Mr. Dan Zak
@mrdanzak.com
Senior editor at The Atlantic.
Bio & work: www.mrdanzak.com
Author of ALMIGHTY, a book on the bomb: http://amzn.to/35PAusZ
Bio & work: www.mrdanzak.com
Author of ALMIGHTY, a book on the bomb: http://amzn.to/35PAusZ
Pinned
Mr. Dan Zak
@mrdanzak.com
· Mar 16
The hero
Rich Fierro fought in America’s war on terror. Then terror found him at home.
wapo.st
I wrote about the life of Rich Fierro, who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for 10 years, returned home and worked hard to put his life back together — only to have his family caught in a mass shooting, which turned them all into combat veterans. wapo.st/3vjxIsU
"No one is coming to collect all the useless pennies. And no one is explaining how to get along without them. The government, in other words, is treating the pennies the way it has for decades: by making them Americans’ problem." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Pennies Are Trash Now
The government has no plan for America’s 300 billion pennies.
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:39 PM
"No one is coming to collect all the useless pennies. And no one is explaining how to get along without them. The government, in other words, is treating the pennies the way it has for decades: by making them Americans’ problem." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
RFK Jr "oversees one 1 of every 4 dollars in the federal budget & regulates about 17% of the economy. How, I asked him, did he explain going from scorned activist to the boss of the public-health apparatus?"
“I would say in one word: providential,” Kennedy said. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
“I would say in one word: providential,” Kennedy said. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Why Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So Convinced He’s Right?
How an outsider, once ignored by the public-health establishment, became the most powerful man in science
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
RFK Jr "oversees one 1 of every 4 dollars in the federal budget & regulates about 17% of the economy. How, I asked him, did he explain going from scorned activist to the boss of the public-health apparatus?"
“I would say in one word: providential,” Kennedy said. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
“I would say in one word: providential,” Kennedy said. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
"The fact that many men believe they no longer even have to pretend to respect women in order to participate in public life makes it unlikely that anything will change anytime soon. The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
"The fact that many men believe they no longer even have to pretend to respect women in order to participate in public life makes it unlikely that anything will change anytime soon. The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office." www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
November 20, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) agreed to confirm RFK Jr. after the latter promised that the CDC would not do exactly this.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) agreed to confirm RFK Jr. after the latter promised that the CDC would not do exactly this.
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
November 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM
NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
"This is just the cost of doing business. They will write a multimillion-dollar check to avoid the $2 billion lawsuit. It’s a business decision.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Trump’s Eye-Popping Postelection Windfall
Even though his campaign ended a year ago, the president hasn’t stopped fundraising.
www.theatlantic.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:25 PM
"This is just the cost of doing business. They will write a multimillion-dollar check to avoid the $2 billion lawsuit. It’s a business decision.” www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
San Francisco dystopia intensifies. “Talk about a tale of two cities. Here we are waiting in line to get food, and you have robot cars.” wapo.st/4a0QMy6
Poverty spikes in the land of the tech billionaires
Hundreds of thousands more people struggle in the San Francisco area as the cost of living climbs and the safety net disappears.
wapo.st
November 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
San Francisco dystopia intensifies. “Talk about a tale of two cities. Here we are waiting in line to get food, and you have robot cars.” wapo.st/4a0QMy6
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
Read this interview with @peterthorne.bsky.social to understand how dire the situation is with respect to US science funding. The US has played an outsized role in Earth observations and global coordination, and even if other nations decide to step in, it would take at least a decade to recover.
Without US satellites, 'we go dark', climate monitor tells AFP
US budget cuts risk creating blind spots in Earth monitoring systems that would imperil weather forecasting and climate research for years to come, the deputy chair of a key UN-backed climate monitori...
www.france24.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Read this interview with @peterthorne.bsky.social to understand how dire the situation is with respect to US science funding. The US has played an outsized role in Earth observations and global coordination, and even if other nations decide to step in, it would take at least a decade to recover.
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
"A man pardoned by President Donald Trump for storming the Capitol was arrested on child molestation charges, according to Florida officials, who said he tried to use an anticipated Jan. 6 payout to silence the victim."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Pardoned Capitol rioter tried to bribe child sex victim with promise of Jan. 6 payout, officials say
Andrew Paul Johnson, 44, faces multiple charges in Florida, including lewd/lascivious molestation, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
www.nbcnews.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:48 PM
"A man pardoned by President Donald Trump for storming the Capitol was arrested on child molestation charges, according to Florida officials, who said he tried to use an anticipated Jan. 6 payout to silence the victim."
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
The federal court that struck down Texas' redistricting plan says the letter from a Trump DOJ appointee that kicked off the whole thing is "challenging to unpack the DOJ Letter because it contains so many factual, legal, and typographical errors. "
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 18, 2025 at 7:22 PM
The federal court that struck down Texas' redistricting plan says the letter from a Trump DOJ appointee that kicked off the whole thing is "challenging to unpack the DOJ Letter because it contains so many factual, legal, and typographical errors. "
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
This seems fine 👍www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
November 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM
This seems fine 👍www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
“The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments … Trump is set to host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, in Washington next week.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/w...
Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:18 PM
“The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments … Trump is set to host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, in Washington next week.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/w...
“I cannot keep most of them straight anyway, but their names are all something like Bonnet, McKenzla, Christmas and Breeee. (If I accidentally revealed one correctly and turn up dead, Hulu’s parent company is in Burbank; send the police there first).” wapo.st/4r0oLwH
Column | ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ is essential viewing. Seriously.
The Hulu reality show about the Mormon wives of TikTok is a perfect distillation of America’s political and cultural moment.
wapo.st
November 15, 2025 at 3:37 PM
“I cannot keep most of them straight anyway, but their names are all something like Bonnet, McKenzla, Christmas and Breeee. (If I accidentally revealed one correctly and turn up dead, Hulu’s parent company is in Burbank; send the police there first).” wapo.st/4r0oLwH
The ad is the first known example of money flowing from Noem’s agency to businesses controlled by her allies and friends. www.propublica.org/article/kris...
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
The ad is the first known example of money flowing from Noem’s agency to businesses controlled by her allies and friends. www.propublica.org/article/kris...
“Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names.” www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:36 PM
“Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names.” www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
genuinely very few things more satisfying than reading the kinds of emails rich and famous people send each other
November 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
genuinely very few things more satisfying than reading the kinds of emails rich and famous people send each other
“…lines snaking out of food pantries … the gleaming new bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom, renovated in gold fixtures and marble.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Lines at the Food Pantry, Billionaires at the White House
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 AM
“…lines snaking out of food pantries … the gleaming new bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom, renovated in gold fixtures and marble.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Remember Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch saying hello on a tarmac. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
November 12, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Remember Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch saying hello on a tarmac. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...
Kara Voght was there first, in terms of understanding who Jack Schlossberg is and what he's doing. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/1...
Analysis | We don’t know Jack
Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy’s grandson, made himself a progressive social media star this year, even as Donald Trump drafted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into the MAGA movement.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Kara Voght was there first, in terms of understanding who Jack Schlossberg is and what he's doing. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/1...
Great portraits here of centenarian WWII vets by Maxine Wallace. wapo.st/4p277a7
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Great portraits here of centenarian WWII vets by Maxine Wallace. wapo.st/4p277a7
“If you’ve already figured out that the promise of AI is nothing more than a corporate attack on human curiosity, contemplation, critical thinking & free will, ‘Lux’ will sound like a new kind of feel-good music. Listen up and try not to get swept away. Focus feels better than awe.” wapo.st/47XrLS2
Review | Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ is taking prestige pop to new levels
Rosalía’s new album, “Lux,” wants to blow your mind. Give it your undivided attention instead.
wapo.st
November 10, 2025 at 8:35 PM
“If you’ve already figured out that the promise of AI is nothing more than a corporate attack on human curiosity, contemplation, critical thinking & free will, ‘Lux’ will sound like a new kind of feel-good music. Listen up and try not to get swept away. Focus feels better than awe.” wapo.st/47XrLS2
Vince Gilligan: “A.I. is the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine. I think there’s a very high possibility that this is all a bunch of horseshit. It’s basically a bunch of centibillionaires … selling a bag of vapor.”
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn on What ‘Pluribus’ Is Really About, Why Hollywood ‘Needs More Heroes’ and How Silicon Valley Has ‘F—ed Up the World’
Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn unpack the first two episodes of 'Pluribus' and slam AI: 'Silicon Valley' has 'f---ed up the world.'
variety.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Vince Gilligan: “A.I. is the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine. I think there’s a very high possibility that this is all a bunch of horseshit. It’s basically a bunch of centibillionaires … selling a bag of vapor.”
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
variety.com/2025/tv/news...
We must "determine whether we are to have a Government of respectability,” or one “springing perhaps from anarchy and Confusion, and dictated perhaps by some aspiring demagogue.”
— George Washington (1787)
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
— George Washington (1787)
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
The Insurrection Problem
Violence has marred the American constitutional order since the founding. Is it inevitable?
www.theatlantic.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
We must "determine whether we are to have a Government of respectability,” or one “springing perhaps from anarchy and Confusion, and dictated perhaps by some aspiring demagogue.”
— George Washington (1787)
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
— George Washington (1787)
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
DOJ has lost thousands of experienced attorneys & has backfilled a fraction of the jobs, with the process snarled by a lack of qualified candidates. Last year it had ~10k attorneys; this year 5k+ people—not all of them attorneys—have quit the dept, been fired or taken a buyout. wapo.st/3JG4ImA
Justice Department struggles as thousands exit — and few are replaced
The Justice Department has lost thousands of experienced attorneys and backfilled a fraction of the open jobs, in part because of a lack of qualified candidates.
wapo.st
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 PM
DOJ has lost thousands of experienced attorneys & has backfilled a fraction of the jobs, with the process snarled by a lack of qualified candidates. Last year it had ~10k attorneys; this year 5k+ people—not all of them attorneys—have quit the dept, been fired or taken a buyout. wapo.st/3JG4ImA