We ask the hardest questions about politics and culture, money and power.

The media is in crisis. The old sources of trust and authority are crumbling, but we’re also living through a media renaissance, and we’re betting that newsletters — like this one — are a big part of that.

Words to Win By - Don't Take the Temperature, Change It.

We uncover where people are capable of going & how to use our words, images & stories to move them.
If your words don’t spread, they don’t work. This requires constant repetition. Our messages must persuade the middle & energize the base.

I'm a history professor interested in the contrast between image and reality in American politics. I believe in American democracy, despite its frequent failures.

This is a chronicle of today’s political landscape, it explores what it means, and what it has meant, to be an American.