Hi, My Name is Joan

I’m Joan, the voice behind Westenberg. I’m a writer, journalist, and perpetual creator, always prying at the edges of systems to see what’s holding them together (or what’s about to break). I created The Index, a reader-supported, zero-advertising, bootstrapped indie news website.

Westenberg is a blog where technology, philosophy, creativity, and productivity all come together, tangled and messy. Mostly because that’s how they are in real life. It's also home to a webcomic I draw, design, and write called Pizza Party.

You can work with me through Signalvs, a marketing lab and agency for people who give a s**t.

Why Subscribe?

Westenberg is free to read, and I intend to keep it that way. But a paid subscription lets you go deeper with access to subscriber-only essays, early drafts, Q&As, and other extras that let me keep digging into the things that matter. Subscribing means supporting independent, critical writing in an era of surface-level hot takes and algorithm-friendly content farms.

If you’re interested in the human side of tech, the philosophical side of productivity, and the political side of everything—Westenberg might just be your new home.

Where to Start

If you’re new here, you might want to start with some of my most-read pieces:

The Art of Not Sharing

It’s a typical Monday morning. You wake up, reach for your phone, and within seconds, you’re scrolling through an endless stream of updates. Your college roommate has a new puppy. Your aunt’s dog just died. Your coworker made homemade sourdough bread. Your second cousin just broke up

WestenbergJoan Westenberg

The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI.

We have witnessed a multi-generational decline in reading comprehension. We read less, retain less of what we read, and struggle to engage in critical analysis. And if this trend continues, we risk undermining the very foundations of our society. In the bite-sized content and viral media age, too many of

WestenbergJoan Westenberg

I Miss the Internet

I know this is going to make me sound old – but I miss the internet. The real internet. The one we used to have. Before it all got so much less – and somehow so much more – complicated. I went online for the first time around 2001. The 90s had ended,

WestenbergJoan Westenberg

Fuck the Cult of Productivity

My alarm jolted me awake at 5 am. Like every morning. I rubbed my eyes, already feeling the weight of the day pressing down on me. I had a meeting at 7:30, a project deadline at noon, and a seemingly endless stream of meetings that could have been emails

WestenbergJoan Westenberg

Just Show Up.

You can control exactly one thing: that you show up. Every day. That’s about it. Showing up isn’t a silver bullet. It’s not an easy win. It’s not a lifehack. It’s not a shortcut. But it’s the only way to build anything. The truth

WestenbergJoan Westenberg