Welcome to Untangled 🧵

What is Untangled?

Untangled is a newsletter and podcast about technology and power. See, technology doesn’t impact society — it is entangled with social systems like race, gender, and power. Each time I pop into your inbox, I offer conceptual frameworks and social science research that help you (and me!) disentangle social systems from technological ones.

Who is this for?

This newsletter is for anyone — product managers, technologists, researchers, grantmakers, civil society leaders, and policymakers — who wants to build a more just socio-technical future. Untangled is for you if:

• You want to disentangle the complex socio-technical problems of the day;

• You want practical tools, new frameworks, and lots of research to help you interrogate potential solutions.

• You work on tech issues and want to ask better questions or make better decisions.

• You want to take daily actions that align with your values.

A bit about me

Oh hi, I’m Charley 👋

I’m a writer, teacher, and strategist who works at the intersection of technology and systems change. A few highlights:

• I lead the Public Technology Leadership Collaborative at Data & Society, a new peer-learning collective of scholars, researchers, and government leaders working to ensure data and technology serve the public interest.

• Before that, I led the Disinformation Action Lab, which won the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public inaugural ‘Award for Excellence’ for its multi-stakeholder work on the 2020 Census. Cool, huh?

• Once upon a time, I co-founded and ultimately led the Center for Digital Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

• I co-founded The Facilitation Leadership Lab and sometimes teach at George Washington University.

👉 This is a personal project, all thoughts and opinions are my own and don’t reflect the institutional positions of Data & Society.

So what will you get with a subscription?

• ✍️ Every issue of the newsletter and every installment of the podcast.

• 🎁 Access to special issues, like the Untangled primer, Technically Social, Reading Lists, and Check-Lists.

• 📚 Access to every Untangled Tiny Book, and the full archives.

You’ll get all of these nuggets for $9/month or $90/year.

🥃 Think of it like buying me a cocktail once a month!

Upgrade to paid

If you’re not inclined to support me and my work, read what others have said and then change your mind 🙃

• Drew Steigerwald, co-founder of the excellent newsletter, 1440, named Untangled one of his four favorite newsletters.

• Brandon Silverman, co-founder of CrowdTangle, called Untangled “one of my favorite Substacks on technology & society.”

• Oh, and Untangled was a ‘Substack Featured Publication’ for 2022.

A few more details!

If Untangled is relevant to your work, consider expensing it. Here’s a template email you can send to your manager.

If you and your friends or colleagues want to enjoy Untangled together, sign up for a group package at a discounted rate.

Get a group subscription

If the cocktail-a-month isn’t a big deal for you, you can sponsor subscriptions for those who can’t afford it. Give one by clicking below or give five by signing up for the “My love can be bought” tier.

Give a gift subscription

If you can’t afford a subscription but really value Untangled’s offerings, just let me know. I’ll add you to the paid subscriber list, no questions asked.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 The last but most important thing: I want Untangled to become a community. If you have ideas about how to make the newsletter better or a topic I should write about, tell me. If you're curious about how it's all going, let's talk. If you think one of the posts misses the mark, let me know. Oh, and definitely tell me if you like it.

Don’t be shy, okay?

Charley