Substack's Founder on News, Money, and Musk

Journalists have flocked to Substack. Abandoning legacy titles to pursue self-puslishing freedom at the occasionally controversial app. Substack has incubated Bari Weiss's Free Press and Andrew Sullivan’s The Weekly Dish. Here in Canada, a lot of names that Canadaland listeners may be familiar with are thriving on Substack: Terry Glavin, Sam Cooper, Justin Ling, Jen Gerson and Paul Wells to name a few..Valued at 650 million dollars and lauded as a threat to Twitter.  It is a rare sign of hope and innovation and a working revenue model in a very desolate media landscape. And all of that has come with the usual share of controversies.Top of that list was their “Nazi problem.” They garnered headlines and debates about freedom of expression when it was revealed that there were, yes, Nazi Substacks charging money. And the parent company, apparently taking their cut of those profits. Today Substack founder Chris Best joins Jesse Brown to debate Substack’s controversies and discuss its possibilities with leading Canadian Substackers, Jen Gerson of The Line and Paul Wells. Host: Jesse BrownCredits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Production Manager), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)Featured guests: Chris Best, Jen Gerson, Paul WellsFurther reading:The Line — SubstackPaul Wells — SubstackSponsors:AG1:  Every week of November, AG1 will be running a special Black Friday offer for a free gift with your first subscription, in addition to the Welcome Kit with Vitamin D3+K2. Head to https://drinkag1.com/canadaland to start your holiday season off on a healthier note, while supplies last.Oxio: Canadaland listeners get their first month of internet free at https://canadaland.oxio.ca, use the promo code “Canadaland”CAMH: CAMH is building better mental health care for everyone to ensure no one is left behind. Visit https://camh.ca/canadaland to make a donation.Be part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis. Go to canadaland.com/join to become a yearly Canadaland Supporter today and get 3 months of perks and benefits for free.  You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.