Skip to content

Jay Gabler

Writer, editor, etc.

  • Contact
  • Credentials
  • What I Do
  • Who I Am

Author: Jay

I'm a writer and editor living in Duluth, Minnesota, where I write about arts and entertainment for the Duluth News Tribune. From 2013 to 2022, I was a digital producer at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current, where among other projects I hosted/wrote our Rock and Roll Book Club feature. I'm also a co-founder of The Tangential, a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and an alumnus of the National Critics Institute. Recent books I've written or co-written include Sociology for Dummies (second edition, 2021), Robots and Foundation (2020), and Wildsam Field Guides: Twin Cities (2020). I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and Letterboxd. Gmail: jaygabler. (Photo by Emmet Kowler)
White man’s hand holding book in front of Lake Superior backdrop: “Cataclysm” by Lydia Kang with Asian man holding lightsaber on cover
April 23, 2023

Influencer

I’m no Charli D’Amelio, but I enjoy sharing recommendations for things I enjoy.

April 21, 2023

Educator

I’m a professionally trained educator, with an undergraduate degree in early childhood education and a master’s of education in human development and psychology.

Posts pagination

Previous 1 2
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • LinkedIn
  • Bluesky

jaygabler

Writer, editor, etc. Arts and entertainment reporter for @duluthnews, co-founder of @thetangential. Views expressed are mine alone.

Hello from what might be (I can’t find any evidenc Hello from what might be (I can’t find any evidence to the contrary) America’s longest intracity municipal bus route. Traveling over 23 miles, the 103 runs farther than the crow-flies distance from one end of Duluth to the other: from Gary-New Duluth to Lakeside-Lester Park and then up the hill to UMD. The route has been a huge success, with crowds packing the bus as it travels from West Duluth into downtown.

“We put the route in the right spot,” @duluthtransitauthority CEO Chris Belden told me. Read the whole story at @duluthnews.
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagram #lenadunham #famesick
I don’t know that The Mandalorian gained anything I don’t know that The Mandalorian gained anything in translation to the big screen, but the important thing is that here I am, seeing a new Star Wars movie in Duluth for the first time since 1983.

I’m smiling despite the presence of this Imperial remnant because (a) I know I’m about to see an INT-4 in live action for the first time, and (b) look who’s about to come save me.
This monument, in front of Hibbing High School, is This monument, in front of Hibbing High School, is actually visible from the front yard of the house where Bob Dylan lived from early childhood until he took off for Dinkytown and points east.

Not only did I recently have the opportunity to step inside that house, owner Bill Pagel generously made an exception to his general policy disallowing photography inside the house. If you’re a Dylan fan, you won’t want to miss @havington’s photos at @duluthnews. While you’re there, you can read my story too.

Oh, and this song? Bill played it for us in Bob’s childhood bedroom — the original 45 RPM single owned by Bob himself.
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagram #piercebrown #redrising #sf #dystopian
If you didn’t know Sasquatch is a Pride icon, you’ If you didn’t know Sasquatch is a Pride icon, you’ve never seen “Bigfoot Woods.” Read my @zeitgeistduluth @minnesotafilmfestival report at @duluthnews!

📸: @rikimcmanus of course #zmff
Last month at @sacredheartmusiccenter I was please Last month at @sacredheartmusiccenter I was pleased to reunite with @slingshotannie: a longtime friend, a fellow journalist, and a former @thecurrent cubicle neighbor.

Ahead of @cornbread.harris’s first Duluth show in over 15 years — and his Sacred Heart debut! — Andrea and I talked about her remarkable @uminnpress book “Deeper Blues.”

(Or, as I misspoke the title to the amusement of the artist and his band listening backstage, “Deeper Bread.” I should have known better than to skip dinner.)

Catch the full interview, and more importantly, the concert, on Sacred Heart’s YouTube channel.

📸: Michael K. Anderson, shared with permission
Here’s something you probably didn’t have on your Here’s something you probably didn’t have on your 2026 bingo card: I’m the host of a new financial literacy podcast! Plain Money Talk was developed by Forum Communications, the parent company of @duluthnews, in collaboration with sponsor @gobellbanks. I get to be the guy who asks questions of people who actually know a thing or two about money.

The latest episode features the answers to questions like:
- Are car rental insurance add-ons always a ripoff?
- Are there any valid insurance claims I should *not* make?
- Is it true that Mary Hart insured her legs for $1 million each?

You can find Plain Money Talk wherever you listen to podcasts.
Thanks @prhaudio for the free audiobook. @claudia_ Thanks @prhaudio for the free audiobook. @claudia_gray #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #starwars #thehighrepublic #geode
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagram #nonfiction #thegodsofnewyork #80s #nyc
Signing at @fitgersbooks today and they set me up Signing at @fitgersbooks today and they set me up with a really optimistic number of pens
Hanging out at @minnesconsin.gallery ‘til 2 Hanging out at @minnesconsin.gallery ‘til 2
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagram #jaws #peterbenchley #1975 #70s
I can’t describe the look the @umdstores cashier g I can’t describe the look the @umdstores cashier gave me when I said, “And these Game Bibs work for the Gophers, too!”
Figured I owed it to 1982 Jason to go see the new Figured I owed it to 1982 Jason to go see the new TRON. Read my review (of the movie, not ShowBiz Pizza Place) at @duluthnews.
Thanks @randomhouse + @ballantinebooks for the fre Thanks @randomhouse + @ballantinebooks for the free book and @popcornfactory for the free popcorn. Can anyone spot the connection (besides the publishing group) between this book and the last three I posted about? #bookstagram #murderonsexisland #jofirestone #murdermystery #realitytv
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #bookstagram #annemccaffrey #Pern #thewhitedragon #sf
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagram #annemccaffrey #pern #sf #fantasy #1971 #70s
When you mix a lot of emotions, I guess this is th When you mix a lot of emotions, I guess this is the face you get.

This was taken in May, when I was visiting the @greatlakesshipwreck museum with @wyatt.c.buckner on a reporting trip for a major project that @duluthnews has just announced: a five-part podcast telling the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald from launch to loss to legacy, with over a dozen related features.

I’m writing and narrating the podcast, with support from our editors and digital producers. This is the culmination of a year of work, and I’m excited for you to have the opportunity to hear from all the incredible people I interviewed. There’s even an original score, by @umnduluth alum @williambmusic.

A full episode will be released each week starting October 13, leading up to the shipwreck’s 50-year mark on November 10. Find the trailer now wherever you listen to podcasts (and enjoy the song here, because licensing it for the podcast would have been equivalent to the cost of a *lot* of newspaper subscriptions).

#edmundfitzgerald #shipwrecks #lakesuperior #1975 #70s #podcasts
Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagra Thanks @randomhouse for the free book. #Bookstagram #sf #fantasy #annemccaffrey #pern #1968 #60s
Follow on Instagram
Copyright Jay Gabler. All rights reserved. | Powered by Writers Blogily Theme