Tangle

Isaac, Ari, and Kmele really get into it about all the Jeffrey Epstein stuff for nearly an hour. Then they talk about their opinions on the Jerome Powell and President Trump situation. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances and a very good one at that.  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 fin...

Hundred-year floods in Central Texas. Wildfires encroaching on the Grand Canyon. Powerful hurricanes, heat records, even winter storms — these events have many people sounding the alarm about climate change.  But which is it? Wetter or drier? Hotter, or more extreme in general? Can one effect possibly be causing such a wide range of problems? Are humans contributing to severe weather, or are...

Biden’s use of the autopen. On Tuesday, Fox News  reported  that the White House Counsel’s Office — in coordination with the Justice Department — is investigating former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen while in office. The Trump administration  says  the investigation will examine how Biden used the  autopen , a machine that reproduces a person’s signature, ov...

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has  escalated his criticisms  of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over Powell’s decision to maintain interest rates at current levels. The comments follow  reports  that Trump is considering removing Powell from his position, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent  said  that the administration has begun vetting replacement ca...

On Monday, President Donald Trump  announced  two measures aimed at pressuring Russia to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. First, Trump said Russia would face tariffs “at about 100%” if it did not agree to a peace deal in the next 50 days,  adding  that he would impose secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, such as China, India, Brazil, and Turkey. Second,...

On Thursday, federal immigration authorities  said  they arrested 319 people suspected of being in the country illegally in raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection at two licensed cannabis farms in California. Law enforcement officers also found 10 children in the country illegally during the raids and arrested four United States c...

Isaac, Ari, and Kmele talk a lot about Jeffrey Epstein and the Grok/ai chat bot meltdown. Then the guys play a fun population game that they surprisingly do well on. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances and our mutual frustration with ticks! 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 i...

So today, I’d like to tackle five things I think I’ve gotten wrong about President Donald Trump’s administration through the first six months of his second term. Of course, the book isn’t closed on all these stories, and I remain open to having my mind changed again in the future. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad-free version of this podcast that they could subs...

On Saturday, Elon Musk  announced  his intention to create a new political party, called the “America Party.” The announcement follows Musk’s  public fallout  with President Donald Trump over Musk’s exit from the administration and spending provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill enacted on Friday. While the America Party is not yet an official political entity, Musk  say...

On Monday night, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released  a joint memo  with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) affirming prior findings in the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The memo  concludes  that materials related to the Epstein case prove that he had committed suicide in 2019, that Epstein did not have a “client list,” and that no other...

Today we are going to be releasing an interview we did with Nick Troiano, who's coming back on the podcast for the second time. Nick is the Executive Director of Unite America, an organization trying to spread election reform all across the United States. We thought this interview was timely because we just had a very impactful mayoral race in New York City that was determined by rank choice votin...

On June 27, the Supreme Court  voted  6–3 to uphold a Texas law requiring pornography websites to verify the age of their visitors. The law,  HB 1181 , compels sites that contain more than one-third “sexual material harmful to minors” to use “reasonable age verification methods” (such as government identification or other personal documents) to determine whether users are over the a...

On Friday, flash flooding  caused  catastrophic damage in Texas Hill Country, a region of Central and South Texas, killing at least 89 people. As of Monday morning, at least 41 people are still missing, and rescue operations remain underway. The majority of the fatalities occurred in Kerr County, where  75 deaths  have been reported. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick  said  ...

Isaac shares his love for America. You can  subscribe to Tangle by clicking here  or drop something  in our tip jar by clicking here.   Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall. This podcast was written by:  Isaac Saul  and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edit...

On Tuesday, following a marathon  all-night voting session , the Republicans’ taxation and spending bill  passed  the Senate 51–50 on a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance. Republican Senators Rand Paul (KY), Thom Tillis (NC), and Susan Collins (ME) joined every Democratic senator in voting no; all other Republican senators voted yes. The bill — known as the One Big, Beau...

On Friday June 27th, Tangle's newest member, Editor-at-large Kmele Foster released his first written piece. Kmele’s essay tackles America’s 2020 racial reckoning and describes his philosophy about the country’s racial movements. It's a thought provoking, vulnerable, and engaging piece that has invited a lot of comments, questions, and feedback. Many people asked us to make a podcast version of his...

On Friday, the Supreme Court  voted  6–3 in favor of a group of Maryland parents who had wanted to opt their elementary-aged children out of instruction that included LGBTQ+ themes. The majority agreed to grant the parents a preliminary injunction while their lawsuit proceeds in lower courts, allowing them to withhold their children from such curriculum. The court’s three liberal justice...

On Friday, the Supreme Court  voted  6–3 to partially pause rulings by federal judges blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The decision did not weigh the constitutionality of the executive order but dealt solely with federal courts issuing universal injunctions, which prohibit the government from enforcing a law or policy anywhere in the countr...

Isaac, Ari, and Kmele discuss the general response and personal opinions to Zohran Mamdani's mayoral primary win and what the Democratic Party should learn from it. They also talk about the Iran strikes and then Kmele addresses some criticism we received from last week's Sunday podcast. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances and our mutual frustration with ticks! Ad-free podcasts are here! Many...

Following a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee on Sunday, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough  advised  that several measures in the “ Big Beautiful Bill ” fail the Byrd Rule and cannot be included in Republicans’ omnibus spending and taxation bill under budget reconciliation. Among the measures MacDonough identified are provisions barring certain noncitizens from receiving...

On Tuesday, results from New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary  showed  state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in a commanding lead over the field, setting the stage for him to become the party’s nominee in the general election on November 4. As of 11:45am ET on Wednesday morning, Mamdani, a democratic socialist,  leads  former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo 43.5%–36.4% with 93%...

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court  voted 6–3  along ideological lines to uphold Tennessee’s ban on certain treatments for transgender minors. The ruling rejected an argument brought by three transgender teens, their parents and a Memphis doctor that the law violates the Constitution’s Equal Protection and discriminates on the basis of sex, which requires stricter scrutiny than the standard...

On Saturday, President Donald Trump  announced  that the United States had carried out airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Trump called the mission a “very successful attack” and said the aircraft involved in the strikes were all “safely on their way home.” The extent of the damage to the sites is currently unknown, though the Pentagon  says &nbsp...

Happy Juneteenth from the Tangle crew! Isaac, Ari, and Kmele talk about the MAGA fight over Iran. They also discuss the controversial interview of Ted Cruz by Tucker Carlson followed by a conversation about the potential federal land sell outs. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances, which is a particularly uplifting one today. Ad-free podcasts are here! Many listeners have been asking for an ad...

For the last few years, one of my favorite parts of Tangle has been hiring young writers and giving them an opportunity to work with us. Over the years we’ve had a number of “interns” (nobody really does intern work here) who have made major contributions to our newsletter, gone on to work for awesome publications, or left and returned years later to work for us. Last year, our managing editor Ari...