Just Answering Questions: The Fall

Got a question? Submit it to the Q & A here!

Update at 7:30 CST: There are now over 50 questions, so I’ve got to shut comments down to keep the Q & A at a reasonable length. Themes addressed by multiple people will get top priority. I hope to have the new article up by the end of the week. Thank you very much everyone!

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Hello subscribers (and future subscribers!) It’s time for a Q & A. For those new to this feature, here’s how it works:

1) To ask a question, join as a paying subscriber, and post your question in the comments section below:

2) I will answer as many questions as I can in a separate article. Sometimes I bundle questions to address common themes. Please keep questions brief and ask only one!

3) The article with my answers will be open to all. In other words, you need to be a paying subscriber to submit a question, but not to read the Q & A.

I call this feature “Just Answering Questions” because there are topics that, if I were to broach them out of the blue, would be like throwing a bomb into your inbox. If you’ve read my books, you know they cover disturbing ground. Here, you choose the topic — and I’m just answering questions!

If you are already a paying subscriber, you are all set — you can submit a question in the comments section below!

If you’re not a paying subscriber, this is a great reason to become one. This newsletter is my livelihood and your support keeps it going. I have kept my newsletter free and it will stay free: I don’t believe in paywalls in times of peril. Voluntary paying subscribers ensure all articles stay open, including the archives. I am extremely grateful to paying subscribers and I offer this Q & A as a thank you!

Writing this newsletter has kept me going emotionally, creatively, and financially during very difficult times. Because of you, I have been able to support my family of four and write on my own terms. I’ve bucked every trend: No AI, no pivot to video, no political party ties, no ads, no paywalls. I publish original research, writing, and photography. I’ve been traveling these highways and doing things my way, and while I may be lonesome and maybe on’ry, I refuse to get mean.

I’m grateful for this newsletter’s community of thoughtful commenters. This is a human and humane space. I wish more corners of the internet were like that.

For those who missed it, here are past Q & As. You may find the answer to your question there already. If not, they serve as an interesting chronology of our times:

Mafia State Survival – August 29, 2025
Fake Feuds, Real Crises – June 13, 2025
White House vs Road House – May 12, 2025
We’re Already in the Aftermath – February 26, 2025
Trump Term Two – January 17, 2025
Just Answering (Many) Questions! – November 18, 2024
Just Answering Questions: The Flamethrower! – October 30, 2024
Just Answering Questions: The Answers! – September 30, 2024

Reader Q & As tend to be popular. I often have to shut down submissions within a day. That may happen again, so get your questions in while you can!

Again, thank you for your support. If you’ve ever wavered on whether to become a paying subscriber, this is a great month to do it. As they said on Millennium, “The time is now” — and you know a cult favorite doomsday series from the makers of the X-Files can’t be wrong. I’ll be back with answers within a few days — stay tuned!

Sunset on the Ozarks backroads, photographed fall 2024.