Tangle

On Saturday evening, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) passed away at age 71 after what his office called a “brief and sudden illness.” The nature of the illness was initially unknown, though news outlets reported that emergency services were dispatched to a Washington, D.C. home owned by Graham and administered treatment to a man suffering from cardiac arrest. On Sunday, Graham’s office said a preliminary examination found he died of “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”

Also in today’s edition, we cover the Prairieland incident and an under-the-radar story about the January 6 case against members of the Proud Boys. Don’t forget to check out Friday’s reader mailbag, too, if you missed it. Today’s email is a 13-minute read.

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You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ and today’s “Under the radar” story ⁠here⁠ and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.

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Take the survey: How will you remember Sen. Graham’s legacy? 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 engineered and edited 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.
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At Tangle, we want to be a source of trustworthy news, thought-provoking analysis, and robust community engagement. As part of that commitment, we interact with the community in several forums — the website comment section, our Subtext texting service, our Reddit page, our staff email, and at live events. We also answer reader and listener questions throughout the week in our newsletter and podcast. Every few months, after we’ve built up a queue of queries from readers and listeners, we dedicate a Friday edition to answering some of your questions and feedback en masse.

Today, we’re opening up the mailbag to tackle a range of topics, from press accountability, to the true cost of the Iran war, to the Hurricane Helene recovery, to a Texas law mandating Biblical teachings, and much more. We’ve pulled our whole editorial team together for this one, and identified which member of the staff was responsible for answering each question, though the whole team participated in editing every reply.

In the spirit of this edition, let us know your thoughts (and other questions) in the comments. Enjoy!

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To listen to this podcast ad-free, and to enjoy our subscriber only premium content, go to ReadTangle.com to sign up!

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 written by: Isaac Saul, Will Kaback, Audrey Moorehead, Russell Nystrom, Isaac Wood, Carina Pacheco, Ari Weitzman and audio engineered and edited 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.

Over the past week, lawmakers have expressed increasing concern about Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) health, roughly three weeks after the senator was hospitalized for still-unknown reasons. The hospitalization is the latest in a string of health-related incidents for McConnell, which have raised questions about his fitness for office. On Wednesday, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) asked McConnell’s office to provide a “[full] update” on the senator’s status, citing increasing concern “about the current state of your health and wellbeing.”

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Audrey joins the pod.
In this week’s episode of Suspension of the Rules, Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead dropped into Managing Editor Ari Weitzman’s chair while he enjoys paternity leave. We discussed the Graham Platner scandal, whether he would actually drop out (we got our answer last night), and why we think the allegations are credible. Then, we talked about Mitch McConnell’s mysterious health issues (a topic we dive into today). 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: Should we have age limits for Congress? 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 engineered and edited 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.

Coming up on today's episode of Suspension of the Rules, Isaac and Kmele are joined by Tangle Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead to discuss the Graham Platner controversies and their credibility, as well as Mitch McConnell's health issues. Last but not least, our grievances. It's a good one!

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Voting ends soon.
Tangle is up for the first-ever Newsletter People’s Choice Award, and voting ends on Saturday. We’re currently in the lead (out of 112 nominated newsletters), but we need your help to bring it home. If you haven’t already, we’d appreciate it if you could cast a vote for us! Note: Be sure to confirm your vote in your email after you submit the form.

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 Jon Lall.

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, Jenny Racicot, a former girlfriend of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D), accused him of raping her in 2021. Politico, which first published the report, corroborated aspects of Racicot’s account after speaking with a man whom Racicot dated after Platner, as well as reviewing messages between her and her therapist and an acquaintance. Platner denied the accusation but said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” A significant number of Congressional Democrats, including many lawmakers who previously endorsed Platner, have called on him to drop out of the race.

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! Click HERE to get 20% off your first year of ad-free episodes, exclusive interviews, and deep dives with Tangle’s podcast membership.

Voting ends soon.
Tangle is up for the first-ever Newsletter People’s Choice Award, and voting ends on Saturday. We’re currently in the lead (out of 112 nominated newsletters), but we need your help to bring it home. If you haven’t already, we’d appreciate it if you could cast a vote for us! Note: Be sure to confirm your vote in your email after you submit the form.

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: Should Platner drop out? Will he? Let us know.

Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.

This podcast written by: Audrey Moorehead and audio engineered and edited 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.