The hottest Politics Substack posts right now

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This is How We Fall Out of Love with the World

Culture Study • 12118 implied HN points • 23 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Art and essential services matter, but they often lack sufficient public funding in America. Many believe value only comes from profit, which overlooks the importance of community support.
  2. Cuts to public services mean that everyday Americans are forced to shoulder more costs. This creates a fragile system that risks collapse during tough times, like the pandemic.
  3. Passion jobs, where people work for love rather than money, are at risk as public funding declines. This leads to burnout and instability for those who dedicate themselves to these important roles in society.

Fearing the Reapers

Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter • 5411 implied HN points • 31 Jan 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Politics
  1. The past influences the present and future, revealing deep-seated issues in history.
  2. Media plays a crucial role in shaping public perception and preserving historical truths.
  3. Political dynamics, such as the interplay between leaders and the public, have significant impacts on society and history.

Why Are So Many British Women Getting Abortions? Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 310 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
📰 News Politics
  1. Abortions in England and Wales are at their highest level since legalization, with roughly one in three pregnancies ending in termination. Easier access to medication, growing normalization of abortion, and a generation of women who feel unready or too imperfect to parent are major factors in the rise.
  2. Social media can serve as a broad public fact-checker, pushing back on and correcting official narratives in high-profile cases like the Alex Pretti killing. Crowdsourced scrutiny sometimes exposes government inaccuracies faster than traditional channels.
  3. Blaming data centers for energy crises misses the root cause: weak, outdated power grids that can’t support modern industrial growth. Improving grid capacity and planning is the real solution, not demonizing data infrastructure.
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The Epstein Myth Unravels: Why Capitulating to Hysteria Only Fueled Prince Andrew's Downfall

Michael Tracey • 121 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
📰 News Politics
  1. Widespread media and public hysteria amplified uncorroborated allegations and helped precipitate Prince Andrew's downfall despite weak supporting evidence.
  2. Investigators reportedly found inconsistencies and a lack of corroboration in the central accuser's claims, with little evidence for the alleged large-scale trafficking and secret blackmail scheme.
  3. Royal settlements and public concessions unintentionally fueled the panic instead of calming it, showing the need to prioritize evidence and reason over worldview-driven myths.

Gaslit Nation

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 13645 implied HN points • 04 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Politics
  1. Many people are frustrated with confusing news and feel like they're being manipulated by those in power. It seems authorities are not being honest with the public.
  2. The term 'Gaslit Nation' suggests that citizens feel deceived and misled about important issues. Trust between the public and officials is eroding.
  3. There's a sense that sensational stories are distracting people from real problems. People want clearer communication from their leaders and more transparency.

Now Do You Believe Us?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 904 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
📰 News Politics
  1. Australia's Jewish community has warned for years about rising antisemitism and has had to rely on heavy security and fortifications.
  2. A massacre at Bondi Beach targeted Jewish people and became the nation's most lethal terror attack, killing and wounding many including a rabbi, a Holocaust survivor, and a child.
  3. The attack shows Jews can be attacked even in public, familiar places and raises urgent questions about whether society and leaders are taking antisemitism seriously enough.

Out of Words

Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter • 6909 implied HN points • 10 Dec 23
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Twitter serves as an important archive of history, essential for transparency and fighting against autocracy.
  2. Learning new languages can be a way to escape from the negative aspects of social media and can provide a new perspective on the world.
  3. Poetry and language have the power to convey deep political sentiments and reveal the true heart of a nation.

The Fog

Sarah Kendzior’s Newsletter • 5092 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Fog can obscure realities, making it challenging to navigate through the world and see clearly.
  2. The artist Andrew Wyeth's work reflected deep emotions and hidden stories, capturing the essence of loneliness and loss.
  3. Winter symbolizes difficult times, from Covid challenges to political uncertainty, creating a fog of bad information, regret, and grief.

Muller and Koppel on Jews in Israel and America

In My Tribe • 364 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. In America, Jews face a choice between assimilating into wider society or keeping a distinct tribal identity. Many younger Jews today are moving toward one extreme or the other instead of staying in the middle.
  2. In Israel the main fault line is how Jewish law and communal life relate to the state rather than a question of assimilation. Current debates about judges and religion reflect that tension, though there is some hope for an uneasy equilibrium where secular and observant Israelis coexist.
  3. Israel’s strong family and communal ties create high levels of happiness and protect against isolation, while America’s institutional strengths come with more social loneliness. Each country could benefit by preserving its strengths and avoiding decline in the other area.

Niccolò Machiavelli, Adam Smith, and the crisis of modern science

uTobian • 4952 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
📖 Philosophy Politics
  1. In modern times, freedom is often associated with unrestrained passion, but the idea of freedom through personal restraint from ancient times is considered a better path to happiness and fulfillment.
  2. The writings of Niccolò Machiavelli marked a shift in the concept of freedom towards acknowledging human selfishness and focusing on political security through class conflict.
  3. The current crisis in science and medicine is prompting a reevaluation of the assumption that scientists and doctors are inherently virtuous, suggesting the need for reforms based on the idea that they may be motivated by greed and power.

Should We Feel Sorry for White Men?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 737 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. A viral essay argued that white millennial men have faced anti-white discrimination in elite arts and media over the last decade, calling those years a "lost generation" for that group.
  2. The piece provoked strong, polarized reactions across the political spectrum, with some praising its critique of diversity initiatives and others sharply criticizing it.
  3. The controversy turned the essay into a broader public conversation, prompting publications and writers to weigh in on whether white men are victims and what cultural changes are driving these disputes.

We've Never Seen TDS Like This - Online Left Devastated As David Ellison’s Paramount Wins Warner Bros Bidding War

Unmasked • 69 implied HN points • 01 Mar 26
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Hollywood is overwhelmingly left-leaning, with many in the industry pushing progressive views and often sidelining conservative voices.
  2. David Ellison’s Paramount bid for Warner Bros. has provoked strong liberal backlash because he’s seen as more commercially focused, less overtly political, and linked in some ways to the right.
  3. There’s a common argument that politically driven content has alienated audiences and hurt studio finances, so shifting back to broad-appeal, non-ideological entertainment could help revive the industry.

Fairness, Cost of Glory, Bullying

Rob Henderson's Newsletter • 1193 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Lower-skilled male players in gaming often bully female players more than higher-skilled players, who tend to be supportive. This pattern shows that those with less social status tend to pick on those with lower status too.
  2. People with higher IQs are less likely to engage in violent behavior. In fact, as people enter more educated environments, the chances of physical fights seem to drop significantly.
  3. Young liberals are four times more likely than young conservatives to support using violence to prevent someone from speaking publicly. This highlights differing attitudes towards free speech and conflict.

The Bible Is on Trial in Europe

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 983 implied HN points • 03 Dec 25
🌐 International Politics
  1. A Finnish member of parliament quoted Romans 1:27 to criticize her church's support for Pride, and she was later investigated and charged under hate-speech / Crimes Against Humanity laws.
  2. The case has reached Finland's Supreme Court and asks a central question: can quoting the Bible be treated as a crime, with big consequences for religious freedom and hate-speech rules in Europe.
  3. The probe began after a citizen complaint and has dragged on for years, even though she once served as interior minister and had previously overseen the police.

You May Not Be Political, But Politics Finds You

House of Strauss • 86 implied HN points • 25 Feb 26
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. External forces will politicize your life even if you try to stay private, like globalization upending a farmer’s quiet livelihood.
  2. In today’s polarized world, public rituals and appearances—such as teams meeting leaders—almost always carry political meaning and can’t be treated as neutral.
  3. Silence or nonparticipation is often read as a political stance, and social pressure can force people to choose sides or face ostracism.

The Biblical Case For Supporting Israel

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 3362 implied HN points • 14 Aug 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Politics
  1. Supporting Israel is often linked to beliefs held by many Christians. Some think that failing to support Israel can have serious consequences.
  2. The Bible has many verses that emphasize peace and helping others. These teachings are sometimes used to argue for supporting Israel.
  3. Finding a direct command in the Bible for supporting a modern Israel is tricky. Many verses can be interpreted in different ways.

Does MP Chi Onwurah Defend the Center for Countering Digital Hate to Protect Keir Starmer and Morgan McSweeney?

The DisInformation Chronicle • 245 implied HN points • 21 Jan 26
📰 News Politics
  1. Chi Onwurah defended the Center for Countering Digital Hate and rejected claims it’s a Labour front, arguing the Online Safety Act was driven by Conservatives — a stance critics say is misleading.
  2. The Center for Countering Digital Hate was founded by Imran Ahmed and Morgan McSweeney, who has close Labour ties, and the group worked with Conservative MP Damian Collins to help shape and promote the Online Safety Act.
  3. There are broader concerns that government units and advocacy groups have influenced social-media policy and takedowns during the pandemic and beyond, raising free-speech and censorship questions that many say need further scrutiny and reporting.

The New ‘Animal Farm’ Movie Is Less Equal Than the Book

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 737 implied HN points • 17 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. The new animated Animal Farm softens Orwell’s pointed critique of Stalinism and changes key elements of the original allegory.
  2. Andy Serkis directed a big, star-studded 21st-century remake; Woody Harrelson voices Boxer and Kieran Culkin voices Squealer, and it opens in U.S. theaters on May 1.
  3. Orwell’s novella was a clear anti-Soviet allegory — so influential that the CIA backed a 1954 adaptation — but the new film downplays that specific political critique.

Prove Me Wrong: Luck Determines Almost Everything

Singal-Minded • 359 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26
🏝 Travel Politics
  1. Luck plays a huge role in who gets what in life, but people often treat it as an occasional surprise instead of the normal rule.
  2. Small, arbitrary factors like where you’re born can produce massive differences in wealth, opportunity, and daily living conditions.
  3. How much you believe luck matters shapes your politics: seeing luck as decisive pushes you toward changing systems to reduce unfairness, while denying it makes you more comfortable with the status quo.

Top Links 962 The Christian war on Santa. Girls overtaking. The making of America's techno-nationalist elite & The Wages of Fusion.

Chartbook • 557 implied HN points • 25 Dec 25
📰 News Politics
  1. A cultural fight is framing Santa Claus as a point of religious conflict, with some Christian groups pushing back against secular holiday traditions.
  2. Girls are beginning to overtake boys in key areas, pointing to major social and demographic shifts in education and opportunity.
  3. A rising techno-nationalist elite is shaping U.S. tech and industrial policy, while debates about fusion energy focus on its costs, who benefits, and the political stakes.

Another year over, and a new one just begun

Wrong Side of History • 465 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. 2025 felt like a tech and medical tipping point, with big AI advances and major medical breakthroughs promising longer, healthier lives.
  2. Britain’s political consensus broke down as new parties rose and government missteps exposed deep questions about national identity and a needs-based approach many see as unfair to the majority.
  3. Culture wars over 'woke' policies, DEI, and education are eroding institutions and careers, leaving many people frustrated even as infrastructure and progress projects are promoted as solutions.

The signal and the noise

Comment is Freed • 94 implied HN points • 21 Feb 26
📰 News Politics
  1. You can’t fix unclear strategy or a bad product just by improving communications; if leaders aren’t clear about what they want, better messaging won’t change outcomes.
  2. The media environment has fragmented so much that traditional channels no longer reliably deliver attention or credit for policies, and voters often don’t notice or associate actions with the government.
  3. Politicians need to rethink how they reach people instead of simply adding a few social posts to old tactics — new formats and strategies are required to cut through short attention spans and platform limits.

Why Chinese Elite Rùn to Japan

ChinaTalk • 1082 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🌐 International Politics
  1. Many Chinese people, including wealthy families and intellectuals, are moving to Japan for a better quality of life and more freedom to express themselves. They appreciate the cultural and community spaces available in places like Tokyo.
  2. Wealthy Chinese are finding creative ways to transfer money to Japan despite restrictions, often using underground banking networks. They enjoy a luxurious lifestyle in Japan, with good food and healthcare.
  3. Chinese families often choose Japan for their children’s education, as they believe the schooling system is less stressful and competitive than in China. This makes it a popular option for raising families.

Do Artists Suffer?

The Honest Broker • 9009 implied HN points • 17 Feb 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Suffering is often seen as part of being an artist, but research shows it might not be true for creativity. Instead, suffering may boost ambition, especially in leaders.
  2. History shows that many successful leaders and creatives had difficult childhoods, like losing parents. This loss may actually spark creativity rather than hinder it.
  3. The idea that suffering drives creativity is backed by studies showing a link between personal loss and artistic achievement throughout history.

THB Insider #28 - Thanksgiving Reading

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 922 implied HN points • 27 Nov 25
📰 News Politics
  1. Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, football, and simple traditions like putting the turkey in at sunrise.
  2. The community prizes intellectual hospitality and genuine debate, valuing collegiality, diverse views, and mutual support.
  3. The newsletter curates recommended readings for the long weekend and some content is available only to paid subscribers.

‘I Let the AI Run My Life.’ Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 282 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
📰 News Politics
  1. A person let an AI manage her bank, inbox, calendar, investments, and daily tasks, showing how easy it is to build an all‑seeing personal assistant and raising questions about convenience versus loss of autonomy.
  2. A new Friday newsletter edition now curates the week's top stories, arrives later in the morning, and includes features like an advice column to help readers catch up on longer pieces.
  3. The reporting spans big political fights and legal battles, human stories about deportation and censorship, and some hopeful news such as falling fentanyl deaths and activists using Starlink to get around internet blackouts.

Hidden Open Thread 416.5

Astral Codex Ten • 412 implied HN points • 14 Jan 26
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. The content is behind a paid subscription, so you must subscribe or sign in to read it.
  2. It’s part of a numbered "Hidden Open Thread" series with links to previous and next entries.
  3. The page shows engagement indicators and sharing options, implying reader interaction and shareability.

It’s expensive to be a Man

New Means • 3930 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Masculinity propagated by some influencers can be toxic, isolating, and damaging to men's mental health.
  2. Resistance to harmful stereotypes and embracing individuality can lead to emotional freedom and healthier relationships.
  3. Rejecting oppressive norms benefits not only men, but also promotes freedom and fulfillment for all genders.

Decarbonization and climate change hysteria died this winter

Unreported Truths • 57 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Politics
  1. The EPA's endangerment finding was revoked, removing a key legal basis for aggressive U.S. decarbonization, and this policy reversal drew surprisingly little public protest.
  2. Many decarbonization policies depended on expensive subsidies and immature technologies like intermittent wind and solar without cheap storage, and Europe’s energy crisis plus China’s rising coal use undermined those efforts.
  3. Political and cultural momentum for radical climate action has faded: voters rejected big green subsidy programs in 2024, legal fights over regulation will likely shift decisions to Congress, and climate activism no longer mobilizes mass protests.

Top Links 972 The year of Ellison. The price of being a carnivore. Predicting civil unrest & reading Stalker.

Chartbook • 386 implied HN points • 04 Jan 26
📰 News Politics
  1. Larry Ellison, not Elon Musk, emerged as the defining tech titan of 2025, showing a different model of power and influence in the industry.
  2. There’s growing attention to the true cost of being a carnivore, highlighting environmental damage, health risks, and economic trade-offs of meat-heavy diets.
  3. People are working to predict civil unrest, and cultural readings of works like Stalker are being used to explore social anxieties and possible futures.

Somehow, HS2 to Manchester returned

Odds and Ends of History • 335 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
🎙 Podcasts Politics
  1. The government's U-turn on digital ID is being treated like a huge scandal, but the reaction is overblown and doesn't need hysterical coverage.
  2. A 17th-century Cromwell-era engineering project is even visible from space, and its story has surprising parallels with modern big rail schemes like HS2.
  3. Northern Powerhouse Rail has been revived, including a new Birmingham–Manchester line that closely resembles the old HS2 plans.

Libraries: the best form of government

New Means • 3301 implied HN points • 08 Feb 24
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Libraries are vital community institutions that offer more than just books.
  2. Libraries embody the idea of creating a society that cares for all without a profit motive.
  3. Defending libraries means defending a world where everyone's needs are met.

We secretly love misinformation – and Spotify Wrapped proves it

The Rubesletter by Matt Ruby (of Vooza) | Sent every Tuesday • 641 implied HN points • 10 Dec 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. People prefer exciting, made-up narratives over dull facts, as shown by how a gimmicky "listening age" outshined real listening data.
  2. The attention economy rewards confidence and spectacle, so charismatic wrongdoers and entertainers spread farther than careful experts.
  3. That dynamic has real costs: misinformation breeds polarization, empowers unqualified figures, and makes clicks more valuable than truth.

Hollywood's Dumb Scare

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 9099 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. Hollywood is facing a crisis where careers are being damaged without proper accountability. Many people seem to feel sorry for themselves but not for those unfairly affected.
  2. There have been events where white individuals gathered to discuss their shared identity, but this has sparked controversy and questions about racism. It’s unclear if these gatherings were truly well-intentioned.
  3. The reaction to these events highlights the complex dynamics of race and identity in Hollywood. People are concerned about who gets labeled as racist after these discussions.

Why Does Korea Have an Under-Endowed Men's Movement?

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 3364 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25
🎭️ Culture Politics
  1. In Korea, there's a movement linked to men's insecurities about their size, and it often leads to wild conspiracy theories. Many believe that certain ads and media are making fun of men with small penises.
  2. Korean antifeminism is unique because it mixes anger with a desire for equality, often leading men to express grievances that are typically seen as weak in other cultures. They openly identify as victims in a way that's not common in the West.
  3. The cultural attitude in Korea contributes to strong feelings of paranoia among both men and women around gender issues. This creates a divide where both sides feel threatened, even if the actual power dynamics are less extreme than they perceive.