MIT Technology Review sends out an array of newsletters, but the flagship and most-read is The Download, which goes out to nearly 250,000 people every weekday at 8am ET. Like all our newsletters, it has an impressive open rate—38%—but it also gets engagement in all sorts of other ways. For example, readers send lots of emails directly to all our newsletter writers, a testament to the powerful intimacy of the newsletter format and how it provides an escape from the chaos of social media algorithms.
Every morning, The Download’s writer, Rhiannon Williams, showcases our latest stories in a few short paragraphs. Then she explains all the must-read technology news of the day with a selection of links, and provides a quote of the day, a story from our archives, and finally an ever-popular list of four “Nice Things.”
The Download is a great way to quickly catch up with the news of the day. Our other newsletters, however, provide a way for us to go deeper into specific topics. Each edition provides in-depth analysis, explains the biggest news of the week, or just delivers exclusive content straight into your inbox.
On Monday, we send out The Algorithm, written by AI reporter James O’Donnell. He takes an in-depth look at whatever’s topical in AI—debates around the definition of “artificial general intelligence,” for example—and breaks it down in a way that’s accessible, fun, and engaging. The Algorithm’s average 44% open rate shows just how much of a must-read it’s become.
On Wednesday, The Spark goes out from senior climate and energy reporter Casey Crownhart. It can feel like her beat whipsaws from optimism to despair, but she manages to write her newsletter in a level-headed, engaging way, explaining the latest developments in topics from batteries to nuclear energy to AI’s energy footprint in ways that are easy for anyone to understand.
On Friday, our editor-in-chief, Mat Honan, sends out The Debrief, his witty, personal take on the biggest stories in tech that week. Occasionally, they are stories broken by us, but he isn’t afraid to write about stories by rival publications or to take on a really big-picture topic, such as the impact of Trump’s tariffs or where the AI race in Silicon Valley is going.
Last, but far from least, this year we’re excited to showcase our Intro to AI limited newsletter series. We truly believe we have the best AI reporting team in the business, so we decided to put their combined expertise to good use with a five-part series explaining everything you need to know about AI, what it can do, what it can’t do, and what it might do in future. The newsletter was hugely popular and has spurred us to write more explanatory reporting about AI, to help make it a topic that anyone can dive into and learn more about.
