The canvas at The Golden Mean has no limits. There are certain topics or nonsensical statements that I just cannot resist weighing in on. I am consistently seduced by the challenge of explaining the things that we’re all trying to figure out during this shared experience. A little sampling of the kinds of questions and answers I’ll be scribbling about in 2025:
Why despite a new cottage industry of IG posts about M.J. vs. LeBron — there is no debate. There has never been a debate.
Why the most painful kind of depression — even a breakdown — is nothing more than your own NASA launchpad in disguise.
Why the fact that there are only 36 competitive U.S. House elections — out of 435 seats — has jacked up partisanship to levels that make the Gingrich era seem like an episode of Life On the Prairie.
Why the weirdest person you’ve ever met is no weirder than any other person you’ve ever met.
Why the most effective demonstration of road rage can be achieved through three seconds of silent shoulder shrugging.
Why dogs all of a sudden get up from a perfectly good spot on the floor, walk a couple of feet, and then lay back down.
Why voters who are undecided in the last week of an election are not morons. Not all of them.
Why when it comes to enduring freezing weather, the “changing of the seasons and the color of the leaves” argument is one of the weakest rationalizations ever perpetrated on the human mind.
Why my friend Aaron absolutely hates awards show; why and how his wife Alicia and I have to correct him each year.
Why screenwriters are immeasurably more important to making a great film than are any of the actors and directors.
Why people who carry hatred for any racial or ethnic minority are almost universally people who have unresolved (or unknown) hatred for themselves.
Yes, these are my opinions. Or at least they imply that I have a candid one ready to hit your inbox. That’s what The Golden Mean is all about! And while you may not agree with every conclusion I draw — I promise to make you think. To consider. To look at an event, issue or idea from a different angle. To see it through a new frame.
The perspective pieces I’ve been writing on this platform have become increasingly personal over the last eight years — and sharing them with you has become the most singular joy of my career. If you similarly enjoy reading them, I hope you’ll consider investing in a paid subscription for 2025!
What you’ll get:
A free E-copy of my new anthology book: STAYING ALIVE: Trials and Triumphs of a Manic Mind
Access to brief video commentaries I post about social issues and life questions — strap in!
Frequents interviews with newsmakers and other compelling voices (past TGM guests have included Hall of Fame athletes, novelists, historians, national politicians, notable entrepreneurs, and prominent musicians and filmmakers)
The latest songs, poems and lists I’m tapping out, plus access to the entire TGM content vault
The book comes out this Friday! But if you beat the release by subscribing to TGM at the reduced annual rate of $48 — your complimentary E-copy of Staying Alive will soon be on its way!
MICHAEL GOLDEN is the cofounder of One Million Degrees, a national award-winning journalist and publisher of JEWDICIOUS on Substack.
