As you may have noticed, you’ve received fewer editions of Peacefield over the past few months. The good news is that I became a full-time staff writer at The Atlantic last summer, taking the lead on writing the Atlantic Daily, our flagship newsletter. But the Daily takes a lot of attention, and while I’ve still managed to contribute to the magazine in various other ways, I haven’t often gotten back over to Peacefield. And so I’ve decided that, rather than try to do two newsletters, I will close up shop here and ask you to join me at the Daily.
But first, I want to say thanks to everyone who subscribed to Peacefield. My first newsletter to all of you was sent back in November 2021, in a very different phase of the COVID pandemic, before the surprises of the 2022 midterm elections, before Vladimir Putin’s armies invaded Ukraine. Over the next year, we talked about a lot of things together, including why Americans have lost their collective minds and the question of whether Ukraine should have kept nuclear weapons. We explored some dark stuff, like how it would look if democracy ended, and how close we might be to World War III.
But I hope we had some fun, too. I tossed a lot of grenades out there, including why Jeopardy should be canceled, why most Christmas specials suck (I especially like the picture I chose for that one), why James Bond should always be cast as a snooty white guy, and why Superman is better than other superheroes. Some of you had some, ah, contrary reactions to these blazing-hot takes, but mostly, we had a great time with reader mail, and I appreciate how many of you were nice enough to write even when you thought I was being denser than a cinder block.
Sometimes, we even discovered some shared loves. I was really surprised, for example, at how many of you were as nostalgically attached as I am to vintage television. And I felt strongly supported by your many comments affirming my complete loathing of pharmaceutical ads on TV. (I didn’t think anyone liked them, but you never know, and it’s always nice to find you’re not alone.)
I have a few favorites myself among these three dozen pieces. I hope, for example, that people will remember how to fight like adults and to let go of silly nicknames or memes for dangerous political figures. I thought I gave some good advice on how to avoid political spats among family over the holidays. And I was glad to be able to share with you some personal stories, such as the Father’s Day piece on the two men who helped raise me as a kid, and the pain I feel as an Orthodox Christian watching Russia’s war on Ukraine.
But wait! This isn’t goodbye. I’m staying at The Atlantic (well, for as long as they’ll put up with me), and you can still read me in the Daily every week as well as in the magazine. So come on over to the Daily. You can sign up here:
It’s free to your inbox, but Atlantic subscribers can access all the content linked in it. (If you’re not a subscriber … welllllll, it’s time, no? And remember, if you’re a student or an educator, we have a discounted rate.)
In any case, thank you all for joining me in this plunge into the world of newsletters, and I hope that you’ll continue to be part of our Atlantic community.
Tom