I'm sure it feels that way, NYTimes White House reporter, but it's actually 6.5 months, a bit more than "a handful," until the midterms. But this confirms my theory that right now, almost every assertion in a national political story ends with "....and its effect on the midterms"

Why Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon prayer services challenge traditional notions of separation of church and state – but might be blessed by the Roberts Supreme Court When government officials hold prayer services, quote scripture and engage in religious proselytizing at the workplace, is it religious freedom – or an old-fashioned First Amendment violation?

What’s wrong with some of that good old-time religion -- in the Pentagon? Pete Hegseth's crusading Christianity looks "as if he is flirting with a violation of the establishment clause," says former judge and Dickinson College President John E. Jones III theconversation.com/why-pete-heg...

As a philosopher, I’m convinced that Trump isn’t lying − he’s doing something worse Donald Trump’s false claims about the Iran War, Epstein files, tariffs and inflation have left some supporters who have traditionally believed all he says feeling duped and abandoned. Why now?

Trump's "unbelievable falsehoods," says @roberttalisse.bsky.social, belittle "those who bear the effects of a struggling economy & ill-conceived war." He's losing core supporters, "not due to their realization that Trump lies. It’s that he has betrayed them." theconversation.com/as-a-philoso....

Presidential words can turn the unthinkable into the thinkable − for better or for worse For years, Donald Trump’s rhetoric has relied on insult, ridicule, threat and contempt. But the scale of violence in his words during the first week of April 2026 was new – and had a purpose.

For years, Trump’s rhetoric relied on insult, ridicule, threat & contempt, degrading opponents & coarsening public life, writes Sam Martin. "What seems different about his words recently is the scale of violence his language primed people to imagine" theconversation.com/presidential...

Nah, I don’t think this is an example of the much-criticized NYT penchant for equivocating in headlines. I read this as a slap down

No One at Waffle House Remembers FEMA Official Who Says He Teleported In

First prize for doing what journalists should do ("If your mother says she loves you, check it out" ) including interviewing a physicist on the possibility of teleporting "an entire human being" and extra credit for hilarious headline and writing throughout www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/u...

Decades of hostility between Iran and the US were preceded by a little-remembered century-long friendship Many Americans only know the history of anger and tension with Iran. But an archaeologist who has spent 45 years focusing on Iran says it is worth recalling the time when the countries were friends.

Many Americans only know the history of anger and conflict with Iran. But archaeologist Dan Potts, who has spent 45 years focusing on Iran, says it is worth recalling the time when the countries were friends theconversation.com/decades-of-h...

Decades of hostility between Iran and the US were preceded by a little-remembered century-long friendship Many Americans only know the history of anger and tension with Iran. But an archaeologist who has spent 45 years focusing on Iran says it is worth recalling the time when the countries were friends.

Iran & the US have a deep history of mutual respect and friendship, says Dan Potts. "From 1834, when the first Protestant American mission was established" until the 1953 CIA-backed coup deposed a popular Iranian prime minister, "Americans were the good guys" theconversation.com/decades-of-h...

Is it ‘Ih-ran’ or ‘E-ron’? Inside the politics of pronunciation Both President Trump and Vice President Vance pronounce Iran as ‘Ih-RAN,’ not ‘Ih-RON.’ A linguist says that how the country’s name is pronounced may be a political choice.

The way we pronounce things often gives off clues about who we are and what we believe -- IOW, clues about our politics, writes linguist Valerie Fridman. That includes how politicians pronounce "Iran" theconversation.com/is-it-ih-ran...

Overconfidence is how wars are lost − lessons from Vietnam, Afghanistan and Ukraine for the war in Iran were ignored The Trump administration’s miscalculation of Iran is the latest entry in an old and lethal tradition in international politics: the catastrophic gap between what leaders believe and what war delivers.

"Wars are rarely lost first on the battlefield. They are lost in leaders’ minds, when leaders misread what they & their adversaries can do, when their confidence substitutes for comprehension, when the last war is mistaken for the next one" says Monica Duffy Toft theconversation.com/overconfiden...

How hatred of Jews became a common ground for Islamic terrorists and left-wing extremists, fueling domestic terrorism Geopolitical violence abroad translates into homegrown threats in the US and Canada. Recent antisemitic attacks show how the Jewish community is a target of those threats.

"Addressing the feedback loop between Middle East escalation and domestic antisemitic violence requires an honest reckoning with all of its sources," writes Arie Perliger @uml-online.bsky.social, who says that reckoning isn't happening w/US policymakers & others theconversation.com/how-hatred-o...

maybe they shouldn't have fired all those editors?

Pete Hegseth is working hard to make sure the public hears only good news about Iran war Americans have been able to know what troops at war are facing, and make informed decisions about the war’s cost, because a free press has been able to tell the story − good or bad. Can it still?

There's a reason you don't really know how the war in Iran is going. As @kathykiely.bsky.social writes, Pete Hegseth is working hard to make sure the public hears only good news about it.
theconversation.com/pete-hegseth...

Pete Hegseth is working hard to make sure the public hears only good news about Iran war Americans have been able to know what troops at war are facing, and make informed decisions about the war’s cost, because a free press has been able to tell the story − good or bad. Can it still?

Americans have been able to understand what their troops at war faced, says Kathy Kiely, and made intelligent decisions about whether they approve of a war’s cost, "because a free press has been able to tell the story – good or bad. That tradition is now at risk" theconversation.com/pete-hegseth...

I’ve studied MAGA rhetoric for a decade, and this is what I see in Hegseth’s boasts, action-movie one-liners and gloating over dominance Why does Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brag and gloat in his statements about the Iran war? In the MAGA media world, war is a game, a test of masculine fortitude.

Pete Hegseth's "haughty tone, hypermasculine preoccupation with domination, giddiness about violence and casual attitude toward death" reflects MAGA's lack of "reverence" for "emasculating rules of tradition and politeness" says Casey Ryan Kelly theconversation.com/ive-studied-...

Please NYT Country Joe’s Berkeley had an anarchic spirit, but its people knew how to spell

Where I interview a guy who knows this stuff -- US citizen evacuations from war zones -- while he's on the road

Operational secrecy kept the US from making evacuation plans – and that means Americans in the Mideast could wait days A longtime diplomat explains how the State Department normally encourages and helps Americans to leave countries amid political instability and war – which didn’t happen over the last week.

With the chaos surrounding Americans stranded in the #MiddleEast, I wanted to know: What ARE the procedures the govt follows to get US nationals out of danger zones? Former diplomat Donald Heflin lays out how things work -- and didn't work this time: theconversation.com/operational-...

Uh oh

Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress engaged in a breathtaking act of legislative assertion, affirming that lawmakers’ held the power to declare war – not the president.

As Congress begins debate on war powers, Sarah Burns writes that it once strongly asserted its war powers during the Vietnam era: "Compared to Congress’ limp response to Trump’s actions in Iran....and Venezuela, it was a breathtaking act of legislative assertion" theconversation.com/congress-onc...

How Nazgul the wolfdog made his run for Winter Olympic glory in Italy Nazgul isn't talking, but his owners come clean about how he got loose, got famous, and how they feel now

My fave Alaska and xc skiing reporter Nat Herz folos his story of a race-crashing dog with an actual explanation of how Nazgul opened the front door of his house and found his way to the ski venue and ultimate fame
www.npr.org/2026/02/21/n...

Why the ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ have echoed with public support – unlike the campus of Kent State in 1970 In 1970, National Guard troops killed four protesters at Kent State University. In 2026, federal agents killed two Minneapolis protesters. Public reaction to the deaths was significantly different.

While editing this story, I was struck by the similarities in what happened in Kent State and Minneapolis, both places where federal forces killed Americans. But law professor Gregory Magarian says there's a big difference in these stories: theconversation.com/why-the-stre...

Surprise 4-legged Olympic competitor wows cross-country fans Nazgul sprints on the course at a cross-country ski race, crossing the finish line in an unsanctioned quest for glory.

"Race organizers did not make Nazgul available for questions after his capture" -- some fun from my fave Olympics reporter (yes, he's my son): www.npr.org/2026/02/18/n...

Fun to read Judge Leon's opinion and note all the exclamation points (husband is cranky editor who says we all only get one exclamation point per year to use, and I married him anyway!) -- but the biggest pleasure of the day was this correction from Alternet's story:

Trump administration losing credibility with judges and grand juries – a former federal judge explains why this is ‘remarkable and unprecedented’ Grand juries, historically rubber stamps for prosecutors’ attempts to indict, are rejecting the Trump administration’s moves to indict the president’s perceived enemies. That’s unprecedented.

"I think we now have entered a world where the Department of Justice has lost its credibility with the judiciary," former federal judge John E. Jones III, president of Dickinson College, reflecting on a grand jury's refusal to indict 6 Democrats who angered Trump theconversation.com/trump-admini...

Why ‘The West Wing’ went from a bipartisan hit to a polarized streaming comfort watch over 2 decades, reflecting profound shifts in media and politics ‘The West Wing’s’ transition from broadcast TV behemoth to ‘bittersweet comfort watch’ in today’s streaming era reveals how much media and political landscapes have changed in the past 25 years.

Have you been bingeing West Wing? You're not alone. @kvanderson.bsky.social & @marxnick.bsky.social write about what its "transition from broadcast TV behemoth to bittersweet comfort watch" tells us about the US today theconversation.com/why-the-west...

"I do not understand the figure of Mr. Bezos. Nice man, met him, always treated as kind of business visionary, and fair enough! But what is he about right now? I can’t believe the fourth-wealthiest person in the world (and in history) would dash his own historic reputation to curry favor with the Trump administration. For what, more contracts? He’s got enough contracts! It’s so small-time, so penny-ante. What matters is honor, that’s the thing that lasts, what history says of you, how you helped your country."

Peggy Noonan is brilliant on why all Americans should be worried about the killing off of @washingtonpost.com (h/t @democracyeditor.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/opinion/a-la...

There’s a competition crisis in America’s state legislatures – and that’s bad for democracy In dozens of states, an increasing number of legislative seats are going completely uncontested by one of the two major parties.

Add to the list of crises affecting American politics: "In dozens of states, an increasing number of state legislative seats are going completely uncontested by one of the two major parties -- a genuine crisis for political representation" from @charlesrhunt.com theconversation.com/theres-a-com...

Clarence ‘Taffy’ Abel: A pioneering US Olympic hockey star who hid his Indigenous identity to play in the NHL Despite being a foundational figure in American hockey, Taffy Abel – who hid his Ojibwe heritage so he could pass as white – has been largely erased from national memory.

The first American to win an Olympic medal in ice hockey + the Stanley Cup.
The U.S. flag bearer at 1924 Olympics.
Yet largely forgotten from public memory.
Why? Because he fought racism & stood up for labor dignity a century ago.
Me in @theconversation.com today

theconversation.com/clarence-taf...

Clarence ‘Taffy’ Abel: A pioneering US Olympic hockey star who hid his Indigenous identity to play in the NHL Despite being a foundational figure in American hockey, Taffy Abel – who hid his Ojibwe heritage so he could pass as white – has been largely erased from national memory.

"Despite being a foundational figure in American hockey – an Olympic silver medalist and a two-time Stanley Cup champion – Abel has been largely erased from the national memory," writes historian @michaelsocolow.bsky.social. There's a reason, and it's ugly theconversation.com/clarence-taf...