“The Founders missed Frankenstein by 30 years and the Mar-a-Lago face by a few hundred more. But they may have recognized the presidency we have now: a grotesque concentration of authority in the hands of Trump.”
More from @alexiscoe.bsky.social: apple.news/A3BI6GaKRSCi...
Until recently, I hadn’t really tried AI — but it tried me. AI stole my work and according to the headlines, it is coming for the rest.
So this week at SMK, I’m figuring out exactly what I’m dealing with:
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/i-tried-ai...
Weakest, laziest, most cowardly group ever assembled - Republican House.
Too lazy to govern effectively or consider what their constituents need. Just lie, pretend things are going great, pass laws that eliminate people to vote against you, arrest & deport people who don't automatically vote red.
I wrote about the 250th SOTU: what will age, what won’t, and what the scoreboard actually says.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/america-se...
👇👇👇
24.02.2026 13:49 — 👍 7 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
My latest for Rolling Stone: Stop blaming the monster. Blame the lab.
apple.news/A3BI6GaKRSCi...
We don't have to do it this way--and we didn't:
Article II requires the president to give Congress information--a report, data, recommendations.
It used to be delivered in writing.
From Jefferson (1801) to Wilson (1913): no speech, so standing ovations--too monarchical.
Trump’s SOTU will be a hostage situation with applause breaks.
History will be abused. Lincoln invoked. The Constitution used as a prop.
Half the room will clap like it’s WrestleMania. Half will sit like they’re at a sentencing.
Sorry, wrong link! go.bsky.app/redirect?u=https%3A%2F%2Fapple.news%2FA3BI6GaKRSCig-DyTTvOhFQ
24.02.2026 15:32 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
My latest for Rolling Stone: Stop blaming the monster. Blame the lab.
apple.news/A3BI6GaKRSCi...
Again, I know it feels good to send a donation to someone who is finally going to send Mitch McConnell or Lindsey Graham packing, but you're going to see a *lot* more bang for your buck with less exciting but much more meaningful state legislative races.
This is a great way to do that:
Just sitting here in a snowstorm auditing the macroeconomic implications of a sexting metaphor
23.02.2026 00:49 — 👍 12 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
The first of two digital archives coverage substack.com/home/post/p-...
21.02.2026 18:17 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1
“Just as images from Birmingham undercut segregationist defenses, today’s photos and videos undermine claims used to justify aggressive federal actions. The camera remains a corrective political instrument.”
Which is why we need photos from inside the ICE detention centers/concentration camps.
May 5, 2pm. Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, NY: In conversation about You Never Forget Your First, the Orange county-wide 250 book pick
16.02.2026 22:04 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
April 14, 5pm. Miami University in Ohio: The Annual McClellan Lecture, cosponsored by the History Department and the Menard Family Center for Democracy.
April 15, 6pm. The Mercantile Library in Cincinnati, Ohio: The 1835 Lecture.
Upcoming events!
March 11, 7pm. NYPL (in-person book talk): In conversation with Bob Crawford.
April 12, 1pm. Mills Mansion (in-person): Keynote on Anne Morgan.
I wrote a Presidents’ Day roundup: moral rupture, political images, and the presidency we built on purpose.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/3-things-w...
Why do we keep handing the keys of the republic to men who seem to fundamentally despise themselves? My thoughts on our lowest ranking presidents.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/the-behead...
Why do we keep handing the keys of the republic to men who seem to fundamentally despise themselves? My thoughts on our lowest ranking presidents.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/the-behead...
What do martyrdom, moor-pining, and the Articles of Confederation have in common? To me, everything. alexiscoe.substack.com/p/the-behead...
14.02.2026 18:00 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
What do martyrdom, moor-pining, and the Articles of Confederation have in common? To me, everything. alexiscoe.substack.com/p/the-behead...
14.02.2026 18:00 — 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Cupid works in citations—but I also accept every manner of presents.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/sluts-and-...
“The founders did not want a national language. They wanted a nation that functioned. That remains a challenge. We might try focusing on that instead.”
10.02.2026 17:48 — 👍 18 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
In SMK, I wrote about this lie apparently some of us learned: America has no national language—only a recurring panic that wishes it did.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/lies-we-le...
When newspapers cut “nonessential” sections, what they’re really cutting is thought.
On losing the Washington Post as a place to write history in real time.
alexiscoe.substack.com/p/i-can-writ...
My Q&A with @tj-stiles.bsky.social is a masterclass in intellectual humility, narrative ambition, and the unromantic economics of writing.
Also, a perfect editor moment after his NBA win — tears, applause, a dry reminder: aren’t you glad I made you cut all that stuff?
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Always nice to be acknowledged!
08.02.2026 12:28 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Oh I'm so glad!
03.02.2026 12:43 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0