In today's episode, Managing Editor Ari Wietzman talks with Jill Escher, an autism research philanthropist (Escher Fund for Autism), real estate investor who provides low-income housing for adults with developmental disabilities, former lawyer, and mother of two children with nonverbal autism. In this discussion, she highlights the increasing prevalence of autism, the frustrations with current research methodologies, and the need for more innovative approaches to understanding causation. Escher ...
Jan 03, 2025•23 min
Today is Christmas Eve, which means the Tangle team is about to step into our annual holiday and New Year break. If you are new here — as many of you are — here's what you need to know: I believe in working hard, playing hard, and pacing ourselves. I know the media business is a difficult one, so I work myself to the bone and push my team to bring their best every day, too. But I also know that many people in the news business burn out and fail, in part because of how demanding it can be. So, we...
Dec 24, 2024•11 min
On Saturday, President Joe Biden signed a stopgap funding bill into law, averting a prolonged government shutdown after last-minute negotiations in the House and Senate. The continuing resolution (CR) is a scaled-down version of a bill that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released on Tuesday but scrapped a day later. The new CR , called the “American Relief Act, 2025,” funds the government at current levels through mid-March while providing roughly $100 billion in natural dis...
Dec 23, 2024•29 min
In the last couple weeks, I've been accused of being "out of touch" more times than I ever have in my entire life. The criticisms have mostly been for "my take" on the murder of Brian Thompson and then my response to reader feedback on that take. As frustrating as the criticisms have been, I also realized the problem was partially my fault. While I've touched on the topic a lot, I've never written explicitly about class and class politics — or my upbringing — here in Tangle. So on today's episod...
Dec 20, 2024•18 min
On Wednesday, House Republican leadership scrapped a bill to temporarily fund the government after President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and House Republicans came out against the effort. The sudden change of course comes just days before current government funding runs out on Friday night, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not indicated whether he will pursue a new bill to avert a shutdown. Note: This is a developing story. The information in this section is up-to-date as...
Dec 19, 2024•30 min
On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump settled a defamation lawsuit with ABC News over inaccurate statements made by news host George Stephanopoulos during a segment in March. As part of the settlement, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a "Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past." Additionally, the network will pay $1 million to cover Trump'...
Dec 18, 2024•31 min
On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced the largest single-day act of clemency in modern American history, commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were moved from prison to serve home-confinement sentences during the pandemic. Additionally, Biden pardoned 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. 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 finally launched it . You can ...
Dec 17, 2024•28 min
For several weeks, residents of New Jersey and other East Coast states have reported seeing possible drones flying over residential neighborhoods and restricted areas. While federal officials have stated that the aircraft do not pose a public safety risk, a lack of specificity in the response has created uncertainty about their origins and nature. Overall, UAPs have been reported in at least six states : Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Ad-fr...
Dec 16, 2024•30 min
Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Isaac, Ari, and Jon talk about "Karens" and the whether we should appreciate them or not. They also discuss birthright citizenship, with Jon sharing his personal immigration story as a second-generation American. They talk about the complexities of assimilation and the immigrant e...
Dec 15, 2024•28 min
On today's episode, Isaac responds to comments and criticism on our coverage of the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Tangle Editor Will Kaback sits in to read Isaac's response. This is a preview of today's Friday 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 tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up for a membership....
Dec 14, 2024•25 min
On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump gave his first network television interview since the election, speaking with NBC's Kristen Welker for Meet The Press. During the interview, Trump said he would seek to end birthright citizenship, possibly through executive action, calling the practice “ridiculous” and saying the U.S. is the only country that grants the right. Legal experts doubt that the president has the power to curtail birthright citizenship, but Trump’s transition team has...
Dec 12, 2024•31 min
On Monday, a Manhattan jury found Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 26, not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless street artist Penny placed in a chokehold on a New York subway car in May of last year. Previously, the more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on the count. Penny faced up to 15 years in prison for manslaughter and four years for negligent ...
Dec 11, 2024•29 min
Tangle Editor Will Kaback talked with Ambassador John Sullivan who gave a comprehensive overview of the current state of the Ukraine war, the implications for U.S. national security, and the challenges facing future administrations. They discussed the importance of supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, critiques the political rhetoric surrounding the conflict, and reflects on his experiences in Moscow leading up to the invasion. This is a preview of today's special edition that is avail...
Dec 11, 2024•25 min
On Sunday, ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country and was granted political asylum in Russia. Assad's departure marks the end of his regime, a dramatic turn of events following a ten-day offensive by rebel forces starting with the capture of Aleppo on November 30. Editor’s note: The situation in Syria is one of the most complex geopolitical issues in the world and continues to evolve by the hour. Today’s newsletter is an attempt to catch you up on the la...
Dec 10, 2024•32 min
On Wednesday, a gunman shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a hotel in New York City. Police have yet to publicly identify the shooter or determine a motive, though they believe the attack was targeted. Despite these limited details, the incident has reignited debates about the United States’s healthcare system and incited controversy on social media, where many have expressed support for the shooter. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have b...
Dec 09, 2024•29 min
Please enjoy this preview episode of our Sunday podcast. The full editions are available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. In this episode, Isaac, Ari, and Will discusses the recent murder of Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, celebrating violence against perceived elites, the moral dilemmas of such reactions, and the broader context of immigration and deportation statistics. Then Isaac and Ari talk about t...
Dec 08, 2024•28 min
On today's episode, Managing Editor Ari Weitzman explores the evolution and current state of liberalism in the United States, particularly in the context of recent political events and the 2024 elections. He discusses the defining values of modern liberalism, including social protection, civil rights, foreign intervention, big government, and labor. This is a preview of today's Friday edition that is available in full and ad-free for our premium podcast subscribers. If you'd like to complete thi...
Dec 07, 2024•22 min
On Wednesday, a majority of Supreme Court justices signaled that they were willing to allow states to pass laws limiting access to treatments prescribed for transgender teens. During over two hours of oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti, a case challenging a Tennessee law banning gender transition surgeries and the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender minors, five justices in the court’s conservative majority indicated they were ...
Dec 05, 2024•28 min
On Saturday, President-elect Trump announced the nomination of Kashyap "Kash" Patel as the new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel is a former federal prosecutor who served in the White House during Trump’s first term and is viewed as a strong ally of the president-elect. For Patel to take over the position, current FBI director Christopher Wray (who Trump also nominated) will either need to resign or be fired, as Wray is serving a 10-year appointment that began in...
Dec 04, 2024•29 min
On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that he had issued a full and unconditional pardon of his son, Hunter, for any criminal acts between January 1, 2014 and December 1, 2024. The younger Biden was convicted earlier this year on felony gun charges and pleaded guilty to felony tax offenses; he was set to appear at sentencing hearings for those cases on December 12 and December 16. The president’s decision comes after repeatedly promising that he...
Dec 03, 2024•31 min
Here at Tangle, we’ve just had a year straight of one of the longest, wildest, most unpredictable, campaign seasons I've ever witnessed. From two assassination attempts on Donald Trump to the shocking first debate to Joe Biden dropping out to Kamala Harris's coronation as top Democrat and everything that happened after that and in between. If you are reading this newsletter, you are either a voracious news consumer or someone who is at least spending a few minutes a day trying to stay informed.&...
Nov 27, 2024•6 min
On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump named Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) as his nominee for Labor secretary. Chavez-DeRemer, who narrowly lost her bid for re-election to the House, is considered one of the most pro-union Republicans in Congress, and her nomination serves as another signal that the GOP’s historically adversarial stance toward unions may be changing. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they could s...
Nov 26, 2024•26 min
Last Monday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a resolution requiring Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex at the Capitol and in House office buildings. Then, on Wednesday, Mace released the text of a bill that would establish the same rule for all individuals in federal buildings. Mace said she introduced the bill in response to Sarah McBride’s (D-DE) election to the House. McB...
Nov 25, 2024•30 min
Please enjoy this fully unlocked preview episode of our Sunday podcast. These editions are normally available exclusively for premium podcast members. To become a member, please go to tanglemedia.supercast.com and sign up. On today's episode, Managing Editor Ari Weitzman takes on lead hosting duties while Isaac is away and invites on the Tangle team. Will Kaback, Magdalena Bowoka, and Jon Lall join for a game of which political figure they would choose to sit next to on a 10-hour flight, Wi...
Nov 24, 2024•1 hr 14 min
This week, editor Will Kaback sat down with Dave O’Brien , the policy director for RepresentUs, to ask him some of the questions our readers always ask us about money in politics — how it works, how it’s changed, and what can be done to stop it. The conversation touched on how wealthy individuals like Elon Musk impacted the election, the ballot initiatives on campaign finance reform that RepresentUs supported in 2024, whether there’s anything good about super PACs, and some of ...
Nov 22, 2024•20 min
On Wednesday, a bipartisan House ethics panel investigating sexual misconduct claims against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) voted not to release its report. The panel was scheduled to meet last week to discuss making the report public but changed course after Gaetz resigned from Congress following President-elect Trump announcing him as his pick for attorney general. The Ethics Committee customarily does not release a report if a member leaves office (with some exceptions ). Gae...
Nov 21, 2024•28 min
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that undated or misdated mail ballots should not be counted in the 2024 election, reaffirming a prior decision and hampering Sen. Bob Casey’s (D) efforts to challenge the results of his race with Dave McCormick (R). The Associated Press and other outlets have called the race for McCormick, and he attended the Senate’s orientation for new members last week. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many lis...
Nov 20, 2024•28 min
On Sunday, President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range weaponry — called Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS — to strike within Russian territory. Then on Tuesday morning, Ukraine used the ATACMS for the first time, reportedly striking a Russian arsenal in the Bryansk region 70 miles from the Ukrainian border. Additionally, the Pentagon confirmed that the White House intends to issue $7.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine throu...
Nov 19, 2024•29 min
On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy, who ended his independent bid for president in August and endorsed Trump , is a longtime environmental and public health activist whose views on vaccines and other healthcare issues have run counter to the medical establishment. If confirmed by the Senate, he would lead the largest health agency in the U.S., made up of o...
Nov 18, 2024•28 min
On today's episode, Isaac and Ari discuss the recent political appointments made by President Trump, particularly on the controversial nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. They explore the implications of these nominations, the political strategies behind them, and the reactions from various political commentators. They also talk about military spending and the potential consequences of reforming the Department of Defense and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight. And, as always, the...
Nov 17, 2024•32 min
