Doctorow lays out his "enshittification" playbook—how tech platforms lure users, trap businesses, then extract value from both—tying it to interoperability, right-to-repair, and DMCA lock-ins, with Facebook as Exhibit A. He explains why incremental state laws can break Big Tech's coalitions better than sweeping federal reforms. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro warns, "If the gringos threaten, we work harder; if they attack, we respond," after Trump-ordered strikes sink another Caribbean vessel, this time with proof the public can't see. Also: the Spiel contends that hostages were freed not by moral suasion but by sustained force—and that human-rights maximalism, however sincere, often misunderstands how wars actually end.
From drought and extreme heat to floods and freezes, gardening in Texas can be a challenge. However, with some helpful tips some Texas gardeners can cultivate spaces that are productive, resilient, and beautiful.By choosing hardy plants, water-saving native lawns, and other strategies, they’re creating dynamic, thriving gardens. What are the practical practices that tame the Texas climate?array(3) {
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On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, William A. Jacobson, a Cornell Law School professor and founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss President Donald Trump's war on DEI in higher education and explain what level of enforcement is required to ensure the deeply-rooted ideology doesn't return.
If you care about combating the corrupt media that continue to inflict devastating damage, please give a gift to help The Federalist do the real journalism America needs.
At 3:22 a.m. ET on October 7, 2023, Bari texted her producer: “Candace, there’s war in Israel.” At that moment, Hamas men still roamed southern Israel, and the details were far from clear. What we knew was that Israel had been attacked and that videos were beginning to make their way from Telegram to X: scenes of dozens of Palestinian terrorists breaking through the security fence and rushing into Israeli territory; clips of Hamas militants, with AK-47s slung over their chests, driving white pickup trucks through the streets of southern Israel; blurry videos of Israelis running for their lives in roundabouts and fields.
We had no idea what was about to unfold. We did not know yet that 251 Israelis would be kidnapped that day, including more than 30 children. We did not know yet that what was unfolding was the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust—only this time streaming live on social media.
We immediately started bringing you firsthand accounts here on Honestly. You might remember a pregnant woman named Shaked told us about 11 family members who were taken hostage, including her niece, 3, and nephew, 8. Or how two survivors of the Nova Music Festival, Amit and Chen, watched the murder of their friends. We talked to a mother whose daughter was killed at the music festival. And a grandmother who hid in her safe room for hours with her 10-day-old grandson as terrorists shot at the door.
And we spoke to a father named Jon Polin, whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped. Little did we know that the entire world would soon know his name.
Anyone who bore witness to the evil of that day, and to the horrific tragedy of the war that has followed, prayed that the hostages—the living and the dead—would finally be brought home. For Israelis, that rallying cry—Bring them home—was at the center of their psyche, their longing, their hope for the last two years.
And then yesterday, 738 days later, the remaining 20 living hostages came home as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.
Yesterday, we spent moments throughout the day glued to our phones, tears streaming down our cheeks, watching the videos of these freed men running into the embrace of their mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers—and in some cases even to their little children—after more than two unimaginable years in Hamas captivity.
As Matti Friedman wrote inThe FP: “An unfamiliar mood spread like a shift in the weather: relief and optimism. . . . The Israelis who rallied over the past two years under the banner ‘Bring Them Home,’ and whose energies kept the hostages and their families in headlines in Israel and abroad through two dark and often hopeless years, allowed themselves to smile and cheer.”
We are under no illusions about what comes next. Yesterday began only phase 1 of Trump’s peace plan (Hamas still holds many of the deceased hostages, which is a breach of the agreement). And serious—perhaps intractable—challenges lay ahead. There are many, many outstanding questions. As Free Press Middle East analyst Haviv Rettig Gur said, “Everything that matters for Gaza’s future is in phase 2 and beyond.”
To try to begin answering many of those questions—and to reflect on this historic moment and what it means for Israel and the world—Free Press producer Rafaela Siewert hosted a livestream yesterday that we want to play here for you today.
She was joined by former Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren; The Free Press’s Matti Friedman and Haviv Rettig Gur; and Nimrod Palmach, who ran into battle on October 7, 2023 of his own accord. And Siewert also speaks to Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin—the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped on October 7 and murdered in Gaza after over 300 days in Hamas captivity. Still, Rachel and Jon woke up every single day for the last two years and fought—in public and around the world—for the return of every last one of the remaining souls to come home.
After a court temporarily blocked the deployment of Guard troops in Illinois, ICE agents began ramping up their operations around Chicagoland. They are now demanding that residents produce their papers—particularly if they have brown skin. Officers stand outside churches holding Spanish-language Mass or they go into tourist areas to confront people, including U.S. Citizens. If someone doesn’t have an ID with them, they’ll be detained. The power-hungry officials around Trump, including Stephen Miller, are likely behind the enhanced menacing. Meanwhile in Israel, the resilience of the surviving hostages—after a sustained campaign of deprivation—is worthy of celebration. Plus, the Hamas executions of Gazans, our American pharoah’s comfort with Middle East strongmen, and even Newsmax says the new Pentagon press rules are a bridge too far.
Gov. JB Pritzker and The Atlantic‘s Frank Foer join Tim Miller.
As part of a special issue this November, The Atlantic tasked writers and historians with looking at the country’s founding era to find out what America’s political thinkers valued at its beginning.
The goal is to remind people in the U.S. about the abstract ideas enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important revolutionary documents. And, how reconnecting with those ideals might help us as we struggle to keep American democracy together 250 years later.
We discuss this edition of The Atlantic with two of its contributing writers, hear about why the founding of the country is relevant today, and where we might be going next.
And we want to hear from you. How would you fill in the blanks for these four statements?
1. “At the founding of the United States, some of the country’s most important political values were BLANK.”
2. “After 250 years of U.S. history, I would describe the country’s *track record* of following through on those values and ideals as BLANK.”
3. “Right now, an outside observer would likely look at our politics and say we value BLANK.”
4. “When it comes to the United States as a country over the next decade or the next century, I want to see BLANK.”
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a.
After the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, President Trump took a victory lap to Jerusalem before going on to a peace summit in Egypt. David E. Sanger, who is covering Mr. Trump’s trip, discusses some takeaways.
We also hear from the Times reporter Christopher Flavelle about how the U.S. government shutdown has given the Trump administration an extraordinary amount of power over dozens of agencies.
Guests:
David E. Sanger, the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, reporting on President Trump and his administration.
Christopher Flavelle, a reporter for The New York Times, covering how President Trump is transforming the federal government.
Background reading:
President Trump told the Israeli Parliament, “This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East.” But he has avoided questions about what comes next.
When Adam McKay decided to make a movie based on The Big Short, he was mainly known for his comedies. But he managed to get a bevy of star actors — among them Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Steve Carell and Margot Robbie — to sign on and bring the intensity and arcane financial jargon of Wall Street to life. Michael Lewis sits down with McKay a decade after he made the Oscar-winning movie version of The Big Short to learn about the challenges of getting the film made — and why he’s still making movies about societal collapse.
President Trump travels to Israel and Egypt to celebrate the return of the hostages and the end of military operations in Gaza. Tommy and Lovett react to the ceasefire, discuss what's next for Gaza, Israel, and Benjamin Netanyahu, and debate how much credit Trump deserves for brokering this peace deal. Then they turn to ICE's latest violence against immigrants and protesters, a new attack on constitutionally protected free speech at The Pentagon, and the latest from the ongoing government shutdown. Then, Leah Greenberg, Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, discusses this weekend's upcoming No Kings protests and Republicans' attempt to paint them as a "hate America" rally.
For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast.
Drop Site’s Ryan Grim and Jeremy Scahill return to talk more about the ceasefire deal in Gaza. We discuss what finally led to this moment, whether this ceasefire will be any different than the previous ones, and the future of Gaza, Israel, and the Gulf States. We then turn to the media’s coverage of Gaza: Jeremy’s new story on The Free Press’ “debunking” of the photos of malnourished Gazan children, the news that Douglas Murray and David Frum were writing speeches for an Israeli ambassador, a supposed document from Mohammad Sinwar, and Jacki Karsh’s pro-Israel journalism fellowship.
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