Evening Roundup, March 26
Featuring Ann Telnaes; Brian O'Neill; Stephen Richer; AG Keith Ellison & AG Matthew Platkin; Meredith Blake; Cynthia Miller-Idriss & Bill Braniff; Jennifer Weiss Wolff; and Sen. Mallory McMorrow
Ann Telnaes: How autocracies take over the news media
Ann is a brilliant, award-winning editorial cartoonist who previously worked at The Washington Post. She lit up headlines at the dawn of 2025 with her bold resignation after a cartoon critical of tech executives was killed by her boss—who was presumably fearful of the wrath of Jeff Bezos and the incoming president.
We honor and thank her for her courage, her refusal to be complicit, and her limitless store of wit and talent. Be sure to follow her on Substack, and enjoy her inaugural Contrarian offering, which tells thousands of words in a mere handful of illustrative frames.
When Signal met the Senate
The Trump administration's spin on a colossal national security mistake didn't hold up under intense questioning.
By Brian O’Neill
Trump's executive order on voting seems to ignore a lot of law
The process of governance matters, but the president pretends we don't have a Congress and rides roughshod over the states.
By Stephen Richer
AG Ellison and AG Platkin on Trump's attacks on state independence
Jen is joined by AG Keith Ellison and AG Matthew Platkin to discuss the terrible impact of the Trump Administration, the illegality of many of its actions, and what Democratic Attorney Generals can do to fight back. (VIDEO)
A History of American Cults, from the Pilgrims to MAGA
Is the United States of America really just one giant cult?
Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss and Bill Braniff on the prevention of violent extremism
Dr. Cynthia Miller-Idriss and Bill Braniff join Jen Rubin to discuss the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL). Housed at American University, PERIL is an applied research lab with the goal of preventing radicalization and violent extremism by strengthening community resilience. (VIDEO)
29 states have a not-so-secret weapon to fight for democracy
As the Trump administration’s attacks on women’s rights, reproductive access, and LGBTQ equality continue in force, state executive leaders have emerged as a potent frontline...
Mallory McMorrow and Jen Rubin on why hate won't win
Jen Rubin is joined by Senator Mallory McMorrow to discuss her new book Hate Won't Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than You Found It. (VIDEO)
Thank you for bringing along another WaPo refugee, Ann Telnaes. Her work is compelling, impeccable, and transformative.
So much to contemplate. For example, don’t let Signalgate deflect us from other news. For example, children are suffering from liver damage after following RFK Jr.’s advice on Fox to treat and prevent measles with cod liver oil and vitamin A. Republicans following Trump and almost unanimously supporting what are clearly incompetent picks to lead government agencies may be the big story. Incompetence by design may be another strand in the attempt to destroy government at a prelude to selling it to the highest bidder. It simply adds to the Musk strand of privatization by destruction.