Weekly Roundup
"The societal dirt", Trump's trip to the Middle East, and reading recs.
A roundup of what we read this week. franknews is committed to bringing quality information to the public — and remaining independent, ad-free, and accessible to everyone. To support us, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Still Abundance Pilled: We wrote about the discourse around Ezra Klein’s new book, Abundance, a few months ago. Now, there is a caucus in the House orienting itself around its thesis. As reported by Politico, “A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.)… Harder said the “Build America Caucus” is set to focus on cutting red tape around energy permitting and housing, and aimed to make recommendations on embedding provisions in must-pass legislation this Congress like the annual defense authorization bill or federal surface transportation legislation.”
Recall the pushback, to theory, as summarized in a recent article by The Nation, “Our fear is that this billionaire-backed project is being explicitly used to undermine the kind of populist rebrand necessary to shed Democrats’ reputation as feckless cowards who can’t be trusted to fight for working people—to swap out a villainization of corporate elites that evokes FDR with a demonization of bureaucracy, regulation, and red tape that lends credibility to Elon Musk, who, it’s worth noting, reposted a clip of Klein pitching abundance with the message, ‘This shows why regulatory overhaul is necessary.’” As they note earlier in the article, there is another caucus that has recently popped up (on the heels of Bernie and AOC’s “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies) called the “Monopoly Buster Caucus,” which is dedicated to “fighting corporate power” co-chaired by the progressive Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) as well as three frontline, swing-district Democrats: Representatives Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Pat Ryan (D-NY), and Angie Craig (D-MN). It seems to be a battle for the soul of the Democratic party….
Meanwhile, the Republicans have been trying to push through a legislative package called “One Big Beautiful Bill” that aims to fulfill President Trump's agenda and campaign promises, including tax cuts and spending reductions. As of Friday, it has stalled because five Republicans voted against the measure. According to the BBC, they said that, “they would continue to withhold support unless Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to further cut Medicaid, a healthcare programme for lower-income Americans.” PBS has helpful conversation detailing what was included here. And interestingly, as part of this, Senator Cruz is proposing MAGA accounts —“a $1,000 seed investment from the federal government for every American child at birth."
Trump in the Middle East: Trump was on a three-day tour across Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the last week. As part of this, he met with the new Syrian President, Ahmad al-Sharaa for the fist time and lifted U.S. sanctions on Syria.
The goal of the trip was for Trump to “woo foreign investors to the US to boost the American economy, a key focus of his administration in the nearly four months of his second term” according to the BBC. And Saudi Arabai and Qatar courted him right back. Saudi Arabia brought out a custom mobile McDonald's and Qatar has given him a private luxury jet. On Tuesday, Trump announced that the U.S. had agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion — reportadly the “biggest-ever” arms deal.
Trump also said that a deal was close on Iran's nuclear program and suggested a military strike on Tehran's sites could be avoided. We recall 2015 Obama-era deal that Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018. Breaking Points had apt analysis on Trumps approach to deal making in the Middle East: “If you are going to try to do the anti-nation building thing Obama did… Trump believes you have to frame it differently. You have to look like you are the winner, not that you are prostrating yourself to these powers.” And we were also reminded of media frenzy that occurred when Obama bowed to the king in Saudi Arabia.
Reading Recs —
Revisiting this essay from Mary Gaitskill — The Despair of the Young: “I suggested that the writer could add depth by describing the parent’s facial expressions, their voices and movements. ‘When the mother hugs her daughter, what does the hug feel like?’ The student asked me what I meant. I tried to explain: her body could feel hard and tense, it could feel soft and warm. It could feel weak or strong. There are a lot of different gradations of touch, I said; a person’s body can say a lot of things that they don’t say in words. And the student replied, ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never felt anything like that in a hug.’ The thought popped into my head: ‘That is why you felt suicidal.’ Later, more sensibly, I thought that the student was possibly just being defensive. But I wondered. I meant what I had said to the admin person. I think people are becoming crazy because they have become too estranged from their own bodies to feel them. Or to feel other people.”
Our friend James Francis on Cobra Snake, having fun, and Spring: “Cory Kennedy was our Twiggy. The Cobra Snake was our Warhol. Instead of creating a thousand prints of Campbell Soup cans, The Cobra Snake distilled social events into 20 flash photos. Each set was uploaded to his website on a 12 hour delay. He was the keeper of our memories. These people were here. They wore this. It was fun. We used to have town criers to get the word out. Bellowing men clanging bells in the square. This role dates back to Ancient Roman times, iterations appeared around the world through the centuries. Sure, the town crier wasn’t reporting on the latest party gossip, but he was a spring of communal knowledge. Everyone was on the same wavelength. They knew the societal dirt to build their fun around.”
A refreshingly optimistic take on Hollywood in i-D: “The film industry claims to be in crisis because it’s not making movie stars anymore. In a recent National Research Study, it was revealed that none of the 25 actors that would bring American audiences to the theater were under 30. Denzel Washington, at 70, topped the list. Zendaya and Margot Robbie—both in their early 30s—were the youngest, but neither cracked the top 15. Timothée Chalamet didn’t make the cut. Nor did Florence Pugh, Jacob Elordi, or Madison. That’s less of a comment on their talent, and more a reflection of what they want.”
And some of our radio shows!
Poplife: About the weight and shape of hope — how it moves through people, art, cities, and ambition. And how it keeps people moving forward when the world gets loud.
Only if it Rocks: Uptempo and/or aggressive and/or guitary music. If it doesn’t rock it’s not playing.
Screen Sounds: A fun deep dive into the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack.