The Bait Shop Wall

Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. You’re reading Dispatch Culture, our weekend newsletter featuring essays about American culture, staff recommendations, book reviews, and more. Happy Saturday! If you’re an American, you’ve probably entered or at least glimpsed a bait shop from the road. In today’s American Artifacts, the Colorado-based writer Cliff Watson reflects on his own childhood bait shop, and how, at its best, it’s not just a place to buy lures but to build community. Valerie is Ideas Editor at The Dispatch, based in New York City. Prior to joining the company in 2025, she worked at The New York Times and NewsGuard Technologies, and she is currently a Novak Fellow through The Fund for American Studies. When Valerie isn’t commissioning and editing the next big essay for The Dispatch, she is probably people-watching in a funky cafe or scheming up her next oddly-themed party. Cliff Watson is a writer based in Boulder, Colorado, covering the outdoors, culture, and the human experience. You can find more of his writing at Kudos on Substack. Elizabeth Grace Matthew writes about books, education, and culture, including on Substack. Jack Kubinec is a reporter at The Dispatch, currently based in New York City and covering artificial intelligence. Before joining The Dispatch, he reported on crypto, most recently at Fortune Magazine. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in sociology. When he’s not writing about AI, he is probably enjoying the outdoors or watching a Buffalo Bills game. He is currently supported by the Tarbell Center for AI Journalism. Newsletter selected Click sign up to start receiving your newsletters. More Dispatch Culture Newsletter selected Click sign up to start receiving your newsletters.