A Beginning

Welcome to Through the Fog. I’m honored to have you here. 

This Substack is new, but I’m not new to Substack. Some of you might already have read my work in the Steady newsletter, which I created and wrote with my good friend (and news legend) Dan Rather. 

Now I’ve started a new journey, and I hope you’ll join me. 

One thing I learned with Steady is that newsletters are, at their best, dynamic. They start one place and go somewhere else. They evolve, along with a community. Writing one is sort of like being a parent: you help put something into the world and then watch in awe and wonder as it takes on a life of its own. 

That is to say, I don’t know where Through the Fog will go. But I know why I’m starting it. I love writing, but I love conversation more. And that is what I hope we can have here. 

I find our precious, fragile world fascinating and puzzling, joyful and heartbreaking, infuriating and beautiful. I am driven by curiosity to understand and make sense of it. And I find the challenge of trying to craft sentences and paragraphs that bring clarity to complex topics rewarding. 

I have a deep interest in world affairs and also science, art, history, and culture. I see all of these as intertwined, and exploring those topics and their areas of overlap and influence is what I hope to do in this newsletter. I might marvel at the wonderful world of microbes, or gush over Gershwin, or opine on the American occupation of Japan after World War II.

I care deeply about American democracy, the rule of law, truth, and the power of empathy. Seeing all of this under attack angers and saddens me. There will be times I want to talk about this as well. And I would love to hear your thoughts so we can build a community of conversation.

I love making documentary films and seeing the work of others. I hope to share interesting examples here. I love music and other forms of human expression. One of my favorite parts of the Steady newsletter was our “Reason to Smile” feature where we shared examples of sublime art. I will try to continue some of that here as well. 

Getting started, I don’t know how frequently I will publish. I don’t see this as a regular periodical at the present. The newsletter will arrive in your inbox when I feel I have something I want to share. 

As for the name of this newsletter, it’s in honor of my hometown, San Francisco, to which I recently returned after more than two decades away. Sometimes the fog is so thick here, you can barely see the tips of your fingers on an outstretched arm. Familiar landmarks by which you often guide your journey — buildings, streets, parks, and vistas — disappear completely into the shroud of water droplets. You have no choice but to slow down. 

I think fog is a wonderful metaphor for life. Often, we don’t have clarity. Frequently, what we took for granted can fade into the mist. We have to reassess and reimagine. We have to find a way forward not certain about what might lie before us.

I want this to be a place where we can navigate through the fog together, sharing what we know, and learning from what others are seeing. 

I hope you will subscribe and join me. 

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