We'll be back in a few days. For now: Some content!
I’m Isaac Saul, and this is Tangle: an independent, nonpartisan, subscriber-supported politics newsletter that summarizes the best arguments from across the political spectrum on the news of the day — then “my take.”
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Dear readers,
A few times a year, the Tangle team takes a little breather. Our view here at Tangle is that we are running a marathon, not a sprint, and in order to survive the madness that 2024 is bound to bring — plus, keep this project going for years and decades to come — we need to pace ourselves. Across the space, a lot of media organizations are struggling to survive while a lot of independent creators and burning out and calling it quits.
As a business, we've succeeded with a very specific format and business model — one that emphasizes open debate and subscriber support. As a team, we've survived doing this work with a very specific formula, one that emphasizes working hard while also observing federal holidays and taking a few calculated weeks off throughout the year.
Spring break is one of those weeks.
So, as we head into the Easter and Passover season, with Ramadan already here, and with many colleges and organizations observing spring break in various ways, we're giving the team a few days off. We'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, April 2nd.
When we come back, you'll notice something a little different: For those first three days we return, we'll have "Our take" instead of "My take" in the newsletter. That's because I'll be traveling through next week, and rather than drafting a daily "My take," I will be instead working as part-writer, part-editor on a take our team will be writing as a group. We're excited to experiment with this iteration of our newsletter, but it's just that — an experiment. We'll be back to the normal "My take" the week following (On April 8th).
In the meantime, we also know some of you are receiving Tangle for the first time today while others are new, or may want some content to consume while we're gone. To that end, we've pulled together some of our best stuff from the newsletter, YouTube channel, and podcast from the last few weeks. We also went back into the archive and resurfaced a few old articles for your perusal.
Free editions:
- How we plan to cover the 2024 elections: A breakdown of what we are going to do (and not do) in 2024.
- From the border of identity, politics, and medicine: In a reader essay, anonymous physician who is religious, conservative, and transgender writes about their experience watching both sides debate trans issues.
- The Zionist case for a ceasefire: A personal op-ed where I made the case for a ceasefire in Israel. This was one of our most controversial pieces of the year so far.
- The Tucker Carlson-Vladimir Putin interview: Our breakdown of the interview Tucker Carlson did with Vladimir Putin in Russia.
Members-only editions (paywalled)
- How dangerous is porn, really?
- Your responses to the Zionist case for a ceasefire
- Everything we got wrong (and right) in 2023.
From the YouTube channel
- Designing the perfect presidential candidate
- My interview with Bill O'Reilly
- A little fun on UFOs from last year
From the podcast
- Me and Tangle managing editor Ari Weitzman talk about our State of the Union bets, what we were writing about in March of 2020, and why the media coverage of Trump is still terrible. Listen here.
- Episode one of our new Tangle series "The Undecideds" where we are following five undecided voters up to and through election day. Listen here.
- My interview with Democratic pollster Evan Roth-Smith, where we discuss Biden and Trump's biggest weaknesses. Listen here.
Free stories from the vault
- From May of 2022, a piece where I examined the documentary alleging election fraud called 2,000 Mules. Read it here.
- From February of 2022, my opinion piece making the case that you should vote. Read it here.
- From September of 2022, my itnerview with Hyrum Lewis on the "myth of left and right." Read it here.
- In January of 2020, I published the 100th edition of Tangle and wrote about my plans to turn the newsletter into a business. Read it here.
Paywalled stories from the vault:
- From May of 2020, in one of my first paywalled Friday editions, I explore the question of whether I'm a biased hack. Read it here.
- From June of 2022, a personal essay about my wife (paywalled). Read it here.
- From December of 2021, a reader essay from Sophie Trist on a consistent pro-life ethic. Read it here.
Quick hits.
- Authorities in Baltimore said the six people who remain missing after yesterday’s bridge collapse are presumed dead. Overnight, investigators boarded the ship and recovered its data recorder as they develop a timeline of events that led to the crash. (The latest)
- The Supreme Court appeared likely to side with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) against a group of doctors and medical associations challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill. (The arguments)
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named Nicole Shanahan as his running mate in his independent bid for president. Shanahan is a Bay Area lawyer and tech entrepreneur. (The announcement) Kennedy is currently polling at 9.9% in a three-way race with Donald Trump and Joe Biden. (The polls)
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) reached a deal to resolve securities fraud charges brought by state prosecutors in 2015. Paxton will be required to pay restitution, complete community service, and take legal classes as part of the deal. (The settlement)
- A U.K. court delayed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the U.S. to stand trial on espionage charges. The ruling gives U.S. prosecutors three weeks to offer assurances that Assange won’t be subject to prejudice at trial. (The decision)
Thanks!
For reading, for supporting our work, and for tuning in. And don't forget, we’ll still be sharing our content on Instagram while we're away!
We also still have VIP tickets available for our event in NYC on April 17!
We'll see you next Tuesday!
Best,
Isaac & the Tangle team