The sale on truth ends today!

(Can truth ever be on sale? That's a question for philosophers. But Unreported Truths subscriptions are, until midnight. Take advantage - and support work you will not see anywhere else!)

Independent journalism is deeply rewarding. I find my own stories, connect directly with readers, write at my own pace and in my own style. I’m my own boss.

But.

But. Nothing is free, especially not independence. Substack is hotly competitive, open to anyone and everyone. And working without a boss means working without a net. Making my own decisions means making my own mistakes.

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Know what’s not a mistake? Signing up for Unreported Truths at 20 percent off!

The sale ends tonight and it won’t be back for a while. Don’t miss it!

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That reality hit me again last night as I saw a federal judge had dismissed Matt Taibbi’s ill-considered defamation lawsuit over a dumb book called Owned that accuses him of being in Elon Musk’s pocket.

Taibbi, who publishes Racket News, is a tough journalist and a witty stylist. In September 2025, he wrote the only serious piece about Berenson v Biden. In February, I cheered his effort to expand by hiring new reporters and an editor.

I understand why Owned frustrated him. I’d be furious if someone claimed I was in Elon’s pocket. But the suit was a mistake. The book clearly did not reach the high standards for defamation that public figures like Taibbi must meet. Taibbi’s expansion effort has also gone south. The editor he hired, Emily Kopp, has left.¹

These are the perils of running your own shop as an independent, eat-what-you-kill writer. Matt will be fine, but the last few weeks can’t have been fun.

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Yet the game is worth the candle.

Especially for me. Some other Substacks, including Matt’s, have larger audiences than Unreported Truths. But I don’t know if anyone else has an audience more willing to let him follow stories wherever they lead.

I’m not always right, but I am committed to giving you the truth as best I can. I have told you again and again that I will not let my perceptions of what you what want me to write bias my work — that I will not fall victim to audience capture. A few of you have walked away. Far more have agreed. Some of you say explicitly you read Unreported Truths not just in spite of but because you know you won’t always agree.

In an era of deeply siloed audiences, that is the greatest gift a writer could have.

Now the ask.

The spring sale has gone great.

It’s a solid deal, too. With the 20 percent discount, you can sign up for an annual subscription for $56 — less than $5 a month, less than the original cost of Unreported Truths in 2021, even though inflation is up 25 percent since then.

I hope you join me in this work. You’ll get full archive access, the chance to comment, and no paywalls ever. But most of all you will support skeptical, independent journalism, wherever it takes me.

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But the sale ends at midnight.

Sign up now!

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(It’s now or never. Well, a few months, anyway.)

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Three last business tidbits.

If you would rather make a one-time donation rather than subscribing, please do! You can do so here. (You won’t get the full benefits of subscribing, though.)

If you are a monthly subscriber and want to switch to an annual plan at the discount, let me know. I’ll figure that out.

Finally, if you went long oil back in January and want to splurge, consider a founding membership. Last summer founding members got “UTFM” T-shirts. This summer a new, even cooler bit of a swag is on the way. It’s a surprise, but trust me, you’ll like it.

One final chance to subscribe — for 20 percent off!

1. There’s a backstory to Emily’s departure, but I’m not going to waste your time going down that rabbit hole. I do hope Emily, who did great work investigating the Covid lab leak story, may write sometimes for Unreported Truths in the future — but that’s unrelated to any of this.