Tangle founder hosts high court chat in Philly
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Tangle founder Isaac Saul. Photo: Courtesy of Isaac Saul
Isaac Saul got his first taste of politics growing up in bellwether Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His parents were dyed-in-the-wool Democrats but many of his friends were conservative, making for interesting dinner conversation.
Yes, but: Nowadays the partisan divide is so strong that Saul, the founder of the nonpartisan political newsletter Tangle, says families and friends with opposing views are no longer willing to break bread.
Driving the news: The outlet, which launched four years ago, is holding its first event Thursday at Philadelphia's Brooklyn Bowl, a panel discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court moderated by Saul.
- Joining are the Cato Institute's Anastasia Boden, Washington Post columnist Henry Olsen and Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine's senior legal correspondent.
- They'll discuss the court's decisions on affirmative action, the 303 Creative case and court ethics.
What they're saying: "It's not just like a news bubble we live in. It's like a social bubble that … very rarely gets punctured," Saul tells Axios.
The intrigue: He hopes to draw in a more moderate audience tired of the hyperpartisan bent at many news outlets.
- His daily newsletter, which has about 63,000 subscribers, summarizes the best arguments from the right and left about the nation's biggest burning political topics, plus he gives his own take on the issues.
Catch up quick: Saul is a bit of a reporting nomad. After working for his college newspaper, he spent time traveling and writing abroad before landing at the Huffington Post.
- A piece that he wrote defending then-Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman went viral and landed him on CNN.
- He parlayed that into a job with A Plus, a media company started by actor Ashton Kutcher that focused on telling uplifting stories. Saul still remembered thinking he was being "Punk'd" when he got a call with the job offer.
- Saul struck out on his own in 2021 to pursue newsletter writing full-time.
If you go: Thursday's event starts at 8pm. Tickets: $25. You must be 21+ to attend.