The Roots of Progress
Jason Crawford, Ben Thomas, Emma McAleavy, Heike Larson, Andy HallThe history of technology and the philosophy of progress, plus announcements from the Roots of Progress Institute
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 242 | Founded | 4 years ago | Last Issue | 23 days ago |
| Active | |||||
Read this Newsletter
newsletter.rootsofprogress.orgLatest Issues
What is happening in the world
AI, stagnation, populism, my theory of wokeism, and more
At a Roots of Progress annual team meeting, I gave a short presentation on the state of the world. It was informal, opinionated, mostly off-the-cuff, and not fact-checked. Here’s wha...
Announcing Progress Conference 2026
Announcing the third annual Progress Conference! The pace of technological change feels faster this year, and the progress movement is growing too. Gathering people together helps build community and establish a movement’s identity. We want...
AI is already 10x-ing academic research. How do we get to 100x?
“Intelligence Age” is a series from the Roots of Progress Institute featuring reported essays that extrapolate the capabilities of AI systems along current trend lines.
In our second feature, Stanford University political economist Andy Ha...
Teaching Progress Studies at Universities
Progress studies has emerged as a vibrant intellectual movement over the past few years. But despite Patrick Collison and Tyler Cowen’s original call that ”We Need a New Science of Progress”, progress studies has remained largely outside th...
Announcing the 2026 Roots of Progress Blog-Building Intensive
This year’s speakers: Virginia Postrel, Tyler Cowen, Greg Lukianoff, Alice Evans, Kevin Esvelt (top row); Alex Kustov, Brendan McCord, Eli Dourado, Brian Potter, Elle Griffin (bottom row).
Applications are now open for the 2026 cohort of T...
Key Facts
Audience Metrics
Subscribers, engagement, traffic and sponsorship for The Roots of Progress.
| Subscribers | Engagement | 80 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
SEO Reach
Where The Roots of Progress ranks on Google, and how much search traffic it brings in.
| Ranked Keywords | 113 | Monthly Search Traffic | Top Keywords |
|---|
Chart Rankings
How this newsletter ranks in the official Substack charts.
| #51 | |
| #44 |
Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Founder, Roots of Progress Institute (rootsofprogress.org). I write about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress.
Building the progress movement. Learning by doing! Economics, math, distance running, books, dogs, and more.
Growing the progress studies talent pipeline.
Building the progress movement — accelerating the careers of progress intellectuals, creating a community, and engaging people through ideas that shape our future.
Experiments to preserve liberty in an algorithmic world. Prof @ Stanford GSB & Hoover.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I access the email archive for The Roots of Progress?
You can find recent issues that have been published by The Roots of Progress on Reletter by scrolling up to where it says Latest Issues. Tap on the link for any of the most recent emails or hit More Issues to see older ones.
How many subscribers does The Roots of Progress have?
To see how many people subscribe to The Roots of Progress, simply upgrade your Reletter account. We provide readership numbers and lots of other stats for this newsletter so you can decide if it's worth reaching out to.
How can I advertise in The Roots of Progress?
Newsletter advertising can be extremely effective when it's done right. Before you pitch The Roots of Progress as a potential sponsor or partner, make sure that you've done your research and checked its newsletter stats with Reletter.
Then, personalize one of our winning pitching templates and send it to the right person using the contact info provided.
How much does it cost to sponsor a publication like The Roots of Progress?
Newsletter ad rates (or CPM) vary depending on many factors, including industry, number of subscribers, open rate, ad placement and more.
To find out how much an ad will cost, contact The Roots of Progress using the contact information provided and ask for a copy of their media kit.
How can I find newsletters related to The Roots of Progress?
Scroll up to where it says Related Newsletters to see other publications like The Roots of Progress. You can also search our email newsletter directory to discover other newsletters that cover the topics you're interested in.
How do I contact The Roots of Progress?
Reletter provides this newsletter's website URL above, where you will often find their contact information. We also provide links to associated social media accounts and pitching templates so you can reach out fast.