In a rare move for media outlets, Tangle, the independent politics newsletter known for nonpartisan takes, published excerpts from its internal Slack conversations last Friday. Executive Editor Isaac Saul framed the disclosure as a transparency experiment to showcase the ‘debate, dialogue, and discussion’ shaping daily content amid eroding public trust in journalism. The four selected exchanges, lightly edited for readability, pull back the curtain on editorial tensions over tone, bias perceptions and content tweaks.

The debut thread centers on Saul’s sharp critique of a Trump administration DOJ probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom Saul called out as a victim of ‘obviously partisan prosecution.’ Managing Editor Ari Weitzman flagged it as a potential ‘line-in-the-sand moment’ for Tangle’s Trump coverage, warning of reader backlash. ‘This feels actually like a line-in-the-sand moment for you, possibly for Tangle, with covering Trump,’ Weitzman wrote, suggesting a dedicated piece or reader mailbag to address impartiality concerns.

Navigating the Powell Probe

Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead echoed worries, noting the piece’s unyielding tone diverged from Tangle’s hallmark balance. ‘The tone of this piece feels different even from past criticisms of Trump… I could see it losing a lot of conservative readers,’ she said. Senior Editor Will Kaback highlighted bipartisan conservative media condemnation from outlets like the New York Post and Wall Street Journal, while Saul defended letting the take stand alone, adding details on right-leaning silence or criticism to bolster it. Edits incorporated Moorehead’s suggestion, with Weitzman praising the result.

Saul later quipped about publishing the Slack transcript itself—half-kidding, he said—sparking the article’s genesis. The full Powell piece, published January 2026, dismissed defenses of the investigation as irrelevant, quoting Powell directly: ‘This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.’

Trans Sports Sparks Voice Lessons

The second exchange dissected Associate Editor Audrey Moorehead’s analysis of Supreme Court oral arguments in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, cases challenging state bans on transgender women in female sports categories. Justices appeared poised to uphold the laws, with Moorehead arguing biological advantages from male puberty justify exclusions despite sympathy for gender dysphoria sufferers. ‘I expect the Court to uphold these bans… but I won’t fully celebrate due to the exclusion’s impact,’ she wrote in her take.

Team feedback focused on Moorehead honing her voice, early in her tenure. Saul and others pushed for clearer articulation of her values, blending compassion with legal realism on sex definitions under Title IX. The discussion blended substantive policy debate—flexibility for pre-pubertal cases versus fairness—with coaching on reader-facing prose, underscoring Tangle’s collaborative editing ethos beyond Slack into Google Docs and in-office huddles.

Reader Mailbag Fuels Bias Scrutiny

The third thread, referenced in Tangle’s coverage of Washington Post editorial shifts, addressed reader queries on categorizing the Post’s board as ‘left’ despite hires of conservatives and Jeff Bezos’s pivot toward free markets. Resignations like Opinions Editor David Shipley’s followed, yet bias raters like AllSides kept it ‘lean left.’ Staff weighed recategorization but retained the label, citing persistent center-left stances on issues like gerrymandering and free speech.

This debate highlighted Tangle’s meticulous sourcing—’What the left is saying,’ ‘What the right is saying’—and reader-driven accountability. Saul noted in the leak post that such minutiae rarely see daylight at other outlets, positioning Tangle as a trust-builder in a skeptical era.

ICE Shooting Tests Moral Lines

The fourth exchange previewed Saul’s take on the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good during a Minneapolis deportation operation. Saul deemed it ‘needlessly’ tragic, criticizing agent escalation and Trump-era rhetoric branding Good a ‘domestic terrorist.’ Video showed her vehicle reversing then advancing slowly, prompting gunfire; Saul argued de-escalation protocols failed, questioning ICE’s citizen detention authority.

Republicans defended self-defense; Democrats decried raids. Tangle’s internal talk likely mirrored broader tensions on enforcement optics, though full details sit behind the paywall. The piece warned of violence from mass deportations, a prediction Saul tied to real-time fallout including protests and arrests.

Transparency’s Business Bet

Publishing these ‘honest, forthright conversations’—some nearly redacted for candor—marks Tangle’s evolution from solo newsletter to team operation. Founded by Saul in 2019 after job rejections, it now employs 10, rated ‘Center’ by Ad Fontes Media and AllSides as of January 2026 (Tangle, Wikipedia). Saul’s internal deck, accidentally leaked earlier, stressed ‘curiosity and skepticism and humility,’ aligning with this stunt.

Reactions have been positive, with Tangle’s homepage noting ‘valuable discussion amongst our readers’ and Reddit users in r/TangleNews calling for more such peeks: ‘Leaked internal communications…we need more of this!’ (Tangle). No major external coverage emerged by January 25, 2026, per web and X searches, but the move reinforces Tangle’s pitch: balanced news forged in visible debate.

For industry watchers, it’s a savvy play. Traditional media silos editors; Tangle externalizes the sausage-making to humanize bias checks and affirm neutrality claims. As trust hits lows—Gallup polls show media at record distrust—this could differentiate amid newsletter fatigue, especially post-2024 election where Tangle tracked undecideds via podcast.

Implications for Media Rivals

Competitors like Substack peers or legacy outlets face pressure to match this openness. Tangle’s format—left/right takes plus Saul’s view—thrives on perceived fairness, now backed by raw process. Risks include alienating subscribers if debates reveal fractures, as Weitzman feared on Powell: surveys showed Trump-friendly readers lingering, but tone shifts could erode them.

Yet Saul’s half-joke became strategy: ‘Good content, good citizenship, good business.’ With paywalled expansions and podcast growth, Tangle bets authenticity scales. As X chatter stays quiet and web snippets praise the model, this ‘leak’ positions it ahead in the race for credible voices.