Tangle

On today's episode, Isaac and Ari discuss the recent political appointments made by President Trump, particularly on the controversial nomination of Matt Gaetz for Attorney General. They explore the implications of these nominations, the political strategies behind them, and the reactions from various political commentators. They also talk about military spending and the potential consequences of reforming the Department of Defense and the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight. And, as always, the Airing of Grievances.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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.com to sign up!Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!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 was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.

More than a week has now passed since Election Day, and before we fully pivot to focusing on the end of Biden's presidency, the current Supreme Court term, the new Congress, Trump’s appointees and the incoming administration, I think it's important to give one (potentially final) breakdown of the election we just had.I will discuss this in four parts:How should we accurately describe the results of this election?What was the deciding factor in this election?What other issues made a difference on the margins?What pre-election narratives should be put to bed?I hope that, by going through these four parts, I can give our listeners a better understanding of what happened and be ready to see what’s coming in the near future.Everyone in the media seems to want this election to be about the issue they care most about, or to find a way to answer “why Trump won” or “what happened to the Democratic party” in a few sentences. I think that kind of quick summation is impossible. Elections are always decided by a confluence of several factors, some more important than others, and today I’m trying to lay out those factors I suspect were most relevant. That’s the goal: not to give a single, definitive answer, but a holistic and overarching one.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!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 was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.

On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that any Republican senator hoping to obtain the position of majority leader would have to approve of recess appointments for his cabinet nominees. Typically, nominees for Cabinet positions, executive offices, or high-level ambassadorships undergo a hearing where they are asked questions by members of the Senate who then vote on whether to confirm an appointee. Only a simple majority is needed for confirmation. 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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.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.We are hiring!In the last month or so, the rapid growth of our readership has accelerated a planned expansion of our team. We are hiring for two positions:1) Customer service lead. We are looking for a highly organized, dedicated professional to help us provide the best possible service to our readers and listeners that we can. This is a crucial role to fill, and we'll be hiring as soon as possible. Job listing here.2) Assistant to the editor. We are also looking for a highly organized individual dedicated to Tangle's mission who has a passion for multimedia and politics. This person will be working directly with Tangle's executive editor Isaac Saul out of Tangle HQ in Philadelphia, with a start date in February-March. Job listing here.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Take the survey: What’s your opinion on recess appointments? Let us know!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 was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.

In the week after the election, President-elect Donald Trump reaffirmed his campaign promise to deport millions of immigrants living in the United States illegally. He has also started identifying high-ranking immigration officials to carry out the policy.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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.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.We are hiring!In the last month or so, the rapid growth of our readership has accelerated a planned expansion of our team. We are hiring for two positions:1) Customer service lead. We are looking for a highly organized, dedicated professional to help us provide the best possible service to our readers and listeners that we can. This is a crucial role to fill, and we'll be hiring as soon as possible. Job listing here.2) Assistant to the editor. We are also looking for a highly organized individual dedicated to Tangle's mission who has a passion for multimedia and politics. This person will be working directly with Tangle's executive editor Isaac Saul out of Tangle HQ in Philadelphia, with a start date in February-March. Job listing here.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Take the survey: What do you think of a future deportation effort in Trump’s next term? Let us know!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 Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. 

In the week since his electoral victory, President-elect Trump has begun announcing his picks for his cabinet and key White House staff. These selections offer the first glimpse of the president-elect’s governing priorities and the leaders who will work to enact his agenda. 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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.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.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Take the survey: What do you think of Trump’s recent appointments? Let us know!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 Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. 

In the madness of election week, we forgot to note that we are off for Veteran's Day today. As longtime readers and listeners know, the Tangle team observes all federal bank holidays, and also takes a couple "recesses" throughout the year around major holidays and congressional breaks (if Congress can take recesses, why can’t we as news reporters and consumers?).While we are off today, we still wanted to provide you with a little bit of content. So, below, we've compiled a list of some of recent publications and interviews that you might be interested in, as well as today's "quick hits."On Friday, we published an election-focused reader mailbag newsletter. We answered questions about the future of democracy, "missing votes," purported sexism in the election, how different news outlets call state elections, the argument that Trump is better for women's rights, and much more. You can read it here (newsletter members only).Also on Friday, we published a members-only podcast interview with Ken Block, the election fraud expert hired by the Trump campaign in 2020 to help them litigate election fraud claims. We chatted with him about what he did (and didn't) find. You can listen here (podcast members only).I recently appeared on the “Being Jewish” podcast with Jonah Platt to discuss my journey with Judaism, journalistic integrity today, and the Tangle mission. You can listen here. We have a lot of new content on our YouTube channel, including our election night livestream. You can check out the latest here.If you’re a new Tangle listener, you might also be interested in checking out my TED talk from April, in which I discuss politicized language choices and how even small changes can help us all have better conversations with people who think differently than we do. You can watch it here. 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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.com to sign up!Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!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 was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.

At 4:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris addressed a crowd of supporters at her alma mater of Howard University in Washington, D.C., to concede the election to President-elect Donald Trump. Harris said that she called to congratulate Trump on the victory and would help aid his administration’s transition but urged attendees to keep fighting for the issues that motivated her campaign.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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.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.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Take the survey: What do you think of Harris’s concession speech? Let us know!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 Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.

Former President Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the United States, with all major newsoutlets calling the race in his favor as of Wednesday morning. Trump is poised for a sweep of all seven swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — and holds a 51%–47.5% lead in the popular vote with a large percentage of the vote in West Coast states still to be reported.Trump appears likely to surpass his performance in the 2016 election, when he won 306 Electoral College votes but lost the popular vote by roughly 2%. He is also on track to flip every swing state President Joe Biden won in 2020. In a victory speech at 2:30am ET on Wednesday morning, Trump declared that his return to the White House will usher in a “golden age of America.” 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 it. You can go to tanglemedia.supercast.com to sign up!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.Check out Episode 8 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!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 Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo.