The skeptical cardiologist has recently been unfaithful to his longstanding eponymous blog website and has sent out several newsletters utilizing only the Substack platform.
Substack is an email newsletter platform for writers, journalists, and content creators. Its state goal is “to allow writers and creators to run their own personal media empire.”
I’ve been drawn to it for a number of reasons.
First, I’ve noted a lot of the doctors whose opinions I respect have migrated to Substack.
Second, I find the Substack paradigm an easier and more pleasing one to follow as a reader. The entire content of a post appears in an email in my inbox and there is no need to navigate to a website online. The formatting of Substack newsletters is simple but well done.
Third, the creation of a post within Substack is much simpler than within WordPress, thus, less time-intensive.
Many of you who subscribed to my WordPress blog (the skeptical cardiologist) have been migrated over to receiving the Substack newsletters. If I publish new content on both platforms you will get two emails. The Substack email will have the entire content readable in your email inbox, the WordPress email will require you to log into WordPress and read it online.
I know how easily the email inbox can become overloaded. You always have the option of unsubscribing from these emails. Most of the feedback I’ve gotten thus far has been favorable on the Substack experience but I am very interested in which format readers prefer.
Substack-only Newsletters
The Substack exclusive newsletters have been
- The Importance of Sleep. This is an update of a 2019 newsletter and is subtitled “Of sleep divorces, atrial fibrillation, biohacking and sleep tips.”
- Do the Health Benefits of Cycling Outweigh the Risks? This is an upgraded version of a post from 2014. Since the 2014 post I have visited the Netherlands and written about how heart-healthy and happy the Duch are. It is my firm but unsubstantiated belief that bike riding is a strong contributor to those traits. In 2015 I revealed that I don’t wear a bike helmet when cycling in a post entitled “Is Not Wearing a Bike Helmet As Stupid as Smoking Cigarettes?” I felt the medical literature supported my unhelmeted stance even after a colleague had a horrific accident cycling (Hit and Run Drivers and Bike Helmets.) As of 2 weeks ago, however, I joined the ranks of the helmeted. This dramatic change was not related to a recent article in Neurotrauma but to two more cycling accident anecdotes and a recognition that cycling in Encinitas involves many more car/bike interactions than riding the Great Urban Bike Ride in St. Louis.
- Should You be Eating Less Salt? This article reviews the topic of sodium consumption and cardiovascular disease and updates some of my many posts on salt since the original 2014 post.
I believe if you click on this link you will be taken to a spot where you can subscribe to my Substack newsletters if you haven’t already.
My content, whether via Substack or WordPress remains free to all and devoid of advertisements, sneaky backlinks, or industry bias. Both platforms have methods for monetizing sites which don’t involve ads. I’ll be exploring whether a non-mandatory paid Substack subscription option makes sense for the skeptical cardiologist down the line.
Skeptically Yours,
-ACP