Today's topic contains descriptions of sexual assault and language that may be inappropriate for some readers. Donald Trump and E. Jean Carroll. On Tuesday, a federal jury in Manhattan found former President Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and ordered him to pay $5 million in damages. The jury ruling was the result of a civil trial in which the writer alleged Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s, then defamed her by publicly m...
May 10, 2023•27 min
North Carolina's Supreme Court. Earlier this month, the North Carolina Supreme Court sided with Republicans in three major rulings: upholding the state's voter ID law, throwing out a previous ruling against gerrymandered voting maps, and overruling lower court decisions that felons have the right to vote. The ruling on the gerrymandered legislative maps will likely have a national impact, boosting Republicans' odds of growing their majority in the next House election. You can read today's podcas...
May 09, 2023•24 min
Jordan Neely's death. On Monday afternoon, Neely was aboard a subway train in New York City when he began shouting at other passengers and "acting erratically," according to witnesses. Another passenger on the train, identified as 24-year-old Marine veteran Daniel Penny, came up behind Neely and put him in a chokehold, while two other passengers helped Penny restrain Neely. After several minutes of holding Neely on the ground, he stopped moving, at which point medics arrived and failed to revive...
May 08, 2023•24 min
The Chevron deference. On Monday, the Supreme Court said it would reconsider the so-called Chevron deference, a 1984 precedent that conservatives argue gives too much power to federal regulators. The precedent directs courts to defer to a federal agency's legal interpretation when Congress has left statutory language ambiguous. You can read today's podcast here , our latest YouTube video here , and today’s “Have a nice day” story here . Quick hits (1:59), Today’s story (3:39), Left’s take (...
May 04, 2023•24 min
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). The 89-year-old senator has served in the Senate for more than 30 years, making her the longest-serving woman in U.S. Senate history. Last year, The New York Times reported that Feinstein was struggling "to recall the names of colleagues, frequently has little recollection of meetings or telephone conversations, and at times walks around in a state of befuddlement." San Francisco Chronicle and The New Yorker had previously published stories describing similar issues...
May 03, 2023•23 min
Supreme Court ethics. In the last few weeks, calls for a Supreme Court code of conduct have grown louder. On Wednesday, Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced legislation that would require the court to appoint an official to examine conflicts and public complaints. The bill, the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act , was hailed as bipartisan because King caucuses with Democrats. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Ha...
May 02, 2023•24 min
The debt ceiling. On Wednesday, House Republicans narrowly passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling to $31.4 trillion while cutting spending and rolling back key parts of President Biden's agenda. The bill, dubbed the “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” passed by a 217-215 vote and has no chance of becoming law in the Democratically-controlled Senate. Instead, it is designed to force Biden to negotiate over spending reductions or face a potential default on the nation's debt, as he wants to raise th...
May 01, 2023•23 min
Michael Morell. Last week, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding more answers about the public letter signed by 51 intelligence operatives who dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as likely "Russian disinformation." We've covered the Hunter Biden laptop story several times in Tangle. You can find our previous coverage of that here , as well as coverage of the Twitter files here . You can read t...
Apr 27, 2023•24 min
Biden 2024. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden officially announced his plan to run for president in 2024, setting up a potential 2020 rematch with likely Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump. That would be the first time the same nominees faced each other in back-to-back elections since Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson in 1956, and the first time a president has been challenged by his predecessor since 1912. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” stor...
Apr 26, 2023•26 min
Tucker Carlson. On Monday, Fox News announced it was parting ways with Tucker Carlson, its most popular primetime host and one of the most influential voices in conservative politics. The network released a curt statement saying they had "agreed to part ways" and thanked Carlson for "his service to the network." A rotating cast of Fox News personalities will take over the slot, and Brian Kilmeade filled in for Carlson on Monday night. Tangle is ramping up guest bookings for our newsletter, podca...
Apr 25, 2023•26 min
The Supreme Court's mifepristone order. On Friday night, the Supreme Court granted a request from the Biden administration and a drug manufacturer to put a Texas judge's ruling on hold that would have suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, SCOTUSblog reported . We covered Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's ruling in a previous edition of Tangle . You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have a nice day” story...
Apr 24, 2023•22 min
Evan Gershkovich. On Tuesday, a Russian court upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested while reporting last month under accusations of of espionage. Both the U.S. and The Wall Street Journal strongly deny the allegations, and have designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained. Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American citizen, is being held in prison pending trial in Lefortovo. It was the first time he has been seen in public since March 30. You can read ...
Apr 20, 2023•23 min
The Fox-Dominion settlement. On Tuesday, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle their defamation lawsuit and avoid a trial, marking the largest ever defamation settlement in U.S. history. The voting machine company had sued Fox News for $1.6 billion, arguing that Fox damaged its reputation by airing libelous theories that its equipment had switched votes from Donald Trump to Joe Biden during the 2020 election. You can read today's podcast here , our previous cove...
Apr 19, 2023•24 min
Bud Light. Last week, one of America's most iconic beer brands became the center of a culture war controversy after it partnered with a transgender influencer named Dylan Mulvaney. Bud Light sent Mulvaney custom beer cans with an image of her on them, and she then posted a video of herself online celebrating March Madness and her "first year of womanhood." You can read today's podcast here , my Twitter exchange with Matt Walsh here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have a nic...
Apr 18, 2023•24 min
Jack Teixeira. On Thursday, the 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsman was arrested by the FBI for allegedly leaking classified military documents in what is believed to be the most serious security breach since the publication of more than 700,000 documents by WikiLeaks in 2010. Federal agents arrested Teixeira at his home in Massachusetts. The arrest came just a week after the leaks became widely circulated online, but months after Teixeira allegedly first shared them with an online chat grou...
Apr 17, 2023•22 min
Tennessee’s legislators. On Wednesday, Tennessee lawmaker Justine Pearson was reinstated to the state House after a unanimous vote from the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. Pearson was the second of two Democrats to get voted back into office after being expelled by Tennessee state Republicans for leading a gun control protest that spilled into the state capitol and disrupted proceedings. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have a nice day...
Apr 14, 2023•23 min
Please, help us out by watching this trailer for the new Tangle YouTube channel! Support us with a subscription here or give a gift subscription here . Sign up for a subscription at our "Thank you" tier here . You can read today's "Have a Nice Day" story here . Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited by Zosha Warpeha. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, Ari Weitzman, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media man...
Apr 13, 2023•12 min
Last month, a trove of about 100 pages of classified documents began appearing on Discord, an app for group discussions. But in recent weeks, the same documents spread across Twitter, 4chan, and Telegram, raising awareness about their contents and what U.S. officials have now described as a "massive" and consequential intelligence leak. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (12:57), Tod...
Apr 12, 2023•22 min
On Friday, mifepristone, the most commonly used method of abortion in the United States, was thrown into legal ambiguity after conflicting court rulings from two federal judges. In Texas, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk suspended federal approval of the drug, which first cleared the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. Less than an hour later, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice, an Obama appointee in eastern Washington, released a nearly opposite order, related to a separate lawsuit...
Apr 11, 2023•24 min
Yesterday, former President Donald Trump was arraigned and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed his indictment and statement of facts in the case. At Tangle, we're taking a break for Passover, Easter, Ramadan, and Congress's two-week recess and will be back on Tuesday, April 11th. Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (12:03), Today’s Story (3:51), Right’s Take (6:16), Left’s Take (7:32), Isaac’s Take (9:12), Have A Nice Weekend (10:24). You can read today's podcast here and today's Have a ...
Apr 05, 2023•12 min
On Tuesday, voters in Wisconsin will vote in an election that could impact not just abortion rights in Wisconsin and the split in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but also the future of the state’s elections and even presidential elections in the U.S. more broadly. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (3:16), Today’s Story (5:09), Right’s Take (7:48), Left’s Take (11:32 ), Isaac’s Take (15...
Apr 04, 2023•23 min
In mid-March, we covered the "imminent" Trump indictment after the former president said he was going to be arrested in the coming days. It took nearly two weeks, but on Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump for his role in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. You can find a full timeline of the story to this point here. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (1...
Apr 03, 2023•23 min
On Friday, House Republicans passed an education bill focused on "parental rights" in the classroom, making a major political statement as one of their first acts with a House majority. The bill, titled the Parents Bill of Rights, passed in a 213-208 vote with five Republicans and all Democrats voting against it. Plus, a question about Biden's gaffes. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here , and today’s “Have A Nice Day” story here . From the Blindspot report, a...
Mar 30, 2023•22 min
Earlier this month, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed HB1410, known as the "Youth Hiring Act of 2023." Most controversially, the bill allows teenagers under the age of 16 to start a job without getting a work permit through the Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing. Also, a reader asks about the topics I don't like writing about. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (1:31), Today’s Story (3:12), Right’s Take (5:3...
Mar 29, 2023•25 min
On Monday, weeks of protests in Israel hit a fever pitch as hundreds of thousands of residents took to the streets in Tel Aviv immediately after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister for opposing his proposed judicial reforms. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here (paywall) and today’s “Have a nice day” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (0:53), Today’s Story (2:41), Left’s Take (6:53),Right’s Take (10:12), Isaac’s Take (14:07), ...
Mar 28, 2023•24 min
Last week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the ninth time since March of 2022, this time by a quarter of a percentage point. Interest rates are now at 5%, the highest level since 2007. The move comes at a time of unusual uncertainty, as some bankers and investors urge the Fed to pause the rate increases because of the failure of several mid-sized banks. Plus, I follow up on Friday's clickbait edition. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here (paywall...
Mar 27, 2023•23 min
On today's episode, we sit down with political psychologist Steven Kull and talk about developing new methods for giving us (the people) a greater voice in public policy. Kull is the director of the program for public consultation and part of the school of public policy at the University of Maryland. He is also the founder and president of Voice of the People (VOP), a nonpartisan organization seeking to give U.S. citizens a more direct line to members of Congress. You can subscribe to Tangle by ...
Mar 24, 2023•32 min
Members of Congress are proposing a TikTok ban. What are the best arguments for and against it? Plus, a reader question about what is happening in Israel. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” story here and today’s “Have a nice day” story here . Today’s clickables: Quick Hits (0:57), Today’s Story (2:49), Those Opposing Ban (7:20), Those Supporting Ban (11:02) , Isaac’s Take (14:46), Your Questions Answered (18:24), Under the Radar (20:15), Numbers (21:17), Have A Nice D...
Mar 23, 2023•23 min
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. On March 17, 2003, former President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein an ultimatum: Leave Iraq within 48 hours or face military action. On March 19, the U.S. began bombing Iraq, and on March 20 began a ground invasion. Today, we're revisiting the Iraq War, and examining some present day arguments about what went right and what went wrong. Plus, a question about budget proposals. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “U...
Mar 22, 2023•24 min
On Saturday, the International Criminal Court accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes, and issued a warrant for his arrest. Putin became just the third head of state to be indicted by the ICC while still in power. Specifically, the ICC accuses Putin of deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children — and potentially many more — to Russia. On Monday, China's leader Xi Jinping visited Putin in Moscow for three days of talks. You can read today's podcast here , today’s “Under the Radar” st...
Mar 21, 2023•22 min
