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This week I spoke with historian Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny, about American democracy and what we can do to protect it. “Democracy is not a spectator sport,” he said. “It’s a series of actions based on moral commitments.”
Snyder is that rare combination: a thinker who names the forces shaping this moment and a historian who draws out their consequences. We talked about the slide toward autocracy, the role of the press, social media, tech oligarchs, and what resistance actually looks like. He gave concrete guidance on resisting ICE enforcement and explained why building coalitions with people who don’t share all your views isn’t optional. It’s necessary.
On the tech oligarchs who now dominate our information environment he offered, “They think they’re a telescope, but actually they’re a black hole, warping everything around them so that nothing can really be seen.”
And on the question of whether things can get better: “History is always open and more things are possible than you think.”
I found it clarifying, energizing, and surprisingly optimistic.
Snyder is also the author of On Freedom and writes the Substack Thinking About.
In today’s newsletter: Trump moves to crush state AI laws. Disney invests $1 billion in fewer humans. The Epstein estate releases receipts. Why the White House is escalating pressure on Venezuela now. Healthcare subsidies stall, again. Preservationists move to protect the White House. And News That Doesn’t Suck about a major sports comeback thanks to a titanium knee.
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One AI to Rule Them All: The Trump administration has blocked AI regulation at every turn — and now it’s coming for the states that are trying to fill the void. Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that allows the Department of Justice to sue to block or overturn state laws that undermine the “United State’s global AI dominance.” States are currently pressing AI legislation that would stand up protections for kids from sexually explicit material or chatbots that encourage self-harm; they’re trying to stop algorithmic discrimination and bias when AI is used for health care, hiring, banking and other decisions; and all sorts of laws around deepfakes, consumer protection, privacy, and more. If states pass these laws, they could also be penalized with loss of funding for key infrastructure projects, including broadband. (We’re sure this has nothing to do with all the tech barons funding — I mean, circling — Trump’s orbit.) Earlier this year, senators voted 99-1 to strip a 10-year ban on state-level AI regulation from Trump’s budget bill. This year alone, all 50 states introduced AI legislation, and 38 enacted around 100 measures.
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Mouse, Meet Robot: Disney and OpenAI have struck a deal that has fans and experts worried. Disney is investing $1 billion for an undisclosed stake in the AI giant. In return, OpenAI’s video tool Sora will let users create clips with more than 200 Disney characters. A selection of fan/AI-generated videos will stream on Disney+. (You read that right. Disney content created without humans.) CEO Bob Iger insisted OpenAI’s “guardrails” mean “there’s nothing to be concerned about.” For example, the deal excludes generating human likeness or voices. Iger argued the rise of AI was “going to happen regardless, and we’d rather participate” than be sidelined or “disrupted by it.” Totally.
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All Hail: TIME’s 2025 person of the year is… or, rather, are… the “architects of AI.” One of the covers features a photorealistic image (made by humans) of tech barons sitting on the metal beam from the iconic photo “Lunch atop a Skyscraper.” TIME also happens to have an agreement with OpenAI that allows the AI company to access the magazine’s archives. (Should we ask a chat bot to break down the implications of this?)
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There Will Be Blood: The US is reportedly preparing to intercept more ships carrying Venezuelan oil. On Wednesday it seized a tanker carrying oil from the country’s state-owned company; the ship was flying under the flag of Guyana despite not being registered there. In the past, it reportedly broadcast fake location data, transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil, and was sanctioned for allegedly participating in “an international oil smuggling network” that generated revenue for the Iranian military and Hezbollah. Through a series of companies it appears to be owned by Viktor Artemov, a Russian oil magnate.
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Black Gold: When asked about the oil the ship was carrying, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.” The White House insisted the “legal process for the seizure of that oil … will be followed.” Venezuela doesn’t currently produce much oil, but it has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Much of it is heavy crude, which requires costly infrastructure to extract. Oil companies would be thrilled to build all that infrastructure, but not while the country is under US sanctions. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro insists that US aggression is “a negotiation about oil” not “the democratization of Venezuela, let alone the narco-trafficking.” Rep. María Salazar acknowledged that opening up Venezuela would “be a field day” for “American oil companies.”
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Thousand Words: House Democrats on Friday released 19 photos out of roughly 95,000 they received from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein. The photos feature many powerful men who are known to have had connections with the convicted sex offender, including Bill Clinton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly known as Prince Andrew), MAGA bigshot Steve Bannon, filmmaker (and husband to his former partner’s adopted daughter) Woody Allen, Larry Summers, Bill Gates, Alan Dershowitz, and Richard Branson. Trump features in a few. In one, he is next to what appears to be a young woman whose face is blacked out; in another, he is smiling next to half a dozen women; in a third, we see a “Trump Condom” labeled, “I’m HUUUUGE!”
Jessica Yellin on Instagram: “Democrats on the House Oversight …
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Try, Try, Try Again: Two healthcare proposals, one from the Democrats and one from Republicans, failed in the Senate on Thursday. That leaves 22 million Americans at risk of their healthcare premiums doubling next year when subsidies expire. The House is set to consider a package of healthcare proposals next week, but none extend the subsidies. More than a dozen House Republicans have bucked GOP leadership and joined Democrats to try and force a vote on either of two bipartisan proposals that would temporarily extend the expiring subsidies.
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Beg Your Pardon: Trump on Thursday announced he will pardon Tina Peters, a former Republican county clerk who was convicted of allowing unauthorized access to voting machines in an attempt to prove Trump’s baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen. The pardon is purely symbolic; Peters was convicted in a state court, so Trump can’t actually free her from jail or wipe away her criminal record.
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Where’s DOGE When You Need It: The Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to spend almost $140 million purchasing six Boeing 737 planes to deport people. An official claimed, without providing specifics, that the fleet would save taxpayers hundreds of millions “by allowing ICE to operate more effectively”; ICE’s acting director under President Barack Obama said he was “surprised” by the move, explaining that “it’s so much easier to issue a contract to a company that already manages a fleet of airplanes.”
Keep reading to find out… How Indiana Republicans just defied Trump, who’s set to replace Jerome Powell, a bombshell report revealing ICE’s latest partnership, new drugs that could stem the tide of drug-resistant gonorrhea, and an Olympics comeback story you have to read to believe.
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