Tangle

On Tuesday, the House passed a comprehensive housing affordability bill 358–32, sending the measure to President Donald Trump to sign into law. The bill, titled the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, seeks to increase housing supply by rolling back construction regulations, expanding financing options, and restricting institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes in most circumstances. The Senate voted 85–5 to pass the bill on Monday. After originally scheduling a signing ceremony today, Trump announced he would cancel the signing until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. He has not indicated that he would veto the bill.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!A conversation with Tim Urban.Why are otherwise intelligent people unable to resist falling into echo chambers, and how do some get out? That’s what Executive Editor Isaac Saul recently discussed with Tim Urban, the creator of Wait But Why and author of the book What’s Our Problem? A Self-Help Book for Societies. The conversation flows from there, covering the information ecosystem, artificial intelligence, and the future of journalism. Check it out here!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠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 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isaac Saul interviews Tim Urban, author of the book What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies and creator of the popular blog Wait But Why. Tim does an incredible job at explaining how the big divide between the left and the right doesn't really explain whats going on in our country and what he thinks the solutions could be. 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 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, both the United States and Iran remotely signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the war between the two countries after more than 100 days of conflict. The White House also announced the details of the 14-point plan, which included calls for the U.S. and Iran to allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz and commits the United States to facilitating a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran.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 Father’s Day episode.In a special Father’s Day edition of Suspension of the Rules, Isaac, Ari, and Kmele are joined on the podcast by two guests: Executive Producer Jon Lall and Isaac’s father (and Tangle editor) Bailey Saul. The five of them represent different phases of fatherhood — from soon-to-be father to dad of two school-aged children to three-kid veteran (and grandfather) — and discuss what they’ve learned through their separate experiences. You can listen to the special edition here.You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ and today’s “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 memorandum of understanding? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that in 2027, the United Kingdom will ban children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube (but not YouTube Kids). Several other countries have passed similar bans, but the UK’s measure will go further, blocking features like live-streaming and communicating with strangers while gaming. Furthermore, Starmer said the regulations will restrict access to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots designed to simulate romantic or sexual relationships for users under 18 and may also impose curfews on social media use for under-18s.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 and today’s “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: Will social media bans be effective? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Sunday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has served as a mediator in peace discussions between the United States and Iran, announced that the two countries reached a deal to end their conflict. The Pakistani leader said that both countries would immediately cease military operations and formally sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday, though the text of the memorandum has not been released. 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 and today’s “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: How would you characterize the progress in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal published an exposé on the behavior of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee in the Maine Senate race. According to The Journal, Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, disclosed to his campaign last August that she had discovered sexually explicit texts between Platner and multiple women on his phone last spring. Furthermore, The Journal found that Platner has an active account on Kik, a private-messaging app often used to arrange sexual encounters. Also on Saturday, The New York Times revealed that Gertner had disclosed this information to a senior aide who later left the campaign, and Platner had been sending explicit messages to up to 12 women. The reports represent the latest controversies in Platner’s campaign to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R) in November’s election.New and improved comments.In case you missed our announcement in Friday’s edition on our favorite reader essays, our publishing platform Ghost has rolled out several new commenting features! Comment replies now nest more easily, helping you keep track of conversations, and you can now dislike comments that you think violate our commenting guidelines. To read more about these changes, you can check out our FAQ page. And to experience them yourself, comment below!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠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: Who do you think will win the Maine Senate election? 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Thursday, May 21, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) released a report examining the party’s performance in the 2024 elections. The 192-page postmortem argued that Democrats must “organize everywhere to Win Anywhere” and particularly advocated for a “renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South.” However, the organization distanced itself from the document’s findings. In a Substack post accompanying the report’s release, DNC Chair Ken Martin said, “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it.”Announcing our fourth guest for West Virginia!We’re excited to announce that Free Press columnist Kat Rosenfield will join our on-stage lineup at Tangle’s next in-person event in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, on June 14. Kat will share the stage with Tangle Executive Editor Isaac Saul, Editor-at-Large Kmele Foster, and Longview Editor Andy Mills for a conversation about artificial intelligence and national politics. We’re excited to bring the Tangle community together for the latest installment of our live event series, and we’d love to see you there.Tickets are moving fast, and you can get yours here!Our latest episode of Suspension of the Rules.After some discussion of aliens last week, Isaac, Ari, and Kmele move on to the next big thing: athletes using steroids! After some discussion of cheating in sports, they dive deep into the electoral ramifications of Tuesday’s primary runoffs. Plus, Isaac addresses some criticisms, the guys speculate on Rep. Thomas Kean’s (R-NJ) absence, and Kmele tries to defend the indefensible.Watch the most recent episode here!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 and today's “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 would you want to see from a 2024 DNC postmortem? 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Tuesday, Texas voters participated in a slate of primary runoff elections, including a highly publicized Republican Senate primary between state Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Paxton defeated Cornyn by a 27.6-point margin and will go on to face state Rep. James Talarico (D) in the general election. 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!What are monopolies?Recently, Executive Editor Isaac Saul sat down for a conversation with political commentator and author of the BIG newsletter Matt Stoller to discuss monopoly and antitrust law. The two discussed the reach of corporations, the power of billionaires, the prevalence of wealth inequality, the collapse of Spirit Airlines, and more. You can listen to the interview in our podcast feed or watch it on our YouTube channel!You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ and today's “This day in history.” 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: Who do you think will win the Texas Senate election in November? 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.