You can't get away from me that easily

Twitter won't kill the ties that bind us

Amidst all the changes the story remains

A little over a year and a half ago I launched a newsletter on Revue planning to write the stories that have shaped my life. I had been tinkering with the idea of a memoir about my unique journey and it felt like a good place to put down my thoughts with its ties to Twitter where much of my following lives.

Then along came Elon. He killed Revue with but a few weeks notice. I didn’t even get notice it was going away before it was all deleted. I think he is doing his very best to kill Twitter as well.

Along the way I was recruited by Callin to launch a podcast on their mobile based platform. I had avoided it because it just felt so…on brand…to be a middle aged, white guy with a podcast. So, I launched ‘On Democracy with FPWellman’ and they promptly decided they really only wanted people like Glenn Greenwald and Michael Tracy on the really glitchy and painful app. Thanks David Sacks.

So, I moved to a local studio in St. Louis and do the show weekly on YouTube and post it all of the usual podcast platforms. We have grown a terrific audience discussing the issues around our democracy and today’s challenges.

Why this, why now?

Well, aside from Twitter all but imploding, I also find myself at a professional crossroads. I have been going continuously since joining the Lincoln Project almost three years ago. Today I’m finally able to focus on my personal work and the projects and issues I am passionate about for myself.

So, with everything happening in the world and the process of actually writing the memoir underway I thought it was time to bring together these various strings into one place. I’d publish the Revue stories of war, life, and hope along with the day-to-day work of fighting for this nation while sprinkling in some fun.

This will be a place to share the lessons I’ve learned from a complicated journey as well as an expansion of the topics and issues we discuss on the podcast and in my work. For extra we will spend time with cool people I’ve gotten to know over the years too. Think of this as the place we can hang out, share stories, and find ways to make a difference.

The community we will build

One of my favorite things I had the pleasure of doing as the Senior Advisor for Veterans Affairs with the Lincoln Project was regularly interacting with the large community we built. From hosting regular Facebook Lives in our state groups, to massive town halls with guests, to a series of Ask Me Anything sessions I ran on Twitter as we approached election day.

As ‘On Democracy’ has grown I wanted to add those elements into the discussion with my followers and friends. Substack is just the place for it, so here we are. I may never get a 10/10 from Room Rater again but it was fun interacting with the community. That’s a perfect score in my book.

What to expect

My plan is to post once to twice a week on topics of the day from politics to issues we face as a country. Once a week I will post a ‘Sunday Read’ that may be an updated story from my former Revue newsletter, a story from my professional and personal journey, or perhaps an excerpt from my upcoming book. In addition, each podcast episode will be published through Substack as well with notes and commentary on the show that only subscribers will get.

For the paid subscribers I will be adding Ask Me Anything sessions about the topics of the podcasts or issues of the day and extra audio commentaries on a regular basis. Once a month I plan to host a Zoom with paid subscribers with me and occasional guests to directly chat with you in a more private setting than the podcast allows. Those will be people who might not appear on the podcast like actors, comedians, or political figures who are working on issues you care about..or will just be good for a laugh. I have been blessed with a fascinating circle of friends in this amazing life. You should meet them too!

My hope is to have an actual community where you can chat with fellow subscribers in a respectful way, interact with me, my friends and colleagues while learning and hopefully having a bit of fun as well. We can’t just be angry all the time. We are in for the long haul here.

Free for a month

I would absolutely love you to be a paid subscriber and take advantage of the community access. I also…you know…really love getting paid. For this first month I will publish it all for free so you can see what you are going to get…but hey…if you want to upgrade now I won’t fight you.

Founding Members will get some extra special events and, eventually, who knows maybe you will get a free signed copy of my book when it publishes.

In the meantime I hope you’ll subscribe and be part of this community as it grows together.

See you on the high ground! Scouts out!

Fred Wellman

Yes….another button.

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