Tangle

On Friday, the Justice Department published approximately three million pages of materials related to the government’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said this release concluded the department’s review of files related to Epstein, having released roughly 3.5 million pages in total. The release was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law passed in November 2025 with near-unanimous Congressional approval.

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!

You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “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: What do you think of the latest Epstein release? Let us know.

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

This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed 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.

On Tuesday, the House voted 217–214 to pass a full-year funding package for several federal agencies, excluding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ending a four-day partial government shutdown. The funding bill previously passed the Senate 71–29, after Democrats pushed to remove appropriations for DHS following the shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration officers in Minnesota in January. 21 Democrats voted for the measure in the House, while 21 Republicans voted against it. President Donald Trump signed the bill on Tuesday, funding most federal departments through September 30; the deadline to fund Homeland Security was set for next Friday, February 13.

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!

You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “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: When do you think Congress will reach a solution to fund DHS? Let us know.

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

This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed 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.

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced his nomination of former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, choosing him to succeed current Chairman Jerome Powell when Powell’s term expires in May 2026. The nomination will now go to the Senate for confirmation, where Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has vowed to block its advancement in the Senate Banking Committee until a Justice Department probe into Powell is resolved.

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!

You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “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: What do you think of Warsh’s nomination? Let us know.

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

This podcast was written by: Will Kaback and audio edited and mixed 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.

On Thursday night, former CNN anchor and independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with federal civil rights violations for his alleged actions at a protest inside a Minnesota church in January. The Department of Justice charged Lemon, activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, Minnesota-based journalist Georgia Fort, and six others with conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of church congregants and with violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Lemon, who has maintained that he was covering the protest as a journalist, was released without bond after appearing in federal court on Friday afternoon. His next hearing is scheduled for February 9 in Minneapolis.

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!

We’re hiring.
Applications are open for a part-time role on the Tangle editorial team. This remote position will involve in-depth research and editing work on the daily newsletter, as well as opportunities to contribute to our podcast, YouTube, and social media channels. We are accepting applications until Tuesday, February 10 at 11:59 PM ET. To learn more about the position and how to apply, click here.

You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “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: What do you think of the church protest? Let us know.

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

This podcast was written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed 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.

Kanye West says he’s sorry.

And I forgive him.

I first wrote about West’s antisemitic rants in 2022, when he began engaging with the world of antisemitism. And, in some narrow ways, I defended him: I pleaded with people to accept that some of the stereotypes he was calling out were actually tied to realities we should discuss, that we can explain the overrepresentation of “The Jews” — my people — in the entertainment industry, while also calling out West when his ranting tipped into paranoia and conspiracy.

In the months and years since, West — who now goes by Ye — has been using increasingly unhinged language. His reality has become more and more divorced from the one you and I share. He apologized in 2023, then took it back; by 2025, he was back to posting Nazi propaganda on social media, selling merchandise adorned with swastikas, and dropping club anthems lionizing Hitler. His social media activity made clear that he was either all the way down the rabbit hole or in the depths of a mental crisis, and following him went from angering to amusing to alarming. I stopped defending him and started blaming him for the rise in antisemitism among his fans, and more broadly for the normalization of antisemitism across our culture.

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!

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 written by: Isaac Saul and audio edited and mixed 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.