By Brett Meiselas
I went live on Substack today with my friend Adam Parkhomenko, who just so happens to be one of the most brilliant minds in politics, and co-founder one of my favorite Substacks, The Alt Media. Adam and I have been discussing doing these live breaking news breakdowns for a while, so it was great to finally put it into action. We hope you loved our chat, and please let us know in the comments if you’d like us to do this more often.
Adam and I broke down the arraignment of former FBI director James Comey and how the case is already falling apart due to DOJ incompetence, discussed Trump’s tariff lies and ponzi schemes, and analyzed the latest with the government shutdown—and how Democrats have turned the tables and are finally winning the messaging war.
That clarity is finally taking hold in the shutdown fight. Democrats have moved health-care affordability to center stage and, crucially, have stopped playing on Republicans’ timelines. We rolled a fresh clip of an intense hallway confrontation between Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Mike Lawler. Lawler’s stunt was a tired old tactic: demand the Democrats accept a temporary patch and fight again in a few months. Jeffries held the line—no more band-aids for working families’ premiums while Republicans cement permanent tax breaks for the wealthy. It was a rare D.C. moment when the stakes were stated plainly, and the messenger didn’t flinch. Finally.
We also took on the culture-war noise machine. Kristi Noem staged content in Portland to manufacture menace; the footage revealed the opposite. And Speaker Mike Johnson declared the NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny a “terrible decision” while admitting he didn’t know who one of the most-streamed artists on Spotify even is. MAGA politics keeps trying to shrink America’s shared culture and punish anything that doesn’t fit its narrow mold. As I said on the stream, their project isn’t to build; it’s to destroy everything we love about the United States.
What gives me hope, and what Adam and I see every day, is how quickly coordinated, reality-based messaging punctures these bubbles now. Independent outlets, creators, and communities are flooding the zone with facts, context, and unapologetic pro-democracy framing.
To everyone who joined live (we topped out near 3,000), thank you. To those who missed it or want to watch again, you can do so above. If you want more of these, tell us in the comments. Subscribe to The Alt Media and to our Meidas+ Substack to sustain this work—and consider becoming a paid subscriber.
