What you get every day.
The biggest political news stories of the day.
Tangle tells you the best arguments both sides are making, then my take.
An answer to a reader question from across the country.
One “story that matters” — a piece of news being drowned out by noise.
The most interesting numbers from the last 24 hours.
A good news story to wash it all down.
Every newsletter is a 10 to 15-minute read.
What subscribers say.
“Dangerously close to becoming the highlight of my day.”
— Pranav, New York, NY
“Tangle is the best discovery I've made in the last month. Isaac Saul has the remarkably unique ability to summarize what both sides of the political aisle are saying in his own words, in a fair and charitable way. Tangle is a daily read for me because it helps me avoid the confirmation bias of just listening to what 'my side' is saying, helping me to draw my own conclusions in a more informed way.”
— Josh, Charlotte, NC
“As a right-leaning, Libertarian, Trump supporter I catch myself only listening to ideas I want to believe. I find the Tangle arguments that lean left are well reasoned and thought out, allowing me to broaden my thought processes.”
— Todd, Manchester, NH
“The Tangle newsletter is my favorite email of the day. When it arrives, I stop what I’m doing and dive in. For the first time in a long time I enjoy reading the news again.”
— Jennifer, Paducah, KY
“Hands down the best daily news wrap-up out there.”
— Scott, Los Angeles, CA
“The only newsletter I’m reading daily.”
— Brendan, Madison, WI
“The political reporting you want. Good, not flowery, writing. Facts where the story is. Analysis in a separate place. Both sides presented without the spin makers doing the presenting.”
— Michelle, San Francisco, CA
"I love reading Tangle every day and it has become my foremost source of news. It's important for me to keep up with it as a CFP and financial consultant because I speak with clients daily about their investments, coronavirus, politics, and the economy.”
— Sean, Morristown, NJ
“I’ve recommended Isaac Saul’s newsletter Tangle to family, friends and coworkers. It’s refreshing, it’s honest and it provides a different lens for opposing viewpoints.”
— Andrew, Tampa Bay, FL
What industry leaders say.
“Talking politics without personal bias is tough. That’s why we let Tangle do it for us.”
— The Hustle
“Tangle helps me be a better citizen -- understanding the facts of the day's most pressing issue, understanding it from multiple perspectives, and learning about issues that might otherwise slip by me. It's my daily must-read.”
— Sean McComb, 2014 National Teacher of the Year
“Ike Saul’s bipartisan newsletter is so worth the subscription. I am always genuinely excited when it hits my inbox.”
— Jill Thaw, Senior Editor for The Athletic
“My friend and chronic comrade-in-arms @Ike_Saul has built an incredible politics newsletter from scratch. It dives deep into 2020 (and the many narratives underpinning it) every day. All those hours and all that work have resulted in something special.”
— Cate Matthews, Accolades Editor for TIME Magazine
"Most of my news consumption makes me feel like I'm getting yelled at. Tangle reduces the temperature and gives me information in a relaxed, level-headed way from a variety of perspectives. It's pretty rare that reading the news makes me calmer. But Tangle makes me calmer. It makes me feel like I can take a breath."
— Will Leitch, Founding Editor of Deadspin, a contributing editor at New York Magazine
“Tangle is worth my time. Isaac catches me up on key national and political news stories percolating on the Internet, explaining the details that often pass me by when news is chaos.”
— Laura McGann, Politics Editor for Vox
“My new favorite newsletter to follow is @TangleNews by the wonderful @Ike_Saul. It helps me stay up-to-date with the day's big complicated story — and also encourages me to check my biases. Highly recommend.”
— Brendan Harvey, Founder of Good Good Good Newspaper
“Excellent resource for anyone looking to understand U.S. politics -- impeachment, 2020 presidential campaign, etc -- in smart yet easily digestible daily emails.”
— Ben Van Heuvelen, Editor-in-Chief of Iraq Oil Report
“Really love this idea from my friend @Ike_Saul. A smart political newsletter that's heavy on reader interaction and answering questions, and adds a dose of positivity to the political grind.”
— Jonathan Tamari, National Political Writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer
Why Tangle?
Because you probably hate the news. And I don’t blame you. Political news is broken in our country: Just 13% of Americans have a “great deal” of trust in what they read in the papers, watch on television or hear on the radio. That number only goes down when you narrow the focus to politics, and the credibility of news organizations continues to plummet every day. In today’s political discourse, the most popular thing to do is to elevate the worst arguments the other side is making and then dunk on them. The tactic is used across politics, partisan media outlets and it’s employed religiously by political pundits. Americans from the right and left think negatively of people with different political views than them because all they see are the worst actors on the other side.
Additionally, most political reporting today has a slant, lacks context, lacks transparency or fails to answer fundamental questions that readers want to know. It ignores the lived experiences of Americans across the country. Tangle is changing the game. I deliberately elevate the best arguments from across the political spectrum while also acknowledging my own biases. Every day, I also share comments and feedback sent in from a diverse group of readers across the country. This way, I’m including thousands of perspectives that aren’t my own.
The other thing that’s great about Tangle is that it’s subscriber-supported. In the news world, most journalists, media outlets, television networks and podcasts survive on advertisement revenue. Ad revenue is driven by viewership. That means the more people see an advertisement, the more valuable it is. This incentivizes reporters, editors, radio hosts, television stations and news outlets to make their content as viral, explosive and sensational as possible.
It’s why television news and clickbait exist the way they do. It also creates conflicts of interest between publishers and the people paying them to run their advertisements. My dream for Tangle is to avoid all of that at all costs. By asking my readers to support this newsletter instead of advertisers or investors, I am incentivized to create good content that you love, that keeps you happy, not content that is clickbait or designed to go viral or make an advertiser happy. Doing it this way fulfills the promise of Tangle, it gives you the power and makes you an investor in this news outlet.
But you can still try it for free. Four days a week, free subscribers get an email breaking down the day’s biggest news with views from both sides. Paid subscribers get Friday editions and subscriber-only content like original content, personal essays, fully transcribed interviews with people in the political world, or deep dives on topics readers request.
A typical Tangle newsletter takes about 10 minutes to read. Don’t like something I say? Write in and I’ll share your argument with my readers. The newsletters are always full of interesting, relevant facts you’ll want to know, important stories that got buried by the noise and every issue ends with a feel-good story to wash down the craziness.
Tangle is transparent. It’s direct. It’s smart. And it’s all about you, the readers.
Who runs this thing?
My name is Isaac Saul. I am a politics reporter who grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, one of the most politically divided counties in all of America. I have lived, traveled and written all over the country and the world. During the day, I’m an editor and reporter for A Plus, the positive media outlet founded by Ashton Kutcher. You may have also seen my work in TIME Magazine, Vox, Independent Journal Review, The New York Daily News, HuffPost, or The Forward. My reporting has been cited by Fox News, The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. In 2016, Yahoo News named me one of the 16 people who shaped the 2016 election. You can read more about my career as a reporter here or follow me on Twitter.
Tangle is also produced by a social media manager, two copy editors and a team of research assistants with educational and professional experience in politics, who all work part-time on helping produce the newsletter. And, of course, the opinions and feedback from readers are included in almost every newsletter.
Some more testimonials:
Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul
When I was 15, I bought a 1987 Winnebago le Sharo in Colorado with my Bar Mitzvah money. Then drove it to Mexico for a new muffler then home to Philadelphia. With my permit. Fats Domino bought it from me when I was 22. https://t.co/CsqHt3duvo
Isaac Saul @Ike_Saul
2 months in, and my politics newsletter is 13 people away from breaking 1,000 subscribers. Help me get there with a RT and subscribe! https://t.co/qAGGSWEkyI @SubstackInc
