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Admin is crashing out

2 weeks ago | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In this week’s newsletter, two items:On the extended Elon Musk crash-out and the utility of seeing U.S. politics through the prism of forum drama; andan examination of ChatGPT-authored book reviews, and whether they would actually be published in magazines.
S.E.Z. Noir

3 weeks ago | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In today’s newsletter, a new coinage-slash-microgenre: arty thrillers about globalization, which I’m going to call “S.E.Z. Noir”A reminder that this newsletter publishes at the pleasure of its paying subscribers, whose generous contributions allow me to treat it as a full-time job--reading, reporting, thinking, writing, and doing all the other things that mean you get at least one single relatively pleasurable email in your inbox every week.
Regarding "white genocide,"

1 month ago | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In this week’s edition, “White Genocide Grok.” I had the pleasure of appearing this week on the Double Pivot podcast, where some of the same ideas I’m writing below were discussed--how fortunate that Elon Musk spun out at the same time as we were talking. (We also talked about Tottenham Hotspur.) The podcast is paywalled for now, though if you’re a soccer fan it’s absolutely worth the subscription.
Cucks vs. breeders

2 months ago | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In this week’s dispatch:A further dissection of the differences between the first and second Trump administrations, focused in this case on the sexual fantasies that structure the politics of each; andan examination of Chinese manufacturer TikTok and its response to the Trump tariffs.
What is it like to be a low I.Q.?

Mar 21, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In this week’s newsletter, a rundown of a particular flavor of I.Q. discourse on Twitter. A reminder: This newsletter, which comes out at least twice a week and almost always has at least one (1) good joke, is written an edited by one guy (me).
Is OpenAI's new story-generating model good at writing?

Mar 14, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! An A.I.-heavy newsletter this week, discussing the new short story generated by a secret OpenAI model (“it got the vibe of metafiction so right,” says Sam Altman) and the continuing use of “A.G.I.” by tech journalists. First, a reminder: This newsletter is the product of a lot of reading, thinking, listening, interviewing, staring at the ceiling, writing, deleting, writing again, etc.
The A.I. backlash backlash

Mar 7, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! In this week’s newsletter, a consideration of the current state of A.I. discourse. Some housekeeping: This week I appeared on Vox’s “Today, Explained” podcast with Noel King to talk about the Zizians. Also, Jamelle Bouie recently posted video of my appearance talking about Air Force One on the “Unclear and Present Danger” podcast with him and John Ganz.
A tribute to Gene Hackman in 'Enemy of the State'

Feb 28, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! A quick extra newsletter this week occasioned by the death of one of my favorite actors, Gene Hackman.
Read Max

Feb 12, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Explaining the weird new future, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe for a twice weekly delivery of internet culture, mega-platform grotesquerie, crypto conspiracies, deep forum lore, fringe politics, and other artifacts of what's to come.
Soy Right ascendant

Feb 12, 2025 | maxread.substack.com | Max Read

Greetings from Read Max HQ! Today’s newsletter is an attempt to define and analyze the dominant strain of online activity for second-term Trumpists: The Soy Right. A reminder, as always, that every Read Max newsletter is the fruit of a full-time job’s worth of hours reading, analyzing, discussing, thinking, staring into space, pacing nervously, etc.