Dr. Reut Barak Weekes gained her PhD in Development Economics from SOAS, University of London. She heads the Glocal Program for International Development at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focus includes: decision making of smallholder farmers in developing countries, social impact of microfinance, and the interaction between NGOs and government entities in development. Dr. Barak Weekes acts as the chairperson of NALA, an NGO which fights Neglected Tropical Diseases in developing countries. In the past decade, Dr. Barak Weekes has advised various international development organizations in Israel, including IsraAid, CoCuDi, CIMI, Fair Planet, JDC and Mashav.

In today's world of seemingly endless information, most of us select news sources that align with our social, political, and economic beliefs. Social media, in particular, reinforces this tendency, as algorithms curate content that mirrors our perspectives, interests, and networks. Over time, our understanding of reality becomes shaped not only by our personal outlook but also by these digital influences.

When engaging with others across the political spectrum, we may find that our views diverge so drastically that finding common ground feels nearly impossible. The effects can strain friendships, workplace dynamics, and even romantic relationships. Moreover, we often develop deep mistrust toward media sources that challenge our beliefs or present a conflicting reality. This mistrust leads in one direction—greater division and polarization.

Tangle¹ newsletter, established in the USA in 2019, aims to break this cycle. It “exists to deliver news that can be trusted by the left, right and center all at once”. Each day, it focuses on a single topic, presenting key arguments from both left-wing and right-wing media. Then, (in most cases) Executive Editor, Isaac Saul, writes “his take” on the subject. This is an in-depth analysis on the theme, the various arguments and his personal perspective. While the editor presents his perspective, in most cases this is done while presenting its limitations, or the reasons why others would negate it.  For many of Tangle’s more than 300,000 subscribers, it is this “My Take” section which assists in bridging the divide between Right and Left, and creating mutual understanding with others.

Another unique aspect is Tangle’s transparency – it clearly states mistakes it published, by date, including the total number of mistakes it makes over time. Another unique aspect of Tangle is its transparency; it publicly tracks and corrects its mistakes, listing them by date and maintaining an ongoing tally. Additionally, Tangle offers a podcast, an interactive forum, and in-person meetups for readers to share insights and engage in discussion.

"Our Understanding of reality is shaped not only by what we believe , but by what the algorithem shows us "

Inspired by Tangle’s approach, I interviewed the Founder and Editor in Chief, Isaac Saul in March 2025. First, I wanted to learn more about the initiation of the newsletter – what led Isaac, a well awarded journalist, to move from reporting news, to building Tangle, basing on news reported by others? How did he even think of this idea?

Isaac explained that he “grew up in a politically divided community in Pennsylvania, a Swing State, which is very important every Presidential election. When I was younger and into adulthood I experienced sharing space with people from across the political spectrum. So, having friends and family members who are Conservative, Liberal in the middle seeing the ways in which politics were tearing them apart.

I think also seeing the ways in which their news consumption influences the divide was really informative for me. Especially in the Obama years on, it became really apparent that my family members and friends who were Democrats, were literally not consuming the same news as my family members and friends who were Republicans.” As a political reporter, he became increasingly aware that media organizations, regardless of their political leaning, often sought the most sensational angle on a story. This realization made him uncomfortable, prompting him to explore solutions.

Isaac notes that Tangle is not an attempt to lead people to ‘meet in the center’ or reach an agreement. Rather, he “wants Tangle to be a news organization that people trust regardless of their political affiliation”. We discussed how once neutral media sources are no longer widely accepted as common ground, and Tangle aims to fill that void.

One of Tangle's missions is to be a “big media organization”. In an era of increasing political polarization and a growing number of news outlets, I was curious about how Tangle selects sources from the left and right.  Does it avoid extreme views of any kind? Isaac explained:

“The boundaries for us are mostly around our team's judgment on reliability and motivations behind the authors. So, for example, we're not gonna share somebody who's employed by the Administration as a reliable narrator of events. What I try to do as we're selecting the pieces is make sure that if we're sharing an argument, there's some grounding, supporting evidence behind the argument... I wouldn't share an opinion piece that was based on a presumption. But in terms of how fringe or far out of you might be, we're pretty open. I'm not trying to sanitize views. Even if there's a widely held position, and I find it abhorrent, it's really not up to me. It's representative of the view that people have on the left or the right, so we're gonna share it.”

He also credits the nature of Tangle’s readership, as its audience consists of individuals open to being challenged and eager to understand opposing perspectives.

I asked Isaac if there are topics he finds more difficult to cover. He explained that more divisive topics, such as transgender issues or abortion rights attract criticism from a large number of the readers. Personally, covering the war between Israel and Hamas has been challenging for him as he felt “on an island”, meaning every time he wrote about it, he was accused by one of the sides as being blind to their perspective. In my view, this reaction underscores the difficulty of discussing deeply personal and contentious topics. Even among an openminded audience, many struggle to accept opposing viewpoints. However, Tangle still succeeds in providing exposure to multiple perspectives, even if readers are not always ready to embrace them.

Tangle encourages discourse by allowing readers to engage in forum discussions alongside each article. I found these conversations particularly compelling—people from across the political spectrum present their views with structured reasoning, supported by data or examples, and avoid extreme language. This stands in stark contrast to the often-hostile nature of political discussions on social media. I asked Isaac how Tangle’s discussions remain civil. He believes it’s because people mimic what they receive from the Tangle team: writing with an open mind and humility, admitting when wrong, trying to generate conversations, and not necessarily being right.

"As more people engage in open conversations, trust in both media sources and each other can begin to rebuild "