Worthy of Brainspace: August 24, 2025
A weekly dose of stories, podcasts, and playlists that sharpen your mind without wasting your time.
Every week, I try to gather the stories, podcasts, and even a few TikToks that cut through the noise and are actually worth your attention. This week’s mix includes government power grabs, rising antisemitism in France, and a surprising doxx of Spotify playlists — plus some excellent podcasts and a couple of lighter videos to balance it out.
Amazing Articles
We Are Tech Privacy Reporters. Our Music Habits Got Doxxed.
By Mike Isaac and Kashmir Hill - August 24, 2025
WOW was this article fascinating! There’s a 23-year-old engineer who wanted to draw attention to the vast amounts of data that different apps make public, so he scraped the Spotify data of ~50 politicians, company owners, journalists and more (some were not correctly identified; many of the exposed did, however, come forward to confirm their playlists). The findings were harmless, overall; some playlists needed to be made private, and we all learned that JD Vance really likes the Backstreet Boys. But the fact that the engineer chose to name the project the Pentagon Playlists (a fun twist on a real, much larger, more serious leak) gently reminds us all that the amount of information out there, even for tech privacy reporters, is worth taking seriously.
How Trump Used 10 Emergency Declarations to Justify Hundreds of Actions
By Karen Yourish and Charlie Smart - Aug. 22, 2025
THIS. IS. WORTH. READING. Trump has already declared nine national emergencies and even a “crime emergency” in D.C., all in just seven months. That’s more than most presidents manage in four years, and he’s using them as a cheat code to ram through everything from tariffs on dozens of countries to militarizing the border to federalizing D.C.’s police force. If you think this sounds boring or technical, I promise you it’s not… this is how democracy gets gutted in broad daylight. It’s absolutely worth your time to read the full piece, because the New York Times did the receipts work: every single action traced back to these so-called “emergencies.” Don’t skip it.
A Letter to Emmanuel Macron
By Charles Kushner - Aug. 24, 2025 1:36 pm ET
Charles Kushner’s open letter to President Macron in the Wall Street Journal warns that antisemitism is surging in France, accuses French leaders of emboldening extremists by criticizing Israel, and insists that anti-Zionism is simply antisemitism by another name. He points to Trump-era crackdowns and security measures as proof that governments can protect Jewish communities if they act with sufficient will. I believe Kushner’s alarm over rising antisemitism is warranted, but his claim that anti-Zionism automatically equals antisemitism is not a widely accepted fact — many Jewish voices, scholars, and institutions strongly reject that conflation.
Trump Looks to Chicago Next in Federal Crackdown
By Jennifer Calfas - Aug. 23, 2025 1:43 pm ET
From the article: “Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Friday that city leaders haven’t heard from the Trump administration about the possible deployment of federal law enforcement. Johnson pushed back on the president’s comments and said crimes, including homicides, robberies and shootings, have declined in the city over the past year.
“There are many things the federal government could do to help us reduce crime and violence in Chicago, but sending in the military is not one of them,” Johnson said.
Thought-Provoking Podcasts
Deep Reads: A last lifeline in ‘detention alley’
Post Reports - August 23 2025
Narrative journalism always gets me, because it’s a cross between two of my favorite things; factuality-based reporting, and the real-life humans affected by said reporting. This one was good… hope you enjoy!
Tommy Vietor: Trump's Security State
The Bulwark Podcast - August 22 2025
I probably looked like the world’s biggest nerd when I saw the title of the podcast episode yesterday; I quite like Tommy Vietor, who is normally co-hosting Pod Save America. It was interesting to have the hosts I listen to on a regular basis mix it up like that!
How Openly Partisan Gerrymandering Is Becoming Normalized
The NPR Politics Podcast - August 22 2025
Heavily important topic discussed by balanced, well-informed journalists. NPR Politics Podcast rocks!
Trump pursues control of voting, teases a third term
Left, Right & Center - August 22, 2025
I’ve recommended this podcast before, and I might never stop because I am consistently impressed and refreshed by the civilized, yet provocative debate that covers views from multiple sides.
Is This Martial Law?
Political Gabfest - August 21 2025
This is a podcast I’ve just started listening to! They describe themselves like this: The Gabfest is hosted by Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz. Listen for the debates, stay for the cocktail chatter. The podcast is created by Slate; I’ve found the episodes really insightful!
August 21, 2025 – PBS News Hour full episode
PBS News Hour - August 21 2025
I just love public media, so I'm gonna slide my favorite episode from the week in whenever I can! This episode covers Trump getting out of his civil fraud fine, the DNI slashing her agency's workforce, and Canada's foreign minister discussing tariffs.
No Deal in Alaska | Interview: Tim Mak
The Dispatch Podcast - August 18 2025
Promise, I won’t wax poetic about the Dispatch again! I’ll just say they continue to impress me, and that you’ll probably enjoy this episode!
TikTok Playlists
Worth Watching: 8/17-8/24
This week’s playlist only has 12 videos, but they pack a punch. You’ve got Liz Oyer, explaining how Ghislaine Maxwell ended up with a cushy deal in a minimum security prison, Boston’s mayor giving a rousing response to an unlawful request from the Justice department, and much more. Lots of it is heavy, some of it’s just anecdotal, but none are likely to make you feel like you’ve wasted your time.
Fun & Funny - 8/17-8/24
I kid you not, there’s been some kind of glitch on the TikTok playlists; I must have added a couple dozen videos to this playlist throughout the course of the week, but it only saved 7. I even went back and tried to add them before linking the playlist today, and for reasons passing understanding, NO more videos are allowed on this particular playlist?!? Anyway, I personally think the 7 videos are pretty good, so I hope you like them too.