Paul in Virginia “refound” This is True in 2021. He re-subscribed and sent a note, “I used to get ‘News of the Weird’ until Chuck Shepherd took ill. I ran into one of my old GOOHF cards and hoped that you were still publishing and am delighted to see that you are. Please stay healthy!”
About
The Plus Edition
Announcing a new edition of This is True: the Plus Edition, only available on Substack, a paid newsletter platform.
Why My New Podcast Host is So Cool
I’m Excited About My New Podcast Host. There’s no Uncommon Sense Podcast episode this week: I spent my podcast time last week moving everything to a new hosting site since I’ve been unhappy with the old one. The new host lets me do something special, especially for those of you who aren’t really techie: give you really easy access via your smartphone or tablet.
This is True’s Very Beginning
True recently hit its 25th anniversary. But can a weird news story that I posted at NASA before This is True was “invented” be traced? This weekend I decided to find out, since it’s a pretty “famous” story considering it never ran in the newsletter.
25 Years
Last week, This is True wrapped up its 25th year of weekly issues. What a great ride it’s been — it went by in a flash.
000: Podcast Relaunch Introduction
In This Episode: Uncommon Sense relaunches this week with a slight change of focus.
The Ongoing Struggle
After My Discussion Last Week that said True is suffering tough times due to a reduction in Premium subscribers since the election, and really needs about 1 percent of you to upgrade to just get up to the “minimum sustainable” target to make the publication fully viable, Joe in California wrote to say he didn’t … Continue Reading
True’s Focus
When readers unsubscribe from True they have the opportunity to send a comment. Many give the “reason” they’re unsubscribing, and some even apologize (not necessary — really!)
The two most-common reasons people give for unsubscribing is “I’ve upgraded to Premium” (woo hoo!) and “I’m just too busy to read it” (bummer! Life is too short not to have some fun!) This weekend, one woman put in a rather startling reason:
Why Publish Letters from “Idiots”?
Now and then there’s a story or item that brings a nearly violent response from a small subset of readers. Even though they are usually represent a very small minority of my readers, I’ll often publish such letters. Why?
What the HELL?!!?
The Briefest of Backgrounds
For those coming in from other links, This is True is a pioneer in online publishing. Since 1994, it has been the email leader of “weird news.” Subscribers get stories every week by email with true tales of human stupidity, all tagged with humorous, opinionated or ironic commentary by me, Randy Cassingham.
Niche Masters Who Can Kill You
by Randy Cassingham, Founder, This is True Presented to The Online News Summit II* Washington, D.C., May 19, 1998 Copyright 1998 by Randy Cassingham, All Rights Reserved. Megatrends author John Naisbitt coined the phrase “Global Paradox,” which he says is, “The bigger the world economy, the more powerful its smallest players.” In Online Media, the Global Paradox … Continue Reading