Jacob Weisberg

Episode 1: What’s Wrong with Eric? Against the Rules with Michael Lewis · Episode

Just finished listening to Season 5 of Michael Lewis' Against the Rules Podcast. It's about sports fandom, and more specifically the modern era of ubiquitious sports gambling and it's one of the best things I've ever heard. 10/10

open.spotify.com/episode/0hvs...

I spoke with a lawyer from the CFPB to try and get a better sense of what's happening there amidst the DOGE rampage:

Donald Trump Is Following the Sam Brownback Playbook | Washington Monthly Sam Brownback's radical agenda undermined Kansas's prosperity, decimated vital government services, and put a Democrat in power.

Really interesting (and likely telling) parallel here from @nateweisberg.bsky.social: Donald Trump Is Following the Sam Brownback Playbook washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/28/d...

Trump’s Renewed Attacks on Powell Drive Markets Lower and Weaken Dollar President Trump’s pressure on the Federal Reserve and the uncertainty surrounding his tariff policy continued to jar investors as stocks, bonds, oil and the U.S. dollar all weakened. Gold set another ...

Arsonist blames fireman

Trump’s Aid Cuts Hit the Hungry in a City of Shellfire and Starvation The stark consequences of the rollback are evident in few places as clearly as in Sudan, where a brutal civil war has combined with a staggering humanitarian catastrophe.

Heartbreaking story about Trump and Musk causing children to starve to death in Sudan.

Senator Lisa Murkowski Makes Startling Admission as Trump Wages Retribution Campaign Lisa Murkowski, a longtime senator from Alaska and an independent voice in an increasingly tribal party, has been the rare Republican on Capitol Hill willing to criticize President Trump’s actions.

This is the missing explanation for why so many seemingly sane Republicans obey Trump: physical fear of his armed mob. In the Senate, there are many more cowards than cultists. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u... via @NYTimes

Who is Batya Ungar-Sargon? | Washington Monthly A Berkeley-educated leftist who couldn’t bear drinking at a bar with Trump voters is now MAGA’s top defender.

This entertaining profile of "Baghdad Batya" reminded me of Hoffer's "The True Believer" and the idea that fanatics aren't so much loyal to a particular ideology as they are looking for the emotional fulfillment of belief itself & the high of absolute conviction
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/09/w...

Trump’s peculiar genius is for changing the subject from his latest outrageous idiocy to a new outrageous idiocy.

The Lucky One | Jacob Weisberg Who was the “real” Reagan behind the carapace of vagueness, self-delusion, and contradiction?

Is MAGA the repudiation of Reaganism, or its apotheosis? Max Boot's excellent new biography provides evidence on both sides. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

February 28, 2025 —a date which will live in infamy—the authority of the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by its own President.

Carlos Watson, Ozy Media Co-Founder, Is Sentenced to Almost 10 Years in Prison A federal jury in July found Mr. Watson, who started the digital media company in 2013, guilty of trying to defraud investors and lenders.

Appalled by the 10-year sentence for Carlos Watson. He was never violent and poses no future threat to society. Six months — or less — would serve the purposes of retribution and deterrence. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/16/b...

Chief of Staff Job Title: Chief of Staff Department: Executive Job Family: Leadership Salary: $165K-$185K Office Location: New York  Reports to Title: Chief Executive Officer FLSA Status: Exempt Union Represented: N...

The Committee to Protect Journalist is on the hunt for a Chief of Staff. It’s a crucial role at an essential organization. @pressfreedom.bsky.social cpjorg.bamboohr.com/careers/80

Rupert Murdoch Fails in Bid to Change Family Trust A Nevada commissioner ruled resoundingly against Mr. Murdoch, who was trying to give full control of his empire to his son Lachlan and lock in Fox News’s right-wing editorial slant.

Predict Murdochs will be suing each other for the next 30 years. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/b...

Aldi's "charcuterie chalet" aims to up your holiday entertainment game Pop-up features a 20-foot house of salami.

Cheese sculpture: a truly Midwestern art form. Is that supposed to be a chèvre Noguchi in front of the Prudential Building? www.axios.com/local/chicag...

Trump Names Charles Kushner as Pick for Ambassador to France The announcement elevated Mr. Kushner, the father of President Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law and the recipient of a presidential pardon at the end of Mr. Trump’s first term.

This insults France, rewards a criminal, and gives a sinecure to Trump’s own family. Trifecta! www.nytimes.com/2024/11/30/u...

Market is up today because Trump is naming a Treasury Secretary who is not a sex predator, a conspiracy nut, or a Fox News talking head. But note that his single most qualified pick still falls below the minimum standard of any normal administration.

We’re celebrating upstate

“CPJ has been studying the authoritarian playbook for silencing the press around the world. In the U.S., as elsewhere, we will follow the facts and remain vigilant. If and when we see parallel moves to curtail the press here, we will challenge them forcefully.” #ipfa @pressfreedom.bsky.social