Who founded The Contrapuntist and when?

The Contrapuntist was founded in March 2019 in Brooklyn, NY by former policy analyst Miriam Halberg and former literary critic Devon Quist. It has since grown to a core editorial team of 7 plus 34 regular contributing writers.

What are The Contrapuntist's editorial standards?

Every essay is written by a named human contributor — no AI-generated copy, no sponsored or native content, no clickbait. Every claim is sourced and footnoted, the archive is permanent back to issue #001, and the publication is entirely reader-supported through newsletter memberships.

How is The Contrapuntist funded?

The Contrapuntist is funded exclusively by reader-supported newsletter memberships — both free and paid tiers — with no programmatic advertising, no native content, and no sponsored editorial. Paid membership currently generates $412K in annual recurring revenue at a 6.8% free-to-paid conversion rate.

How can I pitch an essay to The Contrapuntist?

Pitches should be sent to editors@thecontrapuntist.com with a one-paragraph argument, a working title, and a note on which of the 14 editorial verticals the essay belongs to. The editors commission from a bench of 34 regular contributing writers and read pitches from new writers on a rolling basis.

The Masthead · Established Brooklyn, March 2019 Issue No. 312

An independent publication for the unpopular argument.

Founded in a Brooklyn walk-up by a former policy analyst and a former literary critic, The Contrapuntist has spent six years arguing the other side of the room — footnoted, never sponsored, never generated, never for hire.

Founded March 2019

Headquarters 321 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn

Editors Halberg & Quist

Model Reader-supported

Subscribe to the Newsletter Read the current essay

The Editors

Two writers, one rule: argue the case nobody else will.

The Contrapuntist is edited by a former policy analyst and a former literary critic who believe the most useful essay is the one that breaks a tie in the reader's own head.

Co-Editor & Co-Founder

Miriam Halberg

Miriam spent eight years as a policy analyst at a D.C. think tank, where she learned that the dullest footnote usually wins the argument. She edits the Politics, Economics, and Technology verticals and writes the Tuesday free newsletter, often about the policies nobody admits are working.

BeforePolicy analyst, 2011–2018
EditsPolitics · Economics · Technology
WritesThe Tuesday free essay

Co-Editor & Co-Founder

Devon Quist

Devon was a literary critic for an alt-weekly before he decided the most interesting books were the ones reviewers refused to assign. He edits Culture, Books, and Ideas and writes the Friday paid essay, often about the work the canon has quietly buried.

BeforeLiterary critic, 2012–2018
EditsCulture · Books · Ideas
WritesThe Friday paid essay

How We Edit

Six standards. Every one enforced, every one measurable.

The Contrapuntist is built on a small set of promises to the reader. None of them are aspirational. Each is checked before an essay is published, and most are visible in the page itself.

01

No AI-generated copy. Ever.

Every essay is drafted by a named human writer. We disclose it on the masthead. If a tool is used for transcription or copyediting, the writer says so at the bottom of the piece.
0 essays written by AI · 312 essays published to date
02

No clickbait. No listicles. No "you won't believe."

Headlines state the argument, not the tease. The average essay runs 9 minutes 40 seconds of reading — roughly 4.3× the Substack media benchmark — because we do not pad.
9m 40s average read time · 4.3× the platform benchmark
03

No sponsored content. No native ads. No paid placement.

The publication is funded by reader membership alone. Editorial and business do not share a calendar. A sponsored line will never appear because we do not accept the order.
$0 sponsored revenue · $412K ARR from membership
04

Every claim sourced. Every quote footnoted.

Statistics, studies, and direct quotations carry a numbered footnote linking to the original source. Readers can audit any essay in the archive without writing to us.
47 citations in The Atlantic, Wired, Bloomberg Opinion & NYT Opinion since 2019
05

Reader-supported only. Earned, never bought.

Every subscriber arrives through word of mouth, search, or a friend's recommendation. We do not run paid acquisition, affiliate funnels, or third-party list rentals. Eighty-six thousand readers found us the slow way.
86,400 subscribers · $0 spent on paid acquisition
06

A permanent archive. Nothing taken down.

Issue #001 from March 2019 is still on the site, with its original footer. We do not rewrite history. Essays are corrected in a dated corrigendum at the top, never silently amended.
312 essays in archive · dating to issue #001

The Bench

Thirty-four writers, fourteen verticals, no anonymous bylines.

Every essay on The Contrapuntist carries the writer's name, their beat, and a way to reach them. The roster below is the working bench — a sample of the regular contributors whose work you have read, whether you knew it or not.

34regular writers

14editorial verticals

7core editorial staff

Politics & Policy

Adaeze Okafor

Former congressional staffer. Writes on the boring provisions that quietly run the country.

Technology

Henrik Solberg

Software engineer turned essayist. Argues the case against the consensus on AI productivity.

Economics

Inés Carrasco

Latin American macro. Specializes in the dollar systems nobody wants to defend out loud.

Culture

Wesley Marchetti

Long-time alt-weekly critic. Reviews the films the festival circuit refused to program.

Books & Ideas

Ophelia Brandt

PhD dropout, full-time reader. Reopens the books the canon quietly retired.

Science & Medicine

Dr. Tomás Reiniger

Infectious disease researcher. Argues the contrarian position on public-health groupthink.

Cities & Architecture

Yuna Park

Urban planner. Writes on the zoning fights the press never covers.

Music

Caleb Whittaker

Jazz drummer, longtime critic. Defends the genre everyone has quietly given up on.

Media

Priya Vance

Investigative reporter on leave. Writes on the newsroom reforms that would actually work.

Labor

Marcus Hollis

Union organizer. Argues the case unions do not want to make in public.

Food & Drink

Beatrice Lin

Restaurant critic. Says out loud what other reviewers only hint at in their stars.

Climate & Energy

Jonas Whitehorse

Grid engineer. Writes on the energy transition consensus the press won't touch.

Education

Fatima al-Rashid

Former public-school principal. Argues against the most popular school-reform ideas.

History

Edmund Carrow

Independent historian. Specializes in the events the textbooks skip.

Religion & Philosophy

Sister Camille Vorhees

Theologian. Writes on the doctrines the modern church would rather not name.

Sports

Davon Pierce

Long-form sportswriter. Defends the unpopular athlete the league has decided to retire.

Plus eighteen additional contributing writers across regional politics, theater, photography, transportation, criminal justice, and television. The full masthead is printed in every Friday paid issue.

A Letter to the Editors

"I had been nodding along to the same three arguments about remote work for two years. Then I read Miriam's piece on why the offices might be right and walked into the kitchen to tell my partner about it at 8:47 in the morning. I still disagree with the conclusion. That is, I think, the point."

— Helena R., paid member since 2022 Brooklyn, NY · Subscriber No. 19,408

Letters from readers are published, with permission, in the Friday paid essay. Write to [email protected].