Hey everyone, it’s Van Jones.

You might know me as a political commentator, entrepreneur, and activist. Or you might not know me at all, yet.

But I want to change that.

I want us to know each other a lot better.

And I want you to have deeper, fuller insight into some of the things you may hear me say on television or elsewhere.  

I think my perspective can be very useful to you. I see things that others miss. This is because I grew up on the edge of a very small town in a little red state. And then I studied, lived, and worked in the largest cities—in the two biggest blue states. Along the way, I’ve been a grassroots outsider and a DC insider. I’ve been a target of the media—and I’ve been part of the media.

Through it all, I’ve met good people—and bad people—on all sides of every fight.

I have original insights into the bad incentives, polarization pitfalls, and the tribal traps that are eroding democracy from the inside out.

I have access to many centers of power, but I’m not beholden to any of them.

I'm in a unique position where I'm free to say what I think. That means I can give you the critical inside information (and rare outsider perspectives) that you need.

With everything on the line this year, I want to take everything I know and dump it all out for you to use as you will.

Consider this your decoder ring for reality.

This is not going to be a traditional publication. Trust me, I know what usually sells: DIVISION.

Polarizing. Blaming. Shaming.

It’s easier to drive people apart. Easier to re-litigate the past. Easier to try to assign blame in the present.

It is harder to bring people together to create a positive future. 

But I want to be clear: I won’t be inflaming divisions just to get clicks, likes, and attention. I am betting on something different: I believe we can have just as much fun by finding surprising areas of overlap and pointing out real solutions.

Why Substack?

So many of us are deeply troubled by what’s going on, yet not given enough space to talk about it at the proper level of depth. Substack is a platform that provides that space.

Together, we’ll find real answers that help real people. I’m willing to take the heat from all sides to give voice to sensible, bridge-building ideas — even when they’re not popular with the extremes.

The far left and far right have hijacked the conversation. Hostile governments and non-state actors stir the pot in-person and online — making it nearly impossible for everyday folks to drill down to the truth behind anything. 

And the stakes are so high this year that, honestly, I'm scared. 

That's why I want to open a dialogue directly with you about what’s happening. And build a conversation where we can go deeper and take the time to explain and hear each other out. 

We need to assemble. We need people to turn TO each other instead of ON each other. 

Substack gives us the space for grace.

So, why should you subscribe?

You already have a lot of information sources. To make this worth your time—and mine—I’ll offer honest, thoughtful perspectives you can’t get anywhere else.

It will be interesting: I’ll experiment with different topics, genres, formats, guests, and mediums.

It will be collaborative: I’ll invite you to send me your questions, comments, and suggestions for topics so we can build and prepare our community to navigate this moment together. 

We’ll break down the partisan BS and computational propaganda designed to make us act against ourselves.

We’ll have many opportunities to engage in conversations and spirited debate. You’ll get a weekly insider and outsider read on the biggest questions of the day. Paid subscribers also receive exclusive video content, collaborations, debates, interviews, additional posts, interactive engagement, and more in their inboxes. 

This is sacred work for me. 

We are now entering the most tumultuous, confusing political and social moment. Advanced technology like AI places us on the edge of a new human civilization. We are in the space between burying an old way of life and ushering in a new one.

It’s an incredible (and incredibly scary) time to be alive. If we keep doing what we are doing, the future looks bleak.

But if we can get good people (like you) better-informed and empowered with hard-to-find perspectives, then I know we can end up in a very good place.

I have a calling in my life. I want to use my voice for good. When I was a kid, people with platforms used them more responsibly. Think Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, and Stan Lee with Marvel Comics.

I'm the age many grandparents are. I think there's a reason elders wind up being culture keepers and wisdom bearers—so we can try to remind younger folks of how things got where they are and where they still can go. 

You have to understand the past to imagine a better future. 

Together, we’ll cultivate a community that runs on knowledge, clarity, empathy, hope, energy, ideas, collaboration, grace, and motivation. 

I hope you’ll consider joining this movement and becoming a paid subscriber to support our work.