What Happened Last Week

What Happened Last Week (WHLW) was born in 2014 when journalist Sham Jaff was a political science student. She was motivated to start an easy yet critical newsletter to provide people with information often left out by mainstream media, expand their understanding of the world, and inspire small talk and serious debate. It all started with her passion for news, which led her to explain current global affairs to her younger siblings.

Now she does the same for over 14,000 subscribers from more than 120 countries every Monday - thus far, in over 300 issues. The style is short, easy to understand and underpinned with various links for each news item. The sources are diverse, primarily well-established media outlets and - where possible - from the regions and countries where the news originated.

Beyond that, Jaff relies on a global network of aligned journalists that help with research where necessary. Through this, WHLW expands readers' knowledge on underrepresented regions and topics such as class issues, violence against women, and the discrimination of minority groups.

As a previous Media Lab Bayern Fellow, her business model is based on subscriptions via Patreon - which cover costs, but not the 20+ hours per week job the newsletter has become.

WHLW experimented with a weekly podcast in 2018, which is now discontinued. An inspiring music playlist remains on Spotify, showcasing music from every country the newsletter covers – with over 24 hours of music to date and more than 2,700 subscribers. WHLW is approachable and factual, with a thriving, engaged community that helps to fact-check information and select topics.

Last updated: January 2023

Last updated date: March 2024