Hello, there! My name is Parker and this is my newsletter, The Present Age. As we hurtle towards the end of 2021, I wanted to take a moment to ask you to please type your email address in the little box below and sign up. It’s free! (There are paid levels, too, but the basic newsletter is free!)

The Present Age is a newsletter by me, Parker Molloy, about communication in a hyperconnected world. It’s named after an 1846 pamphlet by philosopher Søren Kierkegaard titled The Present Age: On the Death of Rebellion. Notwithstanding the 175 years that have passed since its release, Kierkegaard’s The Present Age is a remarkably prescient piece of writing about “the age of advertisement and publicity,” where “nothing ever happens but there is immediate publicity everywhere.” (I don’t think he would have liked Twitter very much.)

As for this newsletter, I’m starting it as an opportunity to explore topics related to communication, media, culture, and history that stretch beyond the world of political media, which had long been my focus. The era of COVID-19 has forced people to reassess how they interact with the world. Charismatic office workers and masters of in-person communication had to adjust to a world of Zoom chats and emails, touring musicians had to find new ways to connect with fans, and, well, you get the idea.

Anyway, if you follow me on Twitter or have read my writing anywhere else, I think you might like The Present Age. So give it a shot. If you don’t like it, feel free to unsubscribe (but I hope you do like it, obviously)