Help me grow my Substack (yes, you!)

It took a couple tries to get the wording of the title right—the first few would have made you think I had been hacked or taken a career pivot to sending DNC fundraising emails. But the point stands: I need your help.

Since I started this Substack a few months ago, it’s been so rewarding to see readers appreciate what I wanted this to achieve: providing a place for people to learn about the majority of the world that we tend to overlook, and how they connect to our lives—without making you feel like you’re reading a textbook. There aren’t nearly enough places where that happens. And especially when the basic ideas underlying this project are under attack—that our fates are bound together with our global neighbors, and that everyone deserves a decent life regardless of where they happened to be born—it’s vital for spaces like this to exist.

I think there are more people out there who would value reading this, but they aren’t going to find it on their own. Especially because social media algorithms are increasingly burying posts that contain links, it’s hard to get the word out to new people.

So here’s how you can help:

1. Subscribe to this Substack if you haven’t. Getting my posts sent directly to your email is the easiest and best way to see what I’m publishing. The subscribe button is literally right there, and it’s entirely free.

2. If you’re already subscribed (or if you’re new and motivated to help!), ask five people to subscribe. Word of mouth is the single best way to get this Substack to people who would be interested.

If you’re on the fence about subscribing, or if you’re trying to brainstorm who to ask to subscribe, here are seven reasons I think this Substack might appeal to readers. Oh, and I am also offering some special perks to anyone who asks five people to subscribe (honor system!), so see the bottom of this post if you need some extra motivation.

Why you should subscribe

1. The Global South matters

Only about one-in-eight people live in the Global North. A large majority of people live in countries like India, Nigeria, or Guatemala, but for most people in countries like the US, it’s easy to go an entire day without ever thinking about them. We spend nearly our entire lives fixated on a small slice of the human experience.

And not only does the Global South get little attention relative to its intrinsic human value, it plays a much more important role in shaping our lives than we tend to realize: in producing many of the products we use, in determining the course of the climate crisis, as an increasingly meaningful player in international relations, and more. Most (but certainly not all) people in the Global South are very poor by the standards of the Global North, but six billion people add up.

Hopefully you’re convinced that this hidden majority matters, but it still takes work to give them the mental space they deserve. And it can be hard to understand places you’ve never been to and the often-invisible ways they are connected to our lives. This Substack is here to help.

2. I have a unique perspective to offer

I have done my best to understand both the places where high-level decisions are made and the people they affect. I graduated from Yale Law School and work in global development policy, but I also lived in rural Benin for two years, return regularly, and wake up each morning to WhatsApps from Benin. I’ve also written for publications including Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Just Security and I’ve been cited in The New York Times, The Guardian, The BBC, and more.

3. This Substack is free and not annoying

Well I guess it’s up to you to decide on the second part, but I will not be flooding your inbox (I’ve been publishing a post every two weeks or so) and I try hard to pick topics that will be of interest.

4. Subscribing gives you the kind of content that’s hard to find on the internet

As algorithms suppress links, video content replaces text-based content, and AI slop and misinformation proliferate, the internet is getting faster and less substantive. This isn’t healthy, and I hope Together but Apart can offer an alternative. The most important stories out there take more time to understand than the three seconds it takes to look at a post before scrolling. But right now, even if you’re looking for that deeper content, you often won’t find it because social media sites bury it to make room for clickbait. Subscribing will make sure you get it directly to your inbox.

5. You don’t need to be a nerd to read this

It can be hard to learn about our relationship with the Global South. It generally doesn’t come up, and then the only materials out there are aimed at a small set of people who are already interested in and knowledgeable about the subject. I write for fellow nerds in my day job, but that’s not what I’m doing here: if you read the title of one of my posts and don’t know anything about the subject, great! Here’s your way in.

If you are already a nerd on this stuff, my pitch to you: I think my posts can be a starting point for deeper research (there’s a lot of info in the hyperlinks), and no one is an expert on everything, so sometimes it will be helpful to read a post aimed at people without much background knowledge. I also try to fill a gap that afflicts many policy wonks: rather than just analyzing what is happening or what should be done, this Substack is also a platform for thinking about how to make the changes we would like to see—what coalitions, narratives, and strategies can win this change. But perhaps most relevantly, I am sure that you have parents, partners, or friends who don’t really get what you do and aren’t going to read your policy papers. I think this Substack can give them an accessible way in.

6. I connect policy with people

Policy really matters. But it matters because it has such big effects on people’s lives. When I write about issues of economics, immigration, climate change, or international relations, I’m going to make clear why it matters for people—both people in the Global South and you. Take my last two posts: an explanation of why aging populations in the Global North mean we need more immigration from the Global South, and an interview with one such immigrant.

7. Freddy’s take

If none of the other stuff makes you want to subscribe, every post you get will include Freddy’s considered opinion in the form of a photo!

The super amazing things you can get if you ask five people to subscribe

Ok now that I’ve gotten you to read this far—let’s be real, I don’t have anything that useful to offer. And because this is already free, it’s not like I could lower the price for you.

BUT, I do deeply appreciate your efforts, so in case you would actually want any of this, for each five people you ask to subscribe you can get one of:

• A bespoke Freddy photo

• A phone call or Zoom chat with you or a friend on careers in international affairs, global development, climate policy and/or law school and public interest law

• An intro to public writing and media work (pitching op-eds, press releases, etc)

• Editing something you’re writing

• Book recs

• A protest buddy or someone to show up to an organizing meeting

• Travel tips for countries you might not have thought to go to before, especially in West Africa

• If you’re in the DC area, a personal delivery of one of the somewhat random assortment of foods I can make well

Also, I’d love to get your feedback on the Substack: what has worked and what hasn’t, what you have agreed with or disagreed with or wanted to hear more about, and what would you like to see me cover in future editions. Above all, thanks so much for reading.