Tangle

Last week, President Donald Trump announced a pair of actions to address rising homeownership costs. On January 8, the president directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — government-sponsored mortgage-finance companies — to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds to bring down mortgage rates. On January 7, Trump said he was “taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes” and would ask Congress to codify those rules. The president said he will share more details about his housing affordability plans in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week. Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!The roots of travel nightmares.If you’ve flown commercially in the past decade, you’ve probably noticed an uptick in irritants — delays, cancellations, shrinking seats, and, broadly, a system that seems built to exhaust customers rather than help them. In our latest YouTube video, we break down the source of these problems, why they’re so persistent, and why recent efforts to solve them have failed. It’s one of our most in-depth investigations yet, and we’d love for you to check it out.https://youtu.be/cs242CC8rCc?si=kuG3rlWRyS33RT-A<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cs242CC8rCc?si=fCvUjlGPo8anjSz4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: Which do you think would be more effective, Trump’s proposal or Ari’s? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Ari Weitzman and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

During oral arguments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court appeared likely to uphold state laws banning anyone other than biological females from participating in women’s and girls’ sports. In West Virginia v. B.P.J., the mother of a transgender girl brought a challenge to a state law in West Virginia; in Little v. Hecox, a transgender woman wishing to compete at the college level challenged an Idaho law. Together, the legal challenges claim the laws violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in programs that receive federal funding. Although the justices are expected to rule similarly in each case, the Court is considering the challenges separately.Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What do you think of the challenges to these laws? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Audrey Moorehead and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that the U.S. attorney’s office in the District of Columbia has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The investigation reportedly focuses on Powell’s June 2025 congressional testimony about the central bank’s renovation of its Washington headquarters. Shortly after the first reports surfaced, Powell confirmed that he had received grand jury subpoenas from the Justice Department threatening a criminal indictment. The chairman called the investigation “unprecedented” and said the administration is threatening legal action to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates.Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What do you think of the DOJ subpoenaing Powell? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump has prioritized the United States’s influence in the Western Hemisphere, often antagonizing nearby countries and seeking to increase control of critical resources. Last week, after the U.S. captured and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump and his top officials threatened Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico with similar military action and renewed his focus on acquiring Greenland. Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What do you think of the “Donroe Doctrine?” Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

The mission of Tangle is to be a big-tent media organization — and one way we do that is by exposing people to a wide range of opinions. In each edition, someone on our staff also writes “My take” as a way to share our own perspective on the day’s topic. Last year, our process began to evolve when I had my first child in January and spent a portion of the start of the year on paternity leave. Throughout 2025, we continued featuring more takes from other writers on the team, and we debuted our “staff dissent” section. I never intend to be the authoritative, final voice on any issue — though of course I feel more strongly on some topics than others. Rather, I think of it as an act of transparency for me (or a staff member) to share their own views, and as an opportunity to try to offer unique and fresh perspectives that may not exist elsewhere. One of the things I loathe most about the media generally — and one of the reasons I created Tangle — is that outlets too often let their pundits fire off hot takes with zero accountability. This lack of accountability extends beyond media spaces and pervades society, from the halls of Congress to the executive offices of our biggest corporations. So, in my ongoing attempt to live my values, I started a tradition of dedicating the first Friday edition of every new year to grading some of my previous writing. Here’s our process: A couple of months ago, my team and I started looking through our archives to flag instances where we took a strong position on a defining story in the past year. I also sorted through reader criticisms, feedback, and suggestions about articles to revisit.Of course, if you spend a year analyzing hundreds of issues, you are bound to get a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. Yet, to my delight, this year was our best year yet in terms of our overall “grades.” I think the growth of our team has genuinely made us more reliable and measured — and it’s fun to see the results.Below, we’ll share key excerpts from our writing, a brief “reflection,” and then a grade on the A-to-F scale (that the writer of the take and editors have agreed on). We’ve had the writer reflect on their own work, and then came up with final grades as a team. Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!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, Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Audrey Moorehead and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

On todays show Isaac, Ari and Kmele talk about the breaking news in Minnesota with a fatal shooting by an ICE officer to a US citizen. They then have a discussion about the meaning behind all of Trump's tactical military successes and Venezuela. Next, they talk about the January 6th anniversary and last but not least, The Airing of Grievances.Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!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 hosted by: Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Jon Lall.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

On Wednesday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed a woman in her vehicle during an operation in a Minneapolis, Minnesota, neighborhood. Federal officials claimed that the woman was attempting to run over ICE agents, while local officials said the officer acted recklessly. The incident comes amid heightened tension in the city and state, which has become a focus of the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What do you think of the shooting? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

In late December, protesters in Tehran, Iran, took to the streets over rising costs and economic conditions in the country. Larger demonstrations erupted across Iran in the following days, with crowds gathering in major cities and provincial centers to protest economic conditions, government restrictions, and broader grievances with the country’s political system. Iranian authorities responded with a mix of violent suppression and internet disruptions; a spokesman for the Iranian government has claimed the unrest is driven in part by foreign interference. President Donald Trump said the United States supports the Iranian people’s right to protest and threatened Iran not to harm protesters, posting on social media on Friday, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: Do you think the current protests will lead to the end of the Islamic Republic? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Will Kaback and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.

On Monday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced he is ending his reelection campaign for a third term. In his announcement, Walz cited the state’s ongoing fraud scandals as the basis for his decision, saying, “Every minute I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity and the cynics who prey on our differences.” The governor and 2024 Democratic vice presidential candidate has come under increasing scrutiny for his handling of the fraud schemes, which were concentrated in the state’s Somali-American community and have drawn national attention in recent weeks. Ad-free podcasts are here!To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What do you think of the fraud in Minnesota? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast was written by: Ari Weitzman and audio edited and mixed by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Lindsey Knuth, Bailey Saul, and Audrey Moorehead.