Seth Putnam
@sethjputnam.bsky.social
Editor of Shelter, a newsletter about how spaces that feel like "home" can help us live bravely in an unraveling world.📍Chicago. Subscribe! 👉 https://shelterletter.substack.com
Pinned
Are you there, Algorithm? It's me, Seth.
June 19, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Are you there, Algorithm? It's me, Seth.
With all the AI Studio Ghibli chatter, I just keep thinking about how frustrated and hurt Hayao Miyazaki must be — just as an individual creative, given his well-publicized opinion about AI being an insult to humanity. Real they-massacred-my-boy vibes.
April 4, 2025 at 4:26 PM
With all the AI Studio Ghibli chatter, I just keep thinking about how frustrated and hurt Hayao Miyazaki must be — just as an individual creative, given his well-publicized opinion about AI being an insult to humanity. Real they-massacred-my-boy vibes.
Shelter will be written and published from Palm Springs this week. Is there anything I should know before going there? Assume I know less than Jon Snow (nothing).
February 17, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Shelter will be written and published from Palm Springs this week. Is there anything I should know before going there? Assume I know less than Jon Snow (nothing).
This didn’t quite make the cut for this week’s newsletter but is delightful & worth 15 minutes of your time this weekend: The Great Backyard Bird Count, a global group project where you log the birds you see in your yard. It really helps scientists. Learn more here: birdcount.org/participate
How to Participate
Participating is easy, fun to do alone or with others, and can be done anywhere you find birds. Simply watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days and tell us what you see!
birdcount.org
February 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM
This didn’t quite make the cut for this week’s newsletter but is delightful & worth 15 minutes of your time this weekend: The Great Backyard Bird Count, a global group project where you log the birds you see in your yard. It really helps scientists. Learn more here: birdcount.org/participate
The politics behind the mainstream social media platforms are repellent, but I bet it would be a lot harder for users to leave if they hadn’t also enshittified the user experience.
Substack & TikTok are proving the point by being a delight to use (though there’s plenty to debate about them, too.)
Substack & TikTok are proving the point by being a delight to use (though there’s plenty to debate about them, too.)
February 8, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The politics behind the mainstream social media platforms are repellent, but I bet it would be a lot harder for users to leave if they hadn’t also enshittified the user experience.
Substack & TikTok are proving the point by being a delight to use (though there’s plenty to debate about them, too.)
Substack & TikTok are proving the point by being a delight to use (though there’s plenty to debate about them, too.)
It seems like all the Nigerian prince scams of yore really should have prepared us better to spot its cousin: the South African prince scam.
February 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
It seems like all the Nigerian prince scams of yore really should have prepared us better to spot its cousin: the South African prince scam.
Reposted by Seth Putnam
the ppl who were very concerned that Joe Brandon wasn't following Congresss rules and thrilled Chevron deference was ending so unelected agency staff couldn't interpret laws seem to have chilled out for some reason
February 4, 2025 at 12:13 AM
the ppl who were very concerned that Joe Brandon wasn't following Congresss rules and thrilled Chevron deference was ending so unelected agency staff couldn't interpret laws seem to have chilled out for some reason
New issue just dropped on what concrete steps you can take to resist. shelterletter.substack.com
It also points you to @mariapopova.bsky.social (on Camus’ antidotes to absurdity); KC Davis (on messy homes); Anita Shah (on voice notes) & Emily Tobin (on a barn in the Cotswolds).
It also points you to @mariapopova.bsky.social (on Camus’ antidotes to absurdity); KC Davis (on messy homes); Anita Shah (on voice notes) & Emily Tobin (on a barn in the Cotswolds).
shelterletter.substack
January 31, 2025 at 11:02 PM
New issue just dropped on what concrete steps you can take to resist. shelterletter.substack.com
It also points you to @mariapopova.bsky.social (on Camus’ antidotes to absurdity); KC Davis (on messy homes); Anita Shah (on voice notes) & Emily Tobin (on a barn in the Cotswolds).
It also points you to @mariapopova.bsky.social (on Camus’ antidotes to absurdity); KC Davis (on messy homes); Anita Shah (on voice notes) & Emily Tobin (on a barn in the Cotswolds).
Reposted by Seth Putnam
You can rename stuff all you want, but people are still gonna call it what they want. Ask any Chicagoan.
January 29, 2025 at 2:47 PM
You can rename stuff all you want, but people are still gonna call it what they want. Ask any Chicagoan.
In the newsletter: a dispatch from a weary captain (read: dad) dealing with mutinous deckhands (read: children) after four days of stomach flu. shelterletter.substack.com
January 28, 2025 at 9:30 PM
In the newsletter: a dispatch from a weary captain (read: dad) dealing with mutinous deckhands (read: children) after four days of stomach flu. shelterletter.substack.com
Okay pen geeks, maybe an odd query, but what highlighter models do we love?
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
January 27, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Okay pen geeks, maybe an odd query, but what highlighter models do we love?
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
Okay pen geeks, maybe an odd query, but what highlighter models do we love?
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
January 27, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Okay pen geeks, maybe an odd query, but what highlighter models do we love?
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
I am a recovering underliner while reading novels, but lately I’ve had my head turned.
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground.” —Frederick Douglass
(Whom I hear is being recognized more and more.)
(Whom I hear is being recognized more and more.)
January 22, 2025 at 3:14 AM
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground.” —Frederick Douglass
(Whom I hear is being recognized more and more.)
(Whom I hear is being recognized more and more.)
The mask is off and it took less time than a TikTok ban.
Half his simps saying “he was throwing his heart to the crowd.” The other half: “Get used to it. We’re making the Roman salute great again.”
He can’t be the most brilliant entrepreneur in the world AND too dumb/naive to know what this means.
Half his simps saying “he was throwing his heart to the crowd.” The other half: “Get used to it. We’re making the Roman salute great again.”
He can’t be the most brilliant entrepreneur in the world AND too dumb/naive to know what this means.
January 20, 2025 at 10:09 PM
The mask is off and it took less time than a TikTok ban.
Half his simps saying “he was throwing his heart to the crowd.” The other half: “Get used to it. We’re making the Roman salute great again.”
He can’t be the most brilliant entrepreneur in the world AND too dumb/naive to know what this means.
Half his simps saying “he was throwing his heart to the crowd.” The other half: “Get used to it. We’re making the Roman salute great again.”
He can’t be the most brilliant entrepreneur in the world AND too dumb/naive to know what this means.
Reposted by Seth Putnam
as the rollercoaster crests the top of the initial incline, the ratcheting noise slows and stops, and you can, right before the plunge, observe the entire amusement park
January 19, 2025 at 7:54 PM
as the rollercoaster crests the top of the initial incline, the ratcheting noise slows and stops, and you can, right before the plunge, observe the entire amusement park
As far as Sunday Scaries go, I must say this is the scariest one in a minute
January 20, 2025 at 4:46 AM
As far as Sunday Scaries go, I must say this is the scariest one in a minute
Reposted by Seth Putnam
Welcome, teens coming here from tiktok. I think you’ll find that through the magic of the written word I am able to craft sentences that are as vivid and compelling as any short-form video!
January 19, 2025 at 4:47 AM
Welcome, teens coming here from tiktok. I think you’ll find that through the magic of the written word I am able to craft sentences that are as vivid and compelling as any short-form video!
The colors are duller this morning. Breakfast has no taste. Can't smell the coffee. My TikTok has gone...
January 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The colors are duller this morning. Breakfast has no taste. Can't smell the coffee. My TikTok has gone...
Shutting down TikTok early has to be a calculated move, yeah? Accompanied by the direct mention of the hero-president for maximum drama…
January 19, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Shutting down TikTok early has to be a calculated move, yeah? Accompanied by the direct mention of the hero-president for maximum drama…
You will not be able to stay home, brother. You will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out.
January 17, 2025 at 8:07 PM
You will not be able to stay home, brother. You will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out.
Genuinely: Do you find that Meta products are improving your life?
Maybe they once did, but for me, these days it's a hard no.
Maybe they once did, but for me, these days it's a hard no.
January 17, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Genuinely: Do you find that Meta products are improving your life?
Maybe they once did, but for me, these days it's a hard no.
Maybe they once did, but for me, these days it's a hard no.
Reposted by Seth Putnam
