Half the Answer

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/

Exactly what is going on in England? Why is the Labour Party trying to behave like the Tories—or worse? Is Andy Burnham any better than Keir Starmer? We ask our European expert Hunter CG (RoteRote Media) to lay it out for us.

Resources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/world/europe/buses-andy-burnham-greater-manchester-bee.html

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/22/nx-s1-5866429/with-starmers-resignation-the-u-k-is-set-for-its-7th-pm-in-10-years

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/25/nx-s1-5869499/starmers-successor-reset-on-uk-us-relationship-strait-latest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crm0r94mv7jo

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/nominations-open-contest-uk-leader-andy-burnham-likely-only-candidate-rcna353629

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-in-waiting-vows-rebuild-hard-power-more-dangerous-world-2026-07-09/

https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/politeness/89113EE2FB4A1D254D4A8D2011E542E4#overview

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.