The rise of the regretful Trump voter
Last fall, senior politics reporter Christian Paz and Today, Explained senior producer Miles Bryan spent some time in Philadelphia talking to people who once were reliable Democratic voters but were set to switch their votes to Trump in November. This month, Christian and Miles went back to talk to members of the surprising Trump coalition — Black, Latino, and young voters who broke with Democrats — to see how they were feeling about their vote. Their on-the-ground reporting carries warnings for Trump and Republicans but also holds less comfort for Democrats than you might think.
Trump is shaking up US-Israel relations in a way no one has in decades
There was a conspicuous omission in President Trump’s Middle East itinerary this week: Israel. For all his rhetorical support for the country and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Trump has often described himself as the most pro-Israel president in history — his actual policies have proven to be more complicated, confounding both supporters' and critics’ expectations. He has negotiated directly with Israel’s adversaries in the region without Israel’s input, even as he hasn’t budged US policy much on Israel’s war in Gaza. Josh Keating’s explainer offers a zoom-out view of what has been one of the bigger surprises of the second Trump term so far.
The anti-woke right won in 2024. Now they’re turning on each other.
The intellectual right is currently in the middle of bitter infighting. Anti-wokes are squaring off against post-liberals. An influential right-wing blogger is being assailed for embracing the authoritarian populism he once decried. It’s all very online, but it’s the kind of in-the-weeds, internecine squabbling that could have ramifications for the direction of conservatism. As Zack Beauchamp writes, the emerging fractures “show us just how hard it is to go from an insurgent force to a governing one.” Considering how many of the ideas that are regnant today seemed fringe just a decade ago, it’s important we pay attention.
🎧 Does your job feel pointless? This might be the answer.
“I think ‘follow your passion’ is probably the worst career advice out there.” That provocative line comes from historian and author Rutger Bregman in conversation with Sigal Samuel, senior reporter for our Future Perfect section. Bregman’s new book, Moral Ambition, makes the case for something deceptively simple but not enough of us do: Devote our talents to solving the world’s biggest problems instead of treading water in careers that don’t offer much meaning. Choose your format: The Gray Area is now available on text, audio, and video!
“Dry texting,” explained
Anna North’s Kids Today newsletter is consistently one of our more delightful reads, and this week’s edition is no different. Anna takes the time to talk to actual kids, and so we get a direct line into what they’re doing, how they’re thinking, and what they’re saying. I didn’t know that dry texting was even a thing, let alone what it meant, but now I do, and I can’t wait to casually drop it in conversation with my 13-year-old.
