The American Mind

After ripping Trump for having classified documents on his property for months, the mainstream media has done an about face and are now running damage control for Biden as his own caches of documents continue to emerge. Meanwhile, the highest of high society have taken their private jets to gather at the 50th annual World Economic Forum meeting, where they are discussing how to frame regulating your life in flowery language so you won’t notice. Plus: for supposedly wanting us to stop paying attention to them, Harry the Spare and Meghan the Succubus sure do leap into the spotlight at every opportunity. Our editors, joined by Helen Roy, discuss.

As flights are grounded across America and federal officials float—then retract—a ban on gas stoves, the editors gather to discuss the gradual dissolution of American competence, and what if anything can be done about it. Plus: Ron DeSantis has made a bold series of appointments to the New College of Florida's Board of Trustees. Is this a hopeful first step, or a meaningless drop in the ocean? The editors chose between white, black, and quantum pills on the state of education.

Representative Kevin McCarthy has failed multiple times to win election as Speaker of the House. Is this a wake-up call for GOP leadership, or the wrong outlet for populist outrage? Meanwhile, the infamous social media influencer and former kickboxer, Andrew Tate, has been arrested under suspicion of rape and human trafficking. Plus: David French has joined the New York Times--almost too fitting an outcome after years of realignment on the intellectual Right. Spencer and Seth discuss.

As Christmas rapidly approaches, our editors gather to reflect on the whole of 2022. From the mobilization of the social media swarm in support of The Current Thing™, to the elevation of sexual deviancy among the top brass, to the proliferation of tech idolatry, our editors only wish they could be shocked. Plus: preliminary thoughts on 2023 and a teaser for upcoming content.

At long last interracial marriage has been legalized at the federal level in the US! In reality, of course, the law Biden signed this week is more about political maneuvering around gay marriage. Concurrently, Sam Bankman-Fried has been arrested in the Bahamas on charges of fraud as it appears FTX is effectively a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Does this event shed a new light on the factions vying for power in the financial space? Plus: it’s a tripledemic—time to mask back up. Our editors contemplate the machinations of The Borg™.

AI-generated images have taken the internet by storm over the last week. Are AI profile pics the cute veneer over a coming existential threat to human self-worth? Meanwhile, Matt Taibbi and Elon Musk released a Twitter thread with the first fruits of what Taibbi dubbed "The Twitter Files." The thread confirmed suspicions that Twitter and the government were tightly aligned with one another in censoring inconvenient information. Plus: Warnock defeated Walker in Georgia's runoff race for a hotly contested Senate seat, giving ultimate control of the Senate to Democrats. Our editors analyze the boring dystopia we find ourselves in.

This week has offered a veritable clown car of obnoxious and distasteful weirdos. Nick Fuentes wormed his way into a dinner with Trump via Kanye West. Sam Brinton, the non-binary, crossdressing, doggie-roleplaying member of the Biden administration’s Department of Energy, has been charged with felony theft after being caught on video snatching a woman’s suitcase. Plus: Balenciaga’s new ad features kids in BDSM-themed outfits. Our editors discuss the shocking freakishness on display and whether there’s any coherent thread that would allow us to make sense of it all.

Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover carries on apace, and reports of implosion seem to be greatly exaggerated. Is Musk’s aggressive firing policy proof of concept for the elimination of BS jobs? The editors, joined by Helen Roy and Charles Haywood, take a look at some back-of-the-napkin calculations of how profitable Twitter might be under Elon Musk overnight, as well as his hazy policies on freedom of speech vs. freedom of reach on the platform. Plus: the crew discuss what they’re thankful for.

FTX CEO SBF is SOL--and if that sentence doesn’t make sense to you, fear not. The TAM editors are here to chart the aftershocks of the crypto crash heard round the world, and to discuss its implications for the future of America. Plus: Trump announces (shocking few) that he will run for re-election, and Canada plans to legalize euthanasia for the mentally ill. In this dire landscape, who will chart a pro-human path forward?

“Election month” is here, and it looks like the much-anticipated red wave is more of a drizzle. The House looks like it’ll be narrowly red, and the Senate is likely in the hands of a tossup election in Georgia—again. Meanwhile, the growing rift between DeSantis and Trump presages a potentially rocky road ahead for the Right. And what about the Biden of it all? Our editors convene to analyze the implications of the midterms.