Tangle

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 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.

Early Saturday morning, the United States military conducted air strikes in Venezuela and carried out an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Shortly thereafter, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been indicted in the Southern District of New York and charged with “Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States.” In a press conference later in the day, President Donald Trump said that the United States will assume control of Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.” 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 U.S. operation in Venezuela? 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 edited and engineered 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.

Senior Editor Will Kaback interviews one of the worlds most traveled persons Chris Arnade of Chris Arnade Walks the World. His insights and perspectives of the world, politics, immigration, and class are especially unique and we dive deeper into all of it in this interview.For more information on Chris Arnade and his travels visit the link below:https://walkingtheworld.substack.com/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: Will Kaback and edited and engineered 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.

Tangle Managing Editor Ari Weitzman chats with Laurie Styron, the executive director of CharityWatch.org, about the validity of different charities, what to look out for before you denote money to any charities, the good and the bad, and what charities should we keep an eye out for. This is a very important discussion to check out especially before you make your end of year donations. For more information on Charity Watch go to: https://www.charitywatch.org/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 Ari Weitzman and edited and engineered 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.

Senior Editor Will Kaback interviews Simon Bazelon about the state of our current politics and where it is headed, the kinds of issues that will resonate most with voters, and the kind of policy platforms that are going to be winning for political candidates moving forward. For more information on the Deciding to Win report that Simon Bazelon was the lead author on go to https://decidingtowin.org/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: Will Kaback and edited and engineered 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.