Tangle

Iran's attack on Israel. On Saturday, Iran launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles toward Israel. Iran had been promising the attack for two weeks since Israel’s bombing of an Iranian consulate building in Syria that killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including two generals. Despite years of Iran's proxies attacking Israel in a...

Isaac and Ari talk about Isaac’s recent trip to Bali, Biden’s new student debt forgiveness plan, a pro-Palestine protest at dinner event for UC Berkeley students, and whether Justice Sotomayor should retire. Plus, Ari finally has a grievance that Isaac agrees with. Watch our latest YouTube video, an interview with Edwin Raymond. He is a recently retired NYPD lieutenant, civil-rights activist and a...

The economy. In the last week, the government made two big announcements on the economy. First, on Friday, the Department of Labor reported that the economy added 303,000 jobs in March, though full-time unemployment decreased slightly. The total jobs added far surpassed economists' predictions that roughly 200,000 jobs would be added. Additionally, unemployment held steady at 3.8%, continuing...

President Biden's new student loan cancellation plan. On Monday, President Biden unveiled a new plan that could erase some or all of the college loans for up to 30 million borrowers . The plan comes less than a year after the Supreme Court blocked a broader effort that would have forgiven an average of $20,000 for roughly 40 million Americans. Today, around 43 million Americans own about $1.7...

Trump's abortion position. On Monday, former President Donald Trump released a four-minute video announcing his position on abortion. Trump, who teased the announcement over the weekend, appeared to endorse the current state of abortion law, implying it will continue to be left up to the states in the post-Roe era while declining to endorse any national limit on abortion. In March, Trump's...

The latest on the war in Gaza. This Sunday marked six months since Hamas's attack in Israel on October 7, and the semi-anniversary comes at a major inflection point in the resulting war. In late March, the Biden administration had signed off on billions of dollars of bombs and jet transfers to Israel. But in a tense phone call on Thursday, President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin N...

Zach Shrewsbury is a Marine Corps veteran, the grandson of a coal miner, a working-class Democrat, a father, and a proud West Virginian progressive candidate running for US Senate. He talked with Isaac about his background, community organizing efforts, "people first" policy priorities, and his embrace of the socialist label. Shrewsbury also talks about his military experience and how it...

The Florida abortion rulings. On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the First District Appeals Court that the state’s abortion restriction does not violate the Florida constituiton’s Privacy Clause. The 6-1 majority decision upholds a state law passed in 2022 to ban any abortion before 15 weeks of pregnancy, and also triggers a stricter 6-week abortion ban passed last spring...

RFK Jr.’s pick for vice president. On Tuesday, March 26, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his running mate in his independent bid for president: Nicole Shanahan, a 38-year-old attorney from California. Kennedy’s decision followed weeks of speculation about his VP shortlist, which reportedly included NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (I).   You can read today'...

The bridge collapse in Baltimore. On Tuesday, March 26, a cargo ship lost power as it was leaving the Port of Baltimore and allided with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a portion of it to collapse . The allision killed two construction workers on the bridge, while four others are missing and presumed dead , and halted vessel traffic in and out of the Port of Baltimore. The operators...

As we head into the Easter and Passover season, with Ramadan already here, and with many colleges and organizations observing spring break in various ways, we're giving the team a few days off. We'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, April 2nd. In the meantime, we also know some of you re receiving Tangle for the first time today while others are new, or may want some content to consume wh...

Violence and unrest in Haiti. Over the past week, more than 230 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from Haiti as a gang-led rebellion continues to surge through the Caribbean nation. In a briefing last Monday , March 18, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel called the situation “one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world,” saying that "gang violence continues to make...

The terrorist attack in Russia. On Friday night, four gunmen stormed Crocus City Hall, a concert venue outside Moscow, killing over 130 people and wounding over 100, according to Russia's top security agency. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, posting videos from cell phone footage one of the shooters took during the violence. U.S. officials said the Islamic State-Khorasa...

On today’s podcast, Isaac and Ari talk about their State of the Union bets, NCAA brackets and Caitlin Clark, Simon Rosenberg - the Democratic strategist and why I can't stop reading him, where we were in March of 2020 and why the media coverage of Trump still sucks. Plus, as always, our Airing of Grievances. You can watch our latest YouTube video, The Zionist Case for a Ceasefire, here . On Su...

Few people have had a closer look at the inner workings of our government than Andy Slavitt. In 2013, Slavitt oversaw the turnaround of healthcare.gov after its disastrous rollout. He then worked as Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) under President Barack Obama, which meant he was overseeing the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Health In...

The 32-hour workweek. Last Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced a bill to federally mandate a 32-hour workweek. Sanders’s bill is the Senate companion to a bill introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) in the House, the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act , which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32, lowering the maximum hours threshold for...

The Supreme Court's social media case. On Monday, the Supreme Court seemed likely to side with the Biden administration in Murthy v. Missouri, a dispute between the administration and two Republican-led states (as well as five social media users) over how the federal government can combat misinformation on topics like Covid-19 or election fraud. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ , o...

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Benjamin Netanyahu. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on Israel to hold new elections and described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Schumer, the first Jewish Senate majority leader, a longtime supporter of Israel and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., broke from a longstanding precedent...

The Georgia election interference case. Last week, there were two major developments in the 2020 election interference case in Georgia. First, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six counts in the sprawling indictment against former President Donald Trump and 14 co-defendants, including three counts specific to Trump. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ , our “Under...

On our premiere episode , we will meet our five undecided voters. Handpicked by the team at Tangle, these voters — from Florida, Ohio, California, Arizona and Pennsylvania — will answer questions about their upbringing, their beliefs, the biggest stories from the campaign trail, what stories are resonating, who they are voting for and why — all up to and then through election day. Each episode we’...

On today’s episode, Isaac talks with Evan Roth-Smith. Evan Roth Smith is a campaign consultant and pollster whose work includes federal, state, and local races, international opinion research, and independent expenditures and nonprofit advisory. He is a founding partner of Slingshot Strategies , a New York City-based political consulting firm providing communications, polling, and advisory experti...

Robert Hur’s testimony to Congress. On Tuesday, Special Counsel Robert Hur testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee about his final report on President Biden's handling of classified documents.  You can read today's podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ , our “Under the Radar” story here and today’s “Have a nice day” story here . You can also check out our latest YouTube video where we tried to buil...

From now until the election, we will follow the journeys of five voters from Florida, Ohio, California, Arizona and Pennsylvania, hand-picked by the team at Tangle, as they navigate through fact and misinformation. We’ll find out what issues really matter to them, what their values are, and ultimately, who will earn their vote. Tangle Media presents: The Undecideds — a limited podcast series leadi...

Biden's budget proposal. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden released a $7.3 trillion budget proposal for 2025, which if enacted would raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, lower the costs of prescription drugs and housing, and trim the deficit. You can read today's podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ , our “Under the Radar” story here and today’s “Have a nice day” story here . You can also check ou...

The TikTok ban. On Thursday, a bill that could make TikTok unavailable in the United States advanced in Congress, with a committee voting unanimously to bring it up for a full vote. The bill, called Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, could force the company to be sold or face prohibitions in the U.S. You can read the study mentioned in today’s My Take here . Y...