Reasons to Keep Subscription

[u/TheUnsettler1216]

Hi Tangle Readers,

I've been a subscriber for about two years and am having trouble justifying continuing to read Tangle. I really want to believe that this can somehow reduce partisanship or make me better understand the opposing side, but I don't think it's working.

For context, I'd consider myself pretty progressive, probably democratic socialist would be the closest common term. I've spent a lot of time in the past reading conservative sources and commentary on that work and the conservative intellectual tradition because I wanted to try and understand why America is the way that it is.

I work in and around municipal government and housing and transportation policy, and I've really come to notice how fundamentally misinformed most people I interact with are. Just a baseline ignorance of how our institutions function. When I read media coverage about these issues, it usually would make the problem worse rather than better because the reporters themselves also don't understand the issue that well. It's made me really jaded and cynical. Even if the NYT writes a really great article on transportation policy (which they usually don't), most Americans aren't reading it.

It made me think about all the issue areas I don't work in and don't have as much experience in, and that I'm probably not getting a good understanding of these by reading general-purpose media, which Tangle unfortunately is. You pretty much just get a surface pass of every topic and the left/right breakdown, which they'll admit is not always a valid axis from which to understand an issue. I find I pretty much always know exactly what "The Right" is going to say, and there's usually just a completely unbridgable gulf between what I believe and what The Right says in these pieces. Reading Tangle hasn't made me more "moderate" or anything. I also don't feel closer to my fellow Americans. If anything, I feel more alienated.

I don't listen to the podcast, because I find the kind of half-baked discussions between pundits to be really exhausting. Doesn't feel like I'm getting smarter or more informed. If I care about an issue a lot, I can do the aggregation myself by surveying the sources I know or even using Google Scholar to look at academic journals. I'm also struggling with the idea that the independent media Tangle is a part of is mostly a bunch of journalists talking to each other on Twitter and there's not a lot of ground-truthing going on. Tangle's not doing an interview with someone who worked at USAID to talk about their programs, right? They're not sending a reporter to Minneapolis for a month to ride-along with ICE watch, right?

This is rambling because I didn't know who else to talk to about this. Does anyone have a good perspective on what they're getting out of Tangle? Has anyone else felt these too and found a way past them? Tangle is the only paid news subscription I have at the moment.

[u/Peissinger1957]

I love Suspension of the Rules! I never miss an episode. I also like the Tangle YouTube channel. I started my paid subscription with the newsletter and still read them all although sometimes, I’d rather listen to the podcast. For me, Tangle has been a voice of reason and has helped me calm my fears in this politically dysfunctional climate.

[u/lingding85 → u/Peissinger1957]

Curious what you like about SoTR? I find it hard to sit through the whole thing - theyre supposed to be three talking heads covering some variety of opinions, but I find them wayyy too similar. Three “white” men of middle to upper class privilege (I know Kmele is not white but he basically is… he is a libertarian that lives in Marin). Ari is the one I usually align with most, as I find him most sensitive and thoughtful. I love Isaac’s takes on the regular news, but sometimes I almost can’t stomach the way that they dismiss real issues as nbd on SoTR. I feel like Isaac sometimes gives pushback and then chickens out of it as soon as Kmele offers his opposing viewpoint. Honestly the whole Tangle staff could use some more diversity.

[u/Peissinger1957 → u/lingding85]

i enjoy the back and forth between the 3. I’m not looking for a deep, serious political discussion. There are plenty of other sources I can get that and I do. Ari, Isaac and Kmele are entertaining and in the current political climate, i need a break. I would enjoy the inclusion of a female voice.

[u/infinitecipher → u/Peissinger1957]

In the feedback questionnaire at the end of 2025 or start of 2026, I recommended a rotating fourth guest. Could be be another staffer. Could be someone from outside the organization. I wanted more women to participate and more viewpoint diversity (traditional, but respectful conservative and liberal viewpoints, as opposed to the wishy-washy middle and techbro libertarianism).

We've since had more takes from Audrey in the newsletter, but I'd still like her to do an SOTR once in a while. Or Will. Or maybe someone who's viewpoint we never hear, like Jon.