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Donald Trump appears to be deteriorating…in every way possible. Physically, mentally, internationally, grammatically—somehow, orange man worsening, while word salads, IVs, and naps are great again. Ryan Cooper of the American Prospect helps us think through what it means for 2026, 2028, and beyond. Resources https://prospect.org https://www.leftanchor.com https://wlos.com/news/local/joke-trump-fema-funding-president-donald-trump-north-carolina-western-helene-reaction-whatley-cooper-election-candidates-politics-gov-josh-stein-community https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mvoaqk2q2523 https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-chance-for-peace-delivered-before-the-american-society-newspaper-editors https://www.liberalcurrents.com/how-the-homeless-continue-to-be-forgotten-in-the-midst-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/ "Donald Trump" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

When those at the very top echelon of influence in Silicon Valley think about, talk about, and interact with government, what does that look like? Can we come up with a legible, understandable picture of the tech elites' idea of what governing is and how they relate to it? Adrian Daub says yes, and he says it in his new book "What Tech Calls Governing." Resources "What Tech Calls Governing": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781503648333 "The Cancel Culture Panic: How an American Obsession Went Global": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781503640849 screengrab of Elizabeth Holmes from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGJSRFWALTI Elon Musk photo by Gage Skidmore https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/54349592271/in/album-72177720324044219 Mark Zuckerberg with Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI-ULy4akl0 Peter Thiel photo by Gage Skidmore https://flic.kr/p/2n3bPZt Tim Cook in Oval Office from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAGUjY2HIs

What is the current state of affairs in Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding nations? We ask Y. L. Al-Sheikh for her help summarizing and contextualizing recent developments. Resources ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/diplomatofnight.com⁠ ⁠https://www.liberalcurrents.com/author/ylalsheikh/⁠ ⁠https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yaseen-al-sheikh/⁠ ⁠https://internationalpolicy.org/resource-author/y-l-al-sheikh/⁠ ⁠https://foreignpolicy.com/author/yaseen-al-sheikh/⁠ ⁠https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/new-maps-show-how-israel-has-thwarted-hopes-for-a-palestinian-state⁠ ⁠https://truthout.org/articles/air-force-is-reviewing-case-of-iran-war-gold-star-widow-being-denied-benefits/⁠ "The One State Reality: What Is Israel/Palestine?": ⁠https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781501768408

Donald Trump's unprovoked trade war with Canada and his chaotic attacks on Iran have him hemorrhaging support in states he won in 2024. Why doesn't he seem to care? What is he thinking? We can't read minds, but we can talk to Greg Sargent from the New Republic about Trump's statements, posts, and actions over the last month or so. Resources https://newrepublic.com https://bsky.app/profile/gregsargent.bsky.social https://newrepublic.com/article/214669/trump-canada-trade-war-backfiring https://newrepublic.com/article/214682/transcript-krugman-trump-reveals-deep-contempt-maga-voters https://newrepublic.com/article/214748/transcript-trump-fury-canada-already-backfiring-badly

Who are the women supporting the rise of the far right in the United States? Are they brainwashed? Confused? Under coercive control? Dr. Katie Gaddini presents her findings after interviewing politically active right-wing women across the country and explains that there can be several distinct classifications of such women, who all are different, complex, and active participants in their political movement. Resources https://katiegaddini.com "Esther's Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324123767 https://slate.com/culture/2026/07/conservative-women-right-wing-republican-christian-evangelical-trump-politics-maga.html https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/katie-gaddini/esthers-army/ podcast: blessed & stressed https://katiegaddini.com/podcasts https://katiegaddini.substack.com

Vaccination rates are falling across the country, vaccine deniers are occupying positions of power in the United States government, and previously eradicated diseases are reappearing. Tracking all of this is Caitlin Gilbert and her colleagues at the Washington Post health, science, and wellness desk. We asked her to fill us in on the state of the nation when it comes to vaccination, inoculation, and all things disease prevention. Resources https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/caitlin-gilbert/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/08/17/trump-rolls-back-vaccine-recommendations-see-where-your-school-stands/ https://bsky.app/profile/caitlingilbert.bsky.social https://bsky.app/profile/caitlingilbert.bsky.social/post/3msr4aokzkc2s https://www.tiktok.com/@caitlingilbertdata https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24135-vaccines https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3407399/

It's an unhinged political ad round-up, featuring racist memes from Donald Trump himself and Ken Paxton's rancid, deep-fried AI slop rip-off of one of the most famous ads from history. Author Jonathan M. Katz helps us make sense of the hideous soup of extremism, slander, bad art, and dirty dealings that we're all floating in. Resources: https://www.theracket.news https://www.forever-wars.com "Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250135599 "The Big Truck That Went By: How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781137278975 "The Legend of Skokie: A Story of Free Speech and Fascism in America": https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781250427519 https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/michigan-senate-results https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/the-right-is-targeting-abdul-el-sayeds-family-members/ https://www.wbaltv.com/article/trump-backed-candidate-michigan-loss-dropped-out/73357749 https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/racist-book-camp-saints-gains-popularity/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Turner-Diaries https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/an-infamous-attack-ad-just-got-an-ai-resurrection/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/arts/rachel-pollack-dead.html https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/turner-diaries-other-racist-novels-inspire-extremist-violence/

Why does the right keep talking about a handful of critical theorists from the 1960s? Why are they hellbent on rooting out discussion of progressive ideas from the public sphere? What did Theodor Adorno have to do with the release of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? And does the notion of "Cultural Marxism" imply the existence of seminal thinker Cultural Marx? We talk to A. J. A. Woods, author of "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy," about all these questions but the last one. "The Cultural Marxism Conspiracy" https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781804296967 ⁠https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-ever-shifting-cultural-marxism/⁠ ⁠https://nathangoldwag.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/do-we-all-live-on-campus-now/⁠ ⁠https://www.thefp.com/p/honestly-rufo-mounk-debate-dei⁠ "beatles 4" by beatles maniac11 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit ⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse⁠.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has somehow jumped the queue, passing Mitch McConnell on the way to the place where Republican senators go at the end of a life full of compromises, betrayals, and cruelty. With the help of author, election strategist, and social justice advocate Maya Rupert, we explore the life and works of the man who occupied the most racist seat in American history. Resources: https://mayarupert.com/ The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Racism Makes Us Less Authentic https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9780593475973 https://www.instagram.com/maya.rupert/?hl=en https://lemonadamedia.com/show/whenwewin/ https://magazine.ucsb.edu/spring-summer-2024/accidental-and-optimistic-political-strategist https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/mitch-mcconnell-staff-questions-health-b3018929.html https://www.wired.com/story/sfpd-drone-video-leak-surveillance/ https://theemancipator.org/2026/07/19/investigations/lindsey-graham-occupied-the-most-racist-senate-seat-in-u-s-history/ https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-state-scs-rep-lindsey-graham-enj/201550004/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/graham100798.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/for-lindsey-graham-years-of-light-duty-as-a-lawmaker-in-the-air-reserve/2015/08/02/c9beb9fc-3545-11e5-adf6-7227f3b7b338_story.html https://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143333594/revisiting-newt-gingrichs-1997-ethics-investigation https://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2011/12/gingrich/Feb_26_1994.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20201117025418/https://apnews.com/article/a1fcceda5e00bfa840afe5a82260c2ef https://www.wcpinst.org/source/unborn-victims-of-violence-act-heads-to-white-house/ https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/us/senate-declines-to-resolve-issue-of-american-qaeda-suspects-arrested-in-us.html https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2013/04/18/177780665/bipartisan-senate-gang-prepares-to-sell-immigration-plan https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/06/how-lindsey-graham-stomped-the-tea-party/372521/?single_page=true https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/politics/jeb-bush-john-mccain-donald-trump https://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/21/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham-cell-phone/index.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/senator-on-gop-backing-trump-party-has-gone-batshit-crazy/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2016/live-updates/general-election/real-time-updates-on-the-2016-election-voting-and-race-results/sen-lindsey-graham-i-voted-evan-mcmullin-for-president/ https://www.npr.org/sections/death-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/2020/09/19/914774433/use-my-words-against-me-lindsey-graham-s-shifting-position-on-court-vacancies https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/498133-graham-on-potential-supreme-court-vacancy-this-would-be-a-different/ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-media-attack-lindsey-graham-kook-unfit-office-video-backfires-a8087796.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-did-they-do-with-lindsey-graham/2019/01/15/c9909e62-1914-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-defends-brett-kavanaugh-amid-christine-blase-ford-accusation.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/27/lindsey-graham-slams-democrats-after-blasey-ford-testimony.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/politics/lindsey-graham-wall-emergency-powers/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/magazine/lindsey-graham-what-happened-trump.html https://www.newsweek.com/lindsay-graham-says-people-angry-over-trumps-mccain-attacks-dont-really-care-1377523 https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/3664179002 "Lindsey Graham" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Ken Paxton isn't the only Looney Toon running for a position in the United States Congress this November. An extremist gun YouTuber is the Republican nominee for a House seat in the district that contains Uvalde, Texas. How did this happen? How is Katy Stout, his Democratic opponent, feeling about suddenly facing a boneheaded boogaloo bro instead of the moderate who was supposed to be there? Journalist Steven Monacelli tells us all about it. Resources https://www.stevenmonacelli.com https://bsky.app/profile/stevanzetti.bsky.social https://www.texasobserver.org/brandon-herrera-gun-youtube-uvalde-congress/ https://sanantonioreport.org/profile/katy-padilla-stout-2026-candidate-for-texas-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/13/texas-tony-gonzales-resigning-congress-sexual-misconduct-affair-staffer-eric-swalwell/ https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/12/trump-cease-and-desist-brandon-herrera-tony-gonzales-23rd-congressional-district/ https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/22/brandon-herrera-antisemitism-aipac-republicans-texas-00838410 https://brandonherreraforcongress.com/news/ https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/brandon-herrera-congress-ak-guy-19371667.php https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/15/us/politics/brandon-hererra-guns-youtube.html https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/07/gonzales-is-out-in-texas-and-dems-see-a-chance-to-beat-the-akguy-00817739 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/gop-candidate-brandon-herrera-mein-kampf-tony-gonzales-1235526685/

Graham Platner is a parade of red flags stuffed into a pair of yellow rubber waders, and yet so many let those things slide with a tsk tsk at best. For others, he was a bad man with bad views who unfortunately represented the only possible way to reverse the GOP majority in the senate. Improperly vetted, he relied on his "everyman" image to skate through the primaries despite several rounds of damning information reveals. But mere weeks from the deadline to finalize the candidacy of contenders, a story finally emerged that nobody could ignore. We ask Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket how it feels to have people suddenly come all the way around, and why it's so frustrating that they didn't figure it out sooner. Resources thehandbasket.co https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/graham-platner-rape-accusation-maine-senate https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/06/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAWPE5PaWE https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/jul/09/donald-trump-graham-platner-mitch-mcconnell-iran-midterms-latest-news-updates https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/graham-platner-is-a-type-of-guy https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/08/graham-platner-isolated-defies-maine-democrats-they-try-hatch-plan/ https://www.newsweek.com/i-dated-graham-platner-i-believe-jenny-racicot-and-lyndsey-fifield-12172864 https://www.garbageday.email/p/the-curdling-of-the-american-man https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/graham-platner-maine-senate-exit-democrats-b3010473.html https://losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com/p/we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner?utm_source=losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=we-have-an-even-bigger-problem-than-graham-platner&_bhlid=725fa1d50927278b100637f3437277b0325dbb16 klippenstein being an ass https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/my-graham-platner-apology "Graham Platner 10-2-25" by m Spiess is licensed under CC BY 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/?ref=openverse.

ICE flights are still happening and they are still horrifying. Gillian Brockell brings us updates on some of the major players in the game of torturing innocent people in the sky, their victims, and the regular people who do not want this abusive pack of monsters to continue using their resources. Resources https://gillianbrockell.com/ Send tips to: gbrockell.44 on signal https://bsky.app/profile/gillianbrockell.com https://www.patreon.com/cw/worstairlineever https://gillianbrockell.com/interviews-podcast-and-some-r/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/vietnamese-man-deported-from-u-s-to-south-sudan-repatriated-after-year-in-detention https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/what-are-third-country-removals-factsheet/ https://bookshop.org/a/115699/9781324092407 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-swamps-archaeologists-fugitive-slaves-kept-freedom-180960122/ https://www.baloproject.org/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/world/africa/trump-deportation-us-judge-congo-colombia.html https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/01/omni-ice-deportations-charter-flight-stonepeak-private-equity/ https://theintercept.com/2022/02/17/amazon-ice-deportation-flights-omni/ https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/152641-stonepeak-completes-acquisition-of-uss-atsg https://www.npr.org/2026/01/08/nx-s1-5629234/the-cautionary-tale-of-how-chicago-privatized-its-parking-meters https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-parking-meter-deal-city-council-members-seek-block-morgan-stanley-sale-meters-stone-peak/19265309/

Why won't Gregory Bovino stay gone? Why can't Trump keep his pool clean? And how many fireworks is too many fireworks? We asked our friend and yours Amanda Moore to help us get to the bottom of these questions and more. Resources: https://www.instagram.com/noturtlesoup17/?hl=en  https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/an-ice-chaser-bovino/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-ice-minneapolis-chicago-new-orleans-video/ https://bsky.app/profile/noturtlesoup17.bsky.socialhttps://authory.com/AmandaMoore https://www.turtlediaries.net/p/update-from-the-great-american-state https://www.turtlediaries.net/p/semiquincentennial-and-ice

Why is Albania having anti-Jared Kushner protests? What did he do to them? And what on Earth is going on in the UK? We asked our resident Europe expert to explain it all to us. Resources https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/how-uks-keir-starmer-went-from-election-landslide-to-downfall https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-albania-luxury-resort-protest-movement-overthrow-albanian-socialist-prime-minister-corrupt-government/ https://www.wired.com/story/ivanka-and-jareds-island-resort-could-bring-down-albanias-prime-minister/

How did sports betting burst onto the scene so violently in the last half-decade? Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling explains the legal, regulatory and business changes that have led us here. For immediate help with problem gambling, please call 1-800-MY-RESET (800-522-4700) or visit https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/ Resources https://bookshop.org/p/books/everybody-loses-the-tumultuous-rise-of-american-sports-gambling-danny-funt/f7b6cf17f7e3e9b9?ean=9781668062029&next=t https://newrepublic.com/article/210094/sports-gambling-national-council-big-tobacco https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/02/20/everybody-loses-sports-gambling-danny-funt-review/ https://bsky.app/profile/dannyfunt.bsky.social https://x.com/dannyfunt?lang=en https://dannyfunt.substack.com/ https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/senate-bill/474 https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/ https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/584/16-476/ https://sri.siena.edu/2026/04/13/more-than-a-quarter-of-americans-27-have-an-active-online-sports-betting-account-a-third-have-opened-an-account-at-least-once/ https://www.masslive.com/politics/2023/03/really-annoying-sports-betting-ads-are-protected-by-1st-amendment-lawmakers-say.html