At Tangle, we’ve recently been reflecting on our coverage from the past five years, identifying stories that we covered once or twice, thought could reshape our lives, and then… they didn’t. And we’re asking: What happened to that story? So today, we’re trying to figure out how one story in particular has panned out. The topic should be familiar to most: the 2022 baby formula shortage. As we’ll get into below, the story combined pandemic-era challenges with existing supply chain issues (an...
May 09, 2025•20 min
On Wednesday, the Indian government said it conducted several airstrikes in Pakistan-controlled territory. While India called the strikes a success, at least two of its military aircraft were reportedly lost in the operation. Pakistani military officials said at least 31 people were killed in the strikes or by artillery fire. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they could subscribe to — and we finall...
May 08, 2025•32 min
On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced that he will authorize the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative to institute a 100% tariff on movies produced in foreign countries. “Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It i...
May 07, 2025•30 min
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and all executive departments to end federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The order claims that the outlets fail to offer “a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens” and instructs the CPB to “cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law” and “decline to p...
May 06, 2025•28 min
On Friday, the Trump administration released its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026. The White House recommends budgeting $557 billion in nondefense discretionary spending, $163 billion (22.6%) below current levels, with significant cuts to foreign aid, scientific research, and environmental programs. It also proposes $1.01 trillion for defense spending, a 13% increase. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they...
May 05, 2025•29 min
On today's Sunday podcast, Senior Editor Will Kaback interviews Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) They discuss the organization's mission to defend free speech across the United States, the challenges posed by partisan politics, and the implications of recent cases like that of Mahmoud Khalil. He contrasts the American approach to free speech with that of Europe, emphasizing the importance of protecting offensive speech in a diverse society. ...
May 04, 2025•22 min
Yesterday, we published Part 1 of our review of the Trump administration's first 100 days. You can read that here . Today, we are going to cover some of the promises, controversies, and stories we didn’t have space for in Part 1. Then we’ll share some arguments from the left and right, and then Tangle Executive Editor Isaac Saul gives his take on Trump’s first 100 days. To access the full version of this podcast and more Friday Edition and Sunday podcasts click on the link for Ad-Free podc...
May 02, 2025•12 min
Since there’s so much to cover, we’ll be reviewing President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in a two-part edition. This edition is part one, and we’re sending it to all subscribers. Today, we’ll examine Trump’s central campaign promises and the degree to which he has kept them. Consistent with past reviews of Biden and Trump, we’ll use a “promise meter,” a 1–10 scale measuring how well Trump has kept his promise (with 10 being the best score). This is not our judgment on any pol...
May 01, 2025•37 min
On Monday, Canada held a federal election for members of the House of Commons to the 45th Parliament. The Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, won a plurality of seats , securing a fourth consecutive term in power. The Conservative Party placed second, and party leader Pierre Poilievre lost his seat, casting his political future into doubt. While the Liberals did not take enough seats to win a majority, as the party that received the most votes they will now put forward ...
Apr 30, 2025•29 min
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has heard a range of proposals to increase the fertility rate in the United States. While taking questions in the Oval Office on Tuesday, April 22, President Donald Trump expressed support for a “baby bonus” that would pay $5,000 per delivery to the women who have children, calling it a “good idea.” Additionally, advocates and policy experts have pitched the White House on scholarship allocations for married people or parents, new...
Apr 29, 2025•31 min
On Friday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan for allegedly helping an unauthorized migrant evade arrest. Dugan was charged with “obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the United States” and “concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest,” as stated in a criminal complaint signed by Milwaukee FBI agents and unsealed on Friday. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listener...
Apr 28, 2025•32 min
On today's Sunday podcast, Kmele Foster joins Isaac and Ari to discuss race, identity, and racial categories. They explore personal anecdotes, societal perceptions, and the implications of race in science and genetics. They also get into the complexities of genetic diversity, the absurdities of race science, and the implications of racial disparities in society, as well as cultural stereotypes, the dangers of racial pride, and the need for a more nuanced understanding of race in policy discussio...
Apr 27, 2025•47 min
In today's Friday edition, Executive Editor Isaac Saul makes the argument that President Biden is largely responsible for the historic surge in illegal immigration during his term. He goes over some of the policies that created the problem such signaling a more relaxed immigration stance, undoing effective Trump-era policies, and dramatically expanding parole programs through executive action. He discusses some factors that were outside Biden's control like post-pandemic labor demand and congres...
Apr 25, 2025•19 min
While answering questions in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Donald Trump made a series of remarks that appeared to soften his previous criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and stated that he intended to reduce U.S. tariffs on China. The comments sparked a stock market rally, though Trump did not indicate whether a trade deal with China was imminent. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast t...
Apr 24, 2025•33 min
In the past week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been the subject of scrutiny from former staffers and anonymous sources within the federal government, leading to an unconfirmed report that President Donald Trump was considering replacing him. On Saturday, April 19, three senior Department of Defense (DoD) officials who had been fired for allegedly leaking sensitive information criticized their dismissals in a public statement on X . Then on Sunday, The New York Times&nb...
Apr 23, 2025•30 min
On Monday, the Vatican announced Pope Francis died at the age of 88. Francis, the Catholic Church’s 266th pope, had led the Church since 2013 as a relatively progressive pontiff, grounding many of his beliefs in social and economic justice. The pope’s cause of death was identified as a stroke that led to a coma and heart failure; the stroke followed his February 14 hospitalization with double pneumonia. He recovered and was released from the hospital on March 23 but...
Apr 22, 2025•31 min
On today's Sunday podcast, Isaac and Ari jump back into the Kilmar Abrego Garcia controversy. And then we talk about all the things we don't know that we think we do know including this kind of shocking story on ADHD that was published in the New York Times Magazine. Ari talks about some tariff disagreements he has with me. Then we bring on Tangle team member and Senior at Harvard University Audrey Moorehead to talk more about Harvard and some of the controversy happening there. And, as always, ...
Apr 20, 2025•34 min
On April 10, the House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship for voters to register for federal elections. The bill passed the House 220–208, with all Republicans and four Democrats in favor. House Republicans attempted to pass the SAVE Act in September 2024 as part of a government-funding bill, but the chamber voted 220–202 against that version of the bill. The SAVE Act must ...
Apr 18, 2025•37 min
On Monday, President Donald Trump hosted Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele at the White House amid a protracted legal fight over Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man mistakenly sent to prison in El Salvador by the Trump administration. During an Oval Office press conference, Bukele said he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. The comments follow a Supreme Court decision upholding a federal judge’s order that the administration must work to retu...
Apr 17, 2025•32 min
On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it will freeze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the school refused to comply with a list of requirements it said were unlawful. In a joint letter dated April 11 , the General Services Administration, Department of Education (ED) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) demanded that Harvard adopt its suggested reforms in order to maintain its funding. Among the required ch...
Apr 16, 2025•31 min
On Saturday, U.S. and Iranian officials initiated discussions in Oman over Iran’s nuclear program. The majority of the talks were indirect and mediated by Oman, with each delegation in separate rooms and exchanging messages through Oman's foreign minister. However, at the end of the roughly two-and-a-half-hour session, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi reportedly spoke directly for 45 minutes (Iran claimed the e...
Apr 15, 2025•30 min
In the past week, U.S. courts have issued a pair of significant rulings on the deportation actions of the Trump administration. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled without dissent to uphold a federal judge’s order that the government must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Separately, on Friday, an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that the government could deport Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and recent Colu...
Apr 14, 2025•31 min
On today's Sunday podcast, Isaac and Ari talk tariffs (duh), there's so much more to say, whether Americans really want manufacturing to come back? And then a bunch of stories that we really have not gotten a chance to talk about; Proxy voting, Doge updates, Mahmoud Khalil, a Texas ruling from a Trump appointed judge that's pretty interesting. And a question that Isaac thinks we should all be thinking about: When was the last time you heard a story about abortion? They also discuss the latest in...
Apr 13, 2025•34 min
In today's Friday edition, Executive Editor Isaac Saul talks with author and political commentator Richard Hanania. They discuss his evolution from being part of the alt-right to becoming a more moderate conservative voice. He reflects on his past writings, the impact of the Trump administration, and the complexities of navigating public perception amidst his changing views. Hanania also delves into the implications of Project 2025 and critiques the current administration's approach to DEI polic...
Apr 11, 2025•30 min
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the individualized tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners, with the exception of China. The pause came roughly 13 hours after the tariffs took effect, and the White House said tariff levels would return to 10% on all imports during the pause. Conversely, President Trump raised the tariff on Chinese imports from 104% to 125%, effective immediately, citing “the lack of respect that China has shown to the Wor...
Apr 10, 2025•36 min
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in Trump v. J.G.G. , lifting a pair of temporary orders from U.S. District Judge James Boasberg blocking the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify deporting alleged noncitizen gang members. In an unsigned majority opinion, the Supreme Court did not weigh in on President Trump’s application of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to foreign-born gang members but specified that “the Fif...
Apr 09, 2025•30 min
On Tuesday, April 1, the Trump administration began large-scale layoffs at agencies across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he expected to cut 10,000 jobs in addition to the thousands of workers who have already resigned or been placed on leave. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been among the most impacted by the layoffs, with entire offices and d...
Apr 08, 2025•30 min
President Donald Trump’s decision to implement a baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. trading partners and additional, individualized tariffs on dozens of countries has prompted a range of responses from Republicans, Democrats, heads of state, and business leaders across impacted industries. With the individualized duties set to take effect on April 9, some countries have promised retaliatory countermeasures , while others have reportedly begun attempting to negotiate wi...
Apr 07, 2025•31 min
On today's Sunday podcast, Kmele Foster joins Isaac and Ari to discuss the ramifications of Trump's tariff policies, including what this means for the role of Congress. They discuss the emotion toll of consuming news and the how the media landscape shapes that, the Republican Party's stance on trade, the impact of globalization on American jobs, and what legacy DOGE may leave behind and how it has personally impacted them. Finally, the (understandably) longest Airing of Grievances yet. By the wa...
Apr 06, 2025•1 hr 40 min
In today's Friday edition, Executive Editor Isaac Saul makes the case for due process for anyone on American soil — and explaining how the recent deportation stories represent a genuine threat to American citizens. This is a preview of today's special edition that is available in full and ad-free for our premium podcast subscribers. If you'd like to complete this episode and receive Sunday editions, exclusive interviews, bonus content, and more, head over to ReadTangle.com and sign up for a memb...
Apr 04, 2025•11 min
