and built around the five topics you pick, so they'll read like they were written for you, because they were. Here are five I'd hand someone curious about what lands in their inbox.
AI: news, releases & tools for work
The frontier moves weekly. What's hard is knowing which moves actually change how you work. Three sources that translate the noise into something usable.
Go straight to the source on model releases
When a new model ships, the lab's own announcement tells you what genuinely changed before the hot takes pile on. Anthropic's news page is a clean primary source for capability and safety updates. Worth a glance whenever you hear a model name you don't recognize.
An AI code editor people actually keep using
Cursor is the tool that turned 'AI writes code' from a demo into a daily habit for a lot of builders. Even if you don't write software, it's the clearest example of what AI-in-the-loop work feels like when it's done well.
The most reliable plain-language translator of AI research
Simon Willison writes up what's new in language models in a way a smart non-specialist can follow. No hype, lots of hands-on detail. If you read one AI writer, this is a defensible pick.
Personal finance, investing & side income
The good stuff in money writing isn't tips. It's the handful of ideas that change how you behave. These three earn their slot for that reason.
Data-driven writing that fixes how you think about saving
Nick Maggiulli's Of Dollars And Data is unusually good at replacing money-anxiety with evidence. Real numbers on why time-in-market beats timing and how wealth actually compounds. Quietly one of the best financial blogs going.
Money conversations that are really about behavior
Ramit Sethi's work lands because it treats money as a psychology problem more than a math one. Spend extravagantly on what you love, cut costs mercilessly on what you don't. Useful at any income level.
Short essays on money, risk, and human behavior
The Collaborative Fund blog, Morgan Housel's old home, is a deep archive of short pieces on why people make the financial decisions they do. Evergreen, re-readable, and rarely about a specific stock.
Not financial advice. Do your own research before acting on anything here.
Longevity & wellness
Health content is a minefield of supplements and certainty. The antidote is sources that show their work and admit what isn't known yet.
The deepest mainstream show on living longer and better
Peter Attia goes long and technical on sleep, exercise, metabolic health, and the actual evidence behind longevity claims. It's the show to reach for when you want depth instead of a 60-second 'do this' clip.
Protocols you can actually act on, with the why attached
Huberman Lab translates neuroscience into concrete routines: light in the morning, when to caffeinate, how to wind down. Pair it with a skeptic's eye and it's a strong practical input.
Before you buy a supplement, check this
Examine is an independent, citation-heavy database on what supplements and interventions actually do (and mostly don't). The fastest way to save money and skip the hype.
Not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything here.
Founder & operator wisdom
For anyone building something: a company, a side project, a career. Tactics that travel, from people doing the work.
Business ideas and operator stories, weekly
My First Million is a loose, idea-dense conversation about businesses people are quietly making real money on. Good for the 'wait, that's a business?' spark and the occasional genuinely useful playbook.
The clearest strategic thinker on tech and business
Ben Thompson's Stratechery is the reference for understanding why tech companies do what they do, especially who actually holds the power and why. Dense, but it changes how you see the whole board.
Product and growth, from someone who ran it
Lenny Rachitsky's newsletter is the operator's handbook for product, growth, and go-to-market. Concrete frameworks, pressure-tested by people who actually ran the playbooks.
Books worth your time
Not a bestseller list. A couple of curators worth trusting, so the next thing you read is worth the hours.
An economist's relentless reading list
Tyler Cowen reads more than anyone and shares what's worth it on Marginal Revolution. His book recommendations skew curious and wide-ranging, plenty of history and fiction, plus whatever obscure thing he's currently into.
Beautiful writing on books and big ideas
Maria Popova's The Marginalian is a long-running archive of thoughtful essays on books, art, and how to live. The kind of reading that makes you want to read more.
A shortcut to other people's best books
Derek Sivers keeps public notes on every book he reads, with a one-line 'is it worth your time' verdict up top. A great way to triage before you commit.
That's the drop. See you next time.
alpha.