Culture Study
Deep essays on work, burnout, culture, and modern life from Anne Helen Petersen.
Best for
Thoughtful readers who want long-form cultural analysis connecting work, burnout, and modern life to larger structural forces
Why we recommend it
- Deeply researched essays that go far beyond hot takes
- Written by a former BuzzFeed senior culture writer and bestselling author
- Active subscriber community with Discord access and discussion threads
Culture Study is a bi-weekly cultural analysis newsletter by Anne Helen Petersen that delivers long-form essays exploring the intersection of work, burnout, media consumption, and modern American life. Petersen, a former Senior Culture Writer at BuzzFeed News, launched Culture Study on Substack in August 2020 after her 2019 viral article "How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation" resonated with millions of readers and led to her bestselling book Can't Even.
The newsletter reaches over 65,000 inboxes weekly and has cultivated one of the more engaged subscriber communities on Substack, with paid members gaining access to weekly "Things I Read and Loved" roundups, discussion threads, and a dedicated Discord community. Petersen also co-authored Out of Office with Charlie Warzel, further establishing her expertise on remote work and workplace culture, topics she covers frequently in the newsletter.
What sets Culture Study apart from other cultural commentary is Petersen's ability to connect personal experience to structural analysis. Rather than offering individual lifestyle advice, she examines the systemic forces behind phenomena like burnout, housing instability, and the erosion of community, drawing on her academic background with a PhD in media studies to provide depth that most cultural newsletters lack.
