Unwinnable Monthly – January 2026

This is a reprint of the letter from the editor in Unwinnable Monthly Issue 195. You can buy Issue 195 now, or purchase a monthly subscription to make sure you never miss an issue!

———

Dear Reader,

Welcome to 2026, off to as disastrous a run as we closed 2025!

I can’t sugarcoat it, it’s grim out there. But, we have each other and if you’re reading this, you have a crew of folks that want to help you make it through a better world in the future. It could be right beyond the gate on our cover, illustrated by Ramona Alder.

This month we’ve got Alexander B. Joy on the ultimate reanimation, Grad School. And in a strange incarnation double feature, we also have KM Nelson on Phoenix Springs.

Oluwatayo Adewole rolls it back! Elijah Beahm mourns Anthem. Maddi Chilton goes West. Emma Kostopoulos (Silent Hill) f’s around and finds out. Matt Marrone makes a break for it, no breaks choom. Natasha Ochshorn questions the collective. Emily Price is in her Angeline Era. Justin Reeve ruminates the ruins in his continued Legend of Zelda exploration. Rob Rich wants us to achieve nothing. Levi Rubeck is on a dragon quest. Autumn Wright is in dialogue with Austin Walker.

And hey, if you’re reading this and you’re seeing the state of America and you want to do something consider the following! Go to a know-your-rights workshop, buy a whistle, defend a school, film some fascists, donate to a foodbank, shop local (especially restaurants run by immigrant families), go to a community meeting and make sure your elected officials know what you stand for. If you have any kind of privilege, wield it to help those who do not and cannot. And please for the love of your neighbor, wear a mask!

David Shimomura

Chicago, IL

January 13, 2025