11 Comments
User's avatar
Wendy's avatar

Since everyone's writing personal notes to Dave, I'm going to put in my plea for you to share the story of Diane Crespo Gonzalez, my seven year old student who, along with her parents, was kidnapped by ICE in January despite their legal status. Or perhaps just the general atrocity that children are being interned in a facility with insufficient food and a measles outbreak.

Joel MacDonald's avatar

Dear Dave Pell and NextDraft community,

I've loved NextDraft for years as a quick, witty hit of fascinating news from around the world. But lately, it's become "NextDraft: U.S. Edition," and that's why I'm unsubscribing today.​

As a Canadian in Prince Edward Island (one of 8 billion non-Americans on this planet), I crave that original mix—global stories on tech, culture, sports, and oddities, not endless U.S. politics, elections, and drama. The latest issue? Shrinking U.S. population, debased dollars, Trump deals, FBI raids—all U.S.-centric, with just a Gaza nod amid the noise. Sure, America's big news, but so are Alcaraz's tennis slam in Spain, clown schools in France, or Iran's protests (with Canadian rallies).

Dave, you've built a massive audience (140k+ subscribers) by curating the world's best. Don't shrink it to one country's echo chamber—lean into why we all subscribed: the entire planet's "Pop Drop." More international flair would bring fans back, including this soccer coach/permaculturist from Prince Edward Island.

Thanks for the memories. Hope to resubscribe to a truly global NextDraft someday.

Best,

Joel

Gaspereaux, PEI, Canada

Dave Pell's avatar

It’s really never been global, but thanks for the public unsubscribing. I think.

Joel MacDonald's avatar

"For readers here: Scroll NextDraft archives pre-COVID (~2019 at nextdraft.com/archives). Real global quirks and tech that I subscribed for. Post-COVID? Dave's arrogant snark turned it into a U.S.-only echo chamber. That conceited style lost global fans like me and will most likely lose more. Proof is in the posts.

Dave Pell's avatar

I resent the implicaton that my arrogant snark only began in 2020. It's been core to my brand since day one. Also, you could have just unsubscribed. Sounds like you've been reading for a while. Either way, onward.

Joel MacDonald's avatar

Dave, you just proved my point: 'Never been global' = admitting NextDraft chases U.S. drama for those 140k subs and ad dollars, ignoring 95% of the world's readers. No wonder snark sells here. Canadians like me are out—enjoy the echo. Global news awaits elsewhere

Peter H. Michael's avatar

Dave,

Shrank not shrunk for the simple past tense.

Teri C's avatar

I think Mr. Pell’s was punning the title of the movie “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids”.

The AI Architect's avatar

Solid rundown on how policy incoherence compounds into econmic uncertainty. The connection between hostile immigration posture and population stagnation is someting economists have been warning about for years but politics keeps ignoring. I've watched companies in my network struggle with talent pipelines basically because restrictive policies cut off their hiring pool.

Stephanie Schulman's avatar

I wonder which college students today could sit through a 3 hour lecture like I did at Berkeley. Frightening to think of.

Asha Dornfest's avatar

There’s a lot to digest here, but 28%????? That’s shocking.