Hi. I’m Josh Kornbluth. I make monologues, movies, and videos. I’ve been performing my autobiographical shows since 1989, when I started improvising towards my first solo piece, which eventually became Red Diaper Baby, about my upbringing by Jewish Communists in New York. (“Mommy’s a Commie!,” raved the Daily News.) And I’ve been storytelling ever since!

And now I’m putting out my own publication on Substack, “But Not Enough About Me”!

What in the world is Substack?

I wondered the same thing! I’ve been picking up the term from the zeitgeist for the past couple of years, without really knowing what it referred to. So I decided to look into the matter, and Substack turns out (I think) to be a pretty cool platform for putting out your own e-newsletter that lands in people’s inboxes. Typically, your subscribers can either follow you for free or at various paid levels. To start with, I’m going to make everything available for free — though if people want to pay, they can (and wow — thanks!). After a few months, maybe, I can get a sense of what kinds of features might work behind a paywall.

For right now, I’d be thrilled if you’d at least subscribe for free for a while — and please give me your suggestions in the Comments section! I plan to do a lot of experimenting in “But Not Enough About Me,” and readers’ feedback will be super-important.

What can you expect to find here?

All kinds of stuff! (Translation: I’m not totally sure!!) I’m aiming for at least two posts a week. Some possibilities (or even actualities):

• Stories! (Both original to this publication and from my past work — the Kornchives, if you will.)

• Birds! (Also known as “boiids!” — yes, with two i’s. Sara and I go biking and birding almost daily, weather permitting.)

• Songs! (I’m working on a “But Not Enough About Me” theme song, coming soon.)

• Videos! (Including videos of songs! And of performances! And maybe of boiids!)

• Chats! (Once I’ve delved into the mechanics of Substack’s app a bit more.)

• A podcast, maybe! (I’d really like to do this eventually — there are so many people I’d love to interview! I need to figure out how: equipment, etc.)

• Many things I can’t even imagine right now — in large part, because (I hope) you’re going to suggest them to me!

Thanks for checking out “But Not Enough About Me”!

I hope you’ll consider subscribing! If you do, you won’t have to worry about missing anything: Every new edition of this newsletter goes directly to your inbox.

A few links …

• My website.

• The “Citizen Brain” video series.

• Info about my Citizen Brain solo show from when it premiered (via Zoom) in 2020. When this (very, very) rainy season is over, I’m looking forward to resuming my Backyard Performance Tour with this piece.

• You can buy a copy of my book Red Diaper Baby: Three Comic Monologues, or DVDs of my concert films, Red Diaper Baby and The Mathematics of Change (some people must still watch DVDs, right?). You can also buy or rent Red Diaper Baby and The Mathematics of Change as Videos on Demand. I’ve made two audiobooks, Red Diaper Baby: Three Comic Monologues and Ben Franklin: Unplugged … and Other Comic Monologues; you can find them on iTunes (Red Diaper Baby; Ben Franklin: Unplugged), Audible.com (Red Diaper Baby; Ben Franklin: Unplugged), or Amazon.com (Red Diaper Baby; Ben Franklin: Unplugged). And there are two feature films, both collaborations with my brother Jacob Kornbluth: Haiku Tunnel (Sony Pictures Classics, 2001) is on Amazon Prime and Apple TV; Love & Taxes (Abramorama, 2017; rated 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!) is also on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

• Website for The Mathematics of Change concert film, including my interviews with real, live world-class mathematicians at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley.

• A cool article by Jeff Greenwald about my painful efforts to make a decent oboe reed.

• The logo and banner artwork for “But Not Enough About Me” is by R. Black, who is a genius artist and a wonderful guy.