Clay weekly context brief for the Substack category (ISO week 2026-W31). Clay tracks publications from the Substack feed list. Below are recent items from this category, each with its source and a short description of what the publication covers when one is available in the source feed. Recent publications: 1. Sunday thought: When the sleeping giant dances Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-when-the-sleeping Friends, 2. July 25, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-25-2026 It turns out Trump has not abandoned his plan to paint the massive grey granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building white. 3. Community Wisdom: Staying on a clients radar during pilot purgatory, pairing Linear with a discovery tool, the limits of what AI can automate, whether Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/community-wisdom-staying-on-a-clients Community Wisdom 194 4. Meet The New Boss, Same as the Old Boss Source: Matt Taibbi Link: https://www.racket.news/p/meet-the-new-boss-same-as-the-old On speech, Donald Trump is making a mess, for himself and the country. 5. Thank you, Christopher Nolan Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/thank-you-christopher-nolan Homer, probably 6. Coleman Hughes: The Case Against Sports Betting Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/coleman-hughes-case-against-sports-betting Sports gambling scandals used to be a rarity. But thanks to the new era of frictionless betting theyre becoming commonplace, harming the integrity of sports while emptying our wallets, writes Coleman Hughes. 7. "Revenge Mode" As "Strategy"? Source: Andrew Sullivan Link: https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/revenge-mode-as-strategy The Congress needs to extract us from this mad king's increasingly mad war. 8. Black Markets, Christopher Nolan, Summer of Love Source: Rob Henderson Link: https://www.robkhenderson.com/p/black-markets-christopher-nolan-summer Links and recommendations + the best sleep upgrade I've ever had 9. Trumps Clandestine War Source: Dan Rather Link: https://steady.substack.com/p/trumps-clandestine-war What he doesnt want you to know 10. Seams Source: George Saunders Link: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/seams What does a good idea feel like? 11. A cosmic first: separated sibling stars reunited by supernovae Source: Ethan Siegel Link: https://startswithabang.substack.com/p/a-cosmic-first-separated-sibling We've never witnessed a system of binary stars both go supernova before. A once-hidden source of gamma rays just revealed the first one. 12. OpenAI Hacks Hugging Face, What Happened, Alignment and Paper Clips Source: Ben Thompson Link: https://stratechery.com/2026/openai-hacks-hugging-face-what-happened-alignment-and-paper-clips/ OpenAI accidentally hacked Hugging Face, but the takeaways are more encouraging than people realize. 13. The case for making your own apps Source: Casey Newton Link: https://www.platformer.news/glaze-raycast-ceo-thomas-paul-mann-interview-apps/ Glaze's Thomas Paul Mann on disposable software, the SaaS apocalypse, and why half the software you use in a few years will be something you made. PLUS: OpenAI's rogue model, and the distillation debate 14. Why Ive been quiet Source: Anand Giridharadas Link: https://the.ink/p/why-ive-been-quiet Writing "Man in the Mirror" changed me. Before I begin sharing it with you and the world, I needed time to breathe it all in 15. Now That's What I Call ... Me at The Atlantic Source: Helen Lewis Link: https://helenlewis.substack.com/p/now-thats-what-i-call-me-at-the-atlantic Celebrating seven years with seven of with my favourite pieces. 16. Webworm Wins In US Court Source: David Farrier Link: https://www.webworm.co/thepretender15/ A judge rules on Anna Wilding & James Sveds lawsuit against Webworm. 17. Pilots just wingin' it? Surely, you can't be serious! Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson Link: https://startalk.substack.com/p/pilots-just-wingin-it-surely-you I am serious, and don't call me Shirley 18. The Bear Cave #335 Source: Edwin Dorsey Link: https://thebearcave.substack.com/p/the-bear-cave-335 New Activist Reports, Recent Resignations, and Tweets of the Week 19. AI Model Prices Are Falling At The Worst Moment For The U.S. Frontier Labs Source: Kara Swisher Link: https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/ai-model-prices-are-falling-at-the The price war is on. What happens to the OpenAI and Anthropic? 20. Bravo Clubhouse Source: Hunter Harris Link: https://hunterharris.substack.com/p/bravo-clubhouse Lemme Say This x Watch What Happens Live 21. Another stolen summer day Source: Emily Atkin Link: https://heated.world/p/another-summer-day-stolen What are we still waiting to learn? 22. How Audience-Specific Content works on Substack Source: Simon K Jones Link: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/how-audience-specific-content-works A quick video guide 23. The New Science of Cancer (Ep. 485) Source: Sam Harris Link: https://samharris.substack.com/p/the-new-science-of-cancer-ep-485 A Conversation with Siddhartha Mukherjee 24. Submit Your Questions for This Week's Q&A Episode Source: Glenn Greenwald Link: https://greenwald.substack.com/p/submit-your-questions-for-this-weeks-b86 Live TONIGHT at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, Glenn will answer your questions, all of which you can submit by commenting on this recurring post. 25. The overlooked pillar of longevity Source: Rosamund Dean Link: https://rosamunddean.substack.com/p/bone-health-longevity-osteoporosis-tests From 75 high-street bone scans to luxury longevity clinics, it's suddenly much easier to find out what's happening beneath your skin 26. What is Depression? Source: David Eagleman Link: https://davideagleman.substack.com/p/what-is-depression And how might a brain escape it? 27. Richard Dawkins is coming to Australia and New Zealand Source: Richard Dawkins Link: https://richarddawkins.substack.com/p/richard-dawkins-is-coming-to-australia 50 Years of The Selfish Gene. One final tour. 28. If you're missing the Culture Study Gift Guide.... Source: Anne Helen Petersen Link: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/if-youre-missing-the-culture-study Somehow it's even better than last year 29. The Seventh Wave. Episode 47. Source: Salman Rushdie Link: https://salmanrushdie.substack.com/p/the-seventh-wave-episode-47 Episode 47 30. Part 5 Alfred Wolfsohn, my father 1896-1962. Source: Michael Faraday Link: https://michaelfaraday.substack.com/p/part-5-alfred-wolfsohn-my-father His early life 31. What the Hell Is Trump Doing in Iran? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, July 25, 2026 Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/will-there-ever-be-consequences-for With Heather Lofthouse and yours truly, Robert Reich 32. July 24, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-24-2026 Tony Romm and Brad Plumer of the New York Times reported this afternoon that the Trump administrations claim last October that it was cutting programs in order to protect taxpayers against waste was, in fact, a lie. 33. Claude Opus 5 review: this model is brilliant (but annoying) Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/claude-opus-5-review-this-model-is Watch now | I ran Opus 5 through my seven-model benchmark, compared it with six other leading models, and came away with a verdict I genuinely didnt expect 34. Don't Let Activists or Robots Choose Your Words Source: Matt Taibbi Link: https://www.racket.news/p/dont-let-activists-or-robots-choose From AI chats to the new AP stylebook to a long list of political crazes, online America is constantly looking for ways to put words in your mouth 35. Great speeches need good ideas Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/great-speeches-need-good-ideas Plus LeBron James, the pundits fallacy, and alternate Robert E. Lee Sources in this brief: Anand Giridharadas; Andrew Sullivan; Anne Helen Petersen; Bari Weiss; Ben Thompson; Casey Newton; Dan Rather; David Eagleman; David Farrier; Edwin Dorsey; Emily Atkin; Ethan Siegel; George Saunders; Glenn Greenwald; Heather Cox Richardson; Helen Lewis; Hunter Harris; Kara Swisher; Lenny Rachitsky; Matt Taibbi; Matthew Yglesias; Michael Faraday; Neil deGrasse Tyson; Richard Dawkins; Rob Henderson; Robert Reich; Rosamund Dean; Salman Rushdie; Sam Harris; Simon K Jones. Selected 35 of 536 available items for this weekly brief.