Dear reader,
Welcome to The Browser! I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself — I’m Caroline, and along with my co-editor Robert I curate the articles in our daily email newsletter.
In this age of big tech and big business, The Browser is an entirely artisan production. Every single article you’ll see in our newsletter was hand-picked by me or Robert. We spend long hours each day doing nothing but reading (or rather, browsing), looking at as many as a thousand pieces each day on the way to finding a truly outstanding five.
Our motto is writing of lasting value — in a world awash with “breaking news” that will line tomorrow’s wastepaper baskets, we only recommend pieces that will be just as interesting ten years from now as they are today. (You can test us on it — paid subscribers get access to our entire archive, with a decade of selections that will still surprise and delight you).
Our topics range widely, from art to politics to history to science. Our free newsletter includes two selections, and our paid subscribers receive five. This week, our free subscribers read about the philosophy of holes, adulterous writers, and a literary guide to death. Our paid subscribers also received selections on diplomats' memoirs, insider trading, a Uyghur poet fleeing China, and the subtleties of sandwiches.
On Sundays we release a special “magazine” edition, with a quiz, a poem, a video, a crossword, and more. Our crosswords are edited by Dan Feyer, nine-time champion of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.
You might be curious to know a little more about us, too: I live in the north of England with my husband Guy and our beloved clumber spaniel, Morris. When I’m not editing The Browser, I’m also the creator and host of the golden age detective podcast Shedunnit.
Meanwhile, Robert launched The Browser in 2008 after a storied career as a foreign correspondent for the Economist and the Financial Times in Moscow, Brussels, Tokyo and Hong Kong. He lives in Latvia, where he also owns Robert’s Books, surely the finest English-language bookshop in the Baltics.
Our tiny team is rounded out by our publishers Uri and Sylvia, who will personally answer any emails you might send our way.
The Browser is our labour of love; our only goal is to share excellent writing with the world. You’re more than welcome to stick with our free newsletter, where you’ll receive two outstanding recommendations each day. But we do rely on paid subscribers to keep The Browser going, so we’d be delighted if you’d consider joining us for less than $1 per week to get five recommendations each day (plus a podcast and a video, too).
If you have any questions at all please do get in touch — just reply to this email. We look forward to sending you an endless stream of fascinating reading in the months and years ahead.
Best,
— Caroline Crampton
