Episode 258: Let’s get hyperlocal, with Sara + Matthew of The York msprint

Welcome to Clotheshorse, the podcast that really misses the simple joy of reading the Missed Connections in my free local weekly newspaper.

I’m your host, Amanda and this is episode 258. And yes, wayyyyy back in the day I did get a missed connection in the Portland Mercury, where a stranger called out how mesmerizing my eyes were while I rang them up at Urban Outfitters.

I am a huge fan of free local weekly newspapers, whether it’s the Chicago Reader (where I found apartments and roommates, along with show listings), the Portland Mercury (which I read cover to cover every week for years and years), the Village Voice (CLASSIC), or the Philadelphia City Paper (RIP). I read all of these papers every single week, looking for shows, art events, restaurant reviews, jobs, apartments…you could find everything in these newspapers, all while reading about hyperlocal issues. The journalism and cultural critique were top notch…and they were FREE to the reader. How amazing is that?

Like a lot of real, actual paper media, many of these papers have either moved completely online or no longer exist.  And that’s thanks to a convergence of things we have discussed here in the past: our own shift into finding news and information from social media…and then advertisers shifting their spending to Meta ads.  There’s just not enough money out there funding non-social media, much less FREE newspapers.

Side note: please stop using social media as your primary news source.

Over the past year or so, I have been doing occasional episodes highlighting different ways we can create and nurture community.  So far we have talked about clothing swaps, radical sewing clubs, free fridges, and more! I am working on an upcoming episode about how to host a repair fair! And continuing to share ways we can show up for our communities is just part of the Clotheshorse mission. After all, it’s more than just clothes (but clothes are a great case study in where things have gone wrong and how we can get involved). But there are so many ways we can be an active, positive force within our communities. Sometimes it’s just hard to know where to start.  I want to help you with that!  If you are doing something cool in your community that is not one of the projects I have already covered here on the podcast, please get in touch. Let’s give people more ideas and inspiration.

Today’s episode is part of this ongoing project of getting us involved in our communities.  And it all starts with a free newspaper.

Last month, Dustin’s bandmates were in town. I wanted them to see how cool Central PA is (so maybe they will move here), so in addition to showing them all around Lancaster, we took them to York (about an hour drive from our house).  And specifically, we took them to The Kitsch-enette: a vintage store and vegan cafe owned by Kayla & Kylee.  First off, The Kitsch-enette is awesome. Great coffee, lots of fancy vegan snacks, and all kinds of rad vintage.  The decor is so cool, kinda feels very Clotheshorse-coded. Seriously one of the coolest places in Pennsylvania (in my opinion).

As I was ordering my coffee, I noticed this free newspaper by the cash register: The York msprint. It was full of local news, events, and even, yes…even a missed connection ad. I was so excited to read it!

Kylee told me that she knew the people behind the paper…and that also they had told her that they typed the whole thing with a typewriter.  I knew that I needed to talk to them for the podcast, so Kylee made the connection.

And so this week you’re going to meet Sara and Matthew, the people behind the hyperlocal small newspaper The York msprint.  They are going to share how and why they decided to start the msprint, along with how you can do something similar in your community.  Also: why it’s important and impactful! And we will also talk about how no community is too small for projects that bring people together.

Before we get started, I just want to remind you that everything is  50% off in the merch shop until I get our entire colony of feral cats TNR’ed.  So far we are at 6 out 14.  Well, really now 6 out of 13.  Here’s the update on this project:

Last week, Dustin and I were talking about AI, the grifters profiting from it, and the people who use it because either they don’t know the downstream effects of AI or they just don’t care. Maybe they do a lot of mental gymnastics to justify it to themselves.  And Dustin said something that really stuck with me:  “All we have to do–the bare minimum–is just try to be good.” He’s right. Good to other people. Good to our planet. Good to the animals. Just try to be good, and know sometimes you will mess up, but that’s okay if you just keep trying to be good. I think a lot about the impact of my life, what I will do while I’m still here, and what will remain when I am gone.  And that alone motivates me to try my hardest to be good: move away from plastic, skip fast fashion, minimize my carbon footprint, show up for other people, take a vested interest in the world around me, and be patient with others (even when it’s really hard because I’m tired or burned out). If I’m trying to be good, then I’m doing something right.

When I first made the decision to once and for all TNR the cat colony, I actually cried. Because I was tired and overwhelmed. It was hard for me to imagine how I could possibly take on one more thing when I feel like life is passing by so fast because I’m always working.  It felt impossible that I could make space for this: getting up early to trap cats, begging for appointments, driving an hour round trip twice in one day to get them to/from the clinic…it just felt like too much.  But then I remembered that well, one, if I didn’t do it, no one would. And two, I had Dustin to help me.  

I am lucky to have someone so close to me (literally living with me) that shares my commitment to trying to  be good.  But the truth is, many of us also have people like this in our lives, even if we haven’t met them yet. That’s why I’m so hyped on community building.  For most of my adult life, I DID feel alone.  Like it was me against the world. I still find myself falling into the “mental habit” of being alone, having no one.  If you feel like you are alone in all of this, I want you to know that you are not.  But I also recognize that the world at large is currently making us lonely: we are all overworked and underpaid.  The algorithm pushes division and fighting. Third spaces have disappeared.  We are coping with illnesses and chronic pain. And many of us just don’t know where to start with finding our community.  

My hope is that these occasional episodes about different ways to build community are helping you find inspiration and motivation to do some community work of your own.  Listen, late stage capitalism loves keeping us apart.  When we’re lonely, we buy more stuff. So one of the most radical things you can do is get out there and do something new (even if it’s scary at first).

I think that’s a great transition into my conversation with Sara and Matthew, so let’s jump right in!