Tangle

The global market disruption. On Monday, leading indices used to gauge the investor market across the globe plunged.  In the United States,  the S&P 500 slid by 3%, the Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite index decreased by 3.4%. In Europe,  the pan-European Stoxx index fell 1.5% , its worst one-day drop in over a year, while London’s FTSE 100 fel...

The U.S.-Russia prisoner swap. On Thursday, the Biden administration  announced  a prisoner exchange between several European nations, the U.S., and Russia to secure the release of three U.S. citizens, one U.S. legal resident, and twelve others. Eight prisoners were sent back to Russia in return, three of whom had been held in the U.S. The swap was  the largest of its kind  sin...

On today's episode, Isaac and Ari talk about Tangle's five-year anniversary, Kamala Harris's pick for a running mate, and the debate around Supreme Court term limits. They also discuss the controversy surrounding Imane Khelif, a female boxer at the Olympics, the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich from prison, and Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. A...

Trump and Project 2025. On Tuesday, The Heritage Foundation’s Paul Dans  announced  he was stepping down from his position as director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, also known as Project 2025. Dans’s exit comes after weeks of Democratic criticism of the project on the campaign trail and repeated disavowals from former President Donald Trump, who has insisted Project 2025 i...

On Monday, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela announced that President Nicolás Maduro had won Venezuela's presidential election, defeating challenger Edmundo González by a total of 51% to 44%. The results were immediately contested, with leaders from a coalition of opposition parties claiming that vote tallies they received showed González up by 40 points . Protests over the results...

Biden’s Supreme Court reforms. On Monday, President Joe Biden  proposed  a set of reforms for the U.S. Supreme Court. The proposal recommends two new laws: one that sets an 18-year term limit for justices, and another that creates an enforceable code of conduct and ethics rules for the court. Additionally, Biden called for a constitutional amendment ensuring that presidents do not have i...

Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  addressed  Congress, his fourth such address as Israel’s leader. Netanyahu was invited to speak by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); the next day, he visited with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, then met with former President Donald Trump.  You can read today's po...

In today's episode, Isaac and Ari discuss Kamala Harris, her strengths and weaknesses, where she differs from Biden, and the potential criticisms coming from her opponents and the media. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances. Imagine this: There are over 100,000 people on this mailing list. If every person got one friend to sign up for Tangle, we could  double our readership overnight.&nbs...

Kamala Harris’s pick for vice president. Four days after President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris has  reportedly secured  the support of enough Democratic delegates to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Harris is now weighing her options for running mate and will likely make her selection within  the next two w...

Kimberly Cheatle’s resignation. On Tuesday, Kimberly Cheatle resigned her position as Director of the Secret Service (USSS) following the  attempted assassination  of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. In a  statement , President Joe Biden thanked Cheatle for her “decades of public service” and said he would appoint her successor to...

The Republican National Convention (RNC). Last week, Republicans convened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2024 election. The four-day event featured speeches from the party’s most prominent figures as well as celebrities, political commentators, and activists. Former President Donald Trump, who  survived an assassination attempt...

Joe Biden. On Sunday, President Joe Biden  announced  he is dropping his reelection campaign and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ticket. Biden, until now the presumptive Democratic nominee, leaves the race  later in the election cycle  than any sitting president in U.S. history. His exit sets the stage for an intense rush to unite the Democratic Par...

In today's episode, Isaac and Ari discuss the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the use of conspiracy theories, and the justification of political violence. They also talk about the ongoing calls for Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances. Imagine this: There are over 100,000 people on this mailing list. If every person got one friend to sign...

In the wake of the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump. There've been a lot of questions, namely questions about the security and the Secret Service at this Butler, Pennsylvania event. How could something like this happen? How could a 20 year old kid get onto a roof just a few hundred feet away from the former president and get several clean shots, several clean attempts, at his...

Bob Menendez’s bribery verdict. On Tuesday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was  convicted  on all counts of bribery, acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, obstruction of justice, extortion, and conspiring to commit those crimes. The verdict makes Menendez  the first sitting U.S. senator  to be found guilty of being an agent of a foreign government. You can read today's podcast ⁠ ⁠⁠her...

On Thursday June 27th, 2024, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump took the stage in the first of two planned televised debates. The debate, which took place in Atlanta and was hosted by CNN, was unique in a few ways. The Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized debates for nearly 40 years, was excluded after both Trump and Biden expressed their dissatisfaction over...

The dismissal of Trump’s classified documents case. On Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon  dismissed  the Department of Justice’s case against former President Donald Trump for illegal retention 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 . Imagine this: There are over 100,000 people on th...

J.D. Vance. On Monday, former President Donald Trump announced freshman Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as his running mate for the 2024 election. Before his election to the Senate, Vance was best known as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” which describes his experience growing up in a poverty-stricken home in Ohio. Vance, 39, is the first millennial nominated to either party's major ticket. If elected, he...

The Trump assassination attempt. On Saturday, former President Donald Trump  survived an assassination attempt  during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Around six minutes into his remarks, gunshots rang out and Trump grabbed his right ear, dropping to the ground as Secret Service agents swarmed him. Moments later, Trump stood up surrounded by Secret Service with blood covering h...

Isaac got to talk with Alon Gat. He recounts his harrowing experience on October 7th, what happened to him and his family, the current situation, and his hope for the future of Israelis and Palestinians. You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast wa...

A few months ago I flew to Vancouver to give a talk at TED2024 in Vancouver. I'd call something like this a "bucket list" item, except I never actually imagined it was something I'd get to do. The invitation was more like a monster surprise, a major career achievement, and a really fun way to spread the word about what we're doing here at Tangle. Anyway, when I made the trip, we announced it in th...

The Republican Party’s platform. Over the weekend, the Republican party released its  2024 campaign platform , the first time it has released a party platform since 2016.  The document  — titled “2024 GOP Platform Make America Great Again!” — includes 20 promises and 10 chapters outlining the governing priorities for a Republican president. Typically, the Republican and Democrat par...

The French elections. Over the weekend, a leftist coalition called the New Popular Front (NFP)  won a plurality of seats  in the 2024 French legislative election in a surprise upset over a right-wing movement that was expected to dominate the election. However, the New Popular Front failed to win a majority, leaving open the possibility of a hung parliament, which would be an  unpre...

Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. In the eleven days since President Joe Biden’s widely criticized performance in the first presidential debate, a growing number of donors, allies, and Democratic lawmakers have called on the president to drop out of the race.  Several   polls  released in the last week show former President Donald Trump’s lead over Biden  increasing , adding to...

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson . On Friday, the Supreme Court  voted 6-3  along ideological lines to uphold ordinances in the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, that outlaw sleeping and camping in public places while using materials like blankets, pillows, or cardboard boxes for warmth or shelter. The decision overturns a lower court’s determination that such laws are unconstitutional and&nbsp...