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It’s an era of conflict and confusion in the democratic world.

In 1946, only a year after the end of World War II, George Orwell wrote, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

Almost 80 years later, it’s no less true. Only now, we’re living with this same struggle in the midst of a new one:

  • The constant struggle for our attention.

Digital technology is now everywhere in our lives, and digital media has developed a dominant business model:

  • Addiction.

Every media brand that makes its money by keeping people engaged with its content for as much time as possible is building its business on addiction—and the realities of addiction: isolation, agitation, anxiety, and ultimately a deadened sense of efficacy.

This is a real crisis in democratic society—one that affects all of us living in a rapidly changing, complex world. Right in front of one’s nose.

We’re building The Signal because we believe meeting this crisis needs a historically ambitious project.

What is The Signal?

We’re a new current-affairs brand—a guide to democratic life, the trend lines shaping it, and the challenges confronting it.

Democratic life is still an unusual expression, we know, but it’s essential—plain language for something once called the “free world” that we no longer really have any language for at all:

  • The connected life of democratic societies—their politics, economics, technology, and culture—and of those striving to create them.

What’s shaping and confronting democratic life is shaping and confronting yours.

… Because we understand that democratic life is complex, uncertain, and rapidly changing:

  • We don’t “explain” it with one-sided narratives; we’re not “storytellers.”
  • We look at the world as a detective would: Everything we do starts with good questions, and every answer we find leads us to more of them.

So far, with a small staff and little marketing spend, we’ve brought together hundreds of contributors and gained more than 100,000 loyal readers on email. In the U.S., our audience is distributed across every state; globally, it’s hundreds of countries.

For all their differences, these readers share in common being independent-minded in their lives, emerging leaders in their quarters of society, and busy.

Now, they’re becoming a network.

Founding membership

This is the beginning. Our data suggests there are millions like these readers—like us, and like you—across America and around the world. To reach them, grow this brand, and strengthen The Signal in the world, we’re creating a limited set of founding lifetime memberships.

These will allow us to remain independent and true to our vision for The Signal as we grow. It will allow us to develop a founding community that can help us direct The Signal as a transformative force in the world over decades. And it will allow us to accelerate urgent initiatives for the project:

  • Expanding our long-form features from politics and global affairs to economics, technology, and the environment;
  • Enhancing our community’s connection through ongoing short-form notes on news, books, and culture;
  • Growing our contributor network, finding and convening the most insightful minds in the world;
  • Creating print editions following 2024’s The Long Game; and
  • Reaching more than 1,000,000 readers globally by the end of 2025.

For $1,000—the equivalent of 10 years of annual membership at legacy pricing—founding members get:

  • Permanent membership for a one-time payment—you’ll never have to renew;
  • Full annual membership benefits, as they expand;
  • Exclusive membership in our founding community, including invitations to founding-member events;
  • Previews of, early access to, and consultation on new initiatives;
  • Annual reports on key trend lines and global audience insights; and
  • Three gift subscriptions of an annual membership to share.
Purchase Founding Membership

We want you for The Signal. Thank you.

—John Jamesen Gould

Questions? Please connect: concierge@thesgnl.com.