The Signal

Aug. 22, 2025 | SGNL

Interpretation codes

Competing interests in Gaza spin competing evidence of famine into competing narratives about the war there—with vastly different stakes. … Ghislaine Maxwell’s jailhouse testimony clearing Trump raises tougher questions than whether she’s telling the truth.

16 minute read

Aug. 20, 2025 | SGNL

Death by smartphone

How are smartphones transforming modern warfare? … How much has Donald Trump made off the U.S. presidency? … & How can America adapt to an increasingly multipolar world?

10 minute read

Aug. 18, 2025 | Michael Bluhm & Michael Breen

Obscured by clouds

Why does North Korea keep threatening South Korea and its allies without ever going to war? Michael Breen on theater and reality in one of the most enigmatic places on Earth.

12 minute read

Aug. 15, 2025 | SGNL

All the razzle-dazzle

What three hours of Trump-Putin diplomacy actually accomplished in Alaska. … Netanyahu’s Gaza City plan develops, without answering the question of what his government is really trying to achieve. … & South Korea’s constitutional crisis enters its eighth month with no end in sight.

14 minute read

Aug. 13, 2025 | SGNL

The archaeology of a story

Who shot Abu Sayed? … How important is education to reducing poverty? … & Will the U.S. trade war have predictable consequences?

11 minute read

Aug. 11, 2025 | Ben Freeman & Gustav Jönsson

A ‘known unknown’

Where’s all the money coming into American think tanks from? Ben Freeman on the enormous foreign-government “donations” flowing through Washington, D.C.

10 minute read

Aug. 08, 2025 | SGNL

What breaks, what bends

Making sense of Israel’s sudden escalation in Gaza. … A new chapter in the strange, high-stakes relationship between Trump and Putin. … & France is burning like it’s 1949—and Europe isn’t ready. … The member’s despatch, Week XXXII.

13 minute read

Aug. 06, 2025 | SGNL

Persistence without memory

Why is the greenback still the world’s apex currency? … How can you succeed in the Chinese Communist Party? … & Will protectionism save the American auto industry? … New works, Week XXXII.