Clay weekly context brief for the Substack category (ISO week 2026-W32). 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: Real Patriotism Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-the-collapse From Texas to North Carolina 2. August 1, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-1-2026 In a classic Friday night news dump, the Department of Justice last night moved to dismiss the criminal charges against David Hearn, the U.S. 3. Community Wisdom: Getting started with open source models, making a U.S. Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/community-wisdom-getting-started Community Wisdom 195 4. Meet the Literature Professor Fired for Teaching Literature Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/academic-freedom-florida-professor-fired Vinita Prabhakar was fired for teaching an award-winning short story that the college president called political. She is now suing under a GOP-backed statute protecting free expression on campus, writes Josh Code. 5. 12 things Ive learned in 12 months of writing for Slow Boring Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/12-things-ive-learned-in-12-months Looking back on the year 6. Neither Saint Nor Villain Source: Andrew Sullivan Link: https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/neither-saint-nor-villain The all-too-human story of a masterful operator, Tony Fauci. 7. The Fauci Legend Will Not Die! Source: Matt Taibbi Link: https://www.racket.news/p/the-fauci-legend-will-not-die The ferocity of the Covid coverup is a thing to behold. 8. Speed Bumps on Trumps Revenge Tour Source: Dan Rather Link: https://steady.substack.com/p/speed-bumps-on-trumps-revenge-tour With Todd Blanche driving the bus 9. The 20 biggest cosmic discoveries of the last 20 decades Source: Ethan Siegel Link: https://startswithabang.substack.com/p/the-20-biggest-cosmic-discoveries 200 years ago, we hardly knew anything about our Universe on cosmic scales. Today, there's so much that we know. Here's how we arrived. 10. True Self, Choice Paralysis, Sexual Problems Source: Rob Henderson Link: https://www.robkhenderson.com/p/true-self-choice-paralysis-sexual Links and recommendations 11. "But..." Source: David Farrier Link: https://www.webworm.co/but/ One simple word. What comes next is deadly important. 12. Remembering Francis Crick Source: David Eagleman Link: https://davideagleman.substack.com/p/remembering-francis-crick What a life-changing opportunity for a young scientist... 13. Finding your voice Source: Anand Giridharadas Link: https://the.ink/p/finding-your-voice Behind the scenes in audiobook land 14. Does Natalie Portman Have A Bad Art Friend? Source: Hunter Harris Link: https://hunterharris.substack.com/p/does-natalie-portman-have-a-bad-art Book drama. 15. A big week for AI denialism Source: Casey Newton Link: https://www.platformer.news/a-big-week-for-ai-denialism/ In the wake of OpenAIs cyberattack against Hugging Face, few seem ready to acknowledge the implications 16. Happy Sunday Source: George Saunders Link: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/happy-sunday-b11 Platforms, stepladders, Orwell 17. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's . . . superposition! Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson Link: https://startalk.substack.com/p/its-a-bird-its-a-plane-its-superposition Don't ask what a superposition of a bird and a plane looks like 18. The Bear Cave #336 Source: Edwin Dorsey Link: https://thebearcave.substack.com/p/the-bear-cave-336 New Activist Reports, Recent Resignations, and Tweets of the Week 19. Luck All the Way Down (Ep. 486) Source: Sam Harris Link: https://samharris.substack.com/p/luck-all-the-way-down-ep-486 A Conversation with Kathryn Paige Harden 20. 2026.30: The Copium Wars Source: Ben Thompson Link: https://stratechery.com/2026/the-copium-wars/ The best Stratechery content from the week of July 20, 2026 including Chinese models and frontier futures, what happened to Hugging Face, and the NBA and its second apron bet. 21. 426: Elizabeth Bennet's Odyssey, AI friends, Victoria Wood Source: Helen Lewis Link: https://helenlewis.substack.com/p/426-elizabeth-bennets-odyssey-ai "Her average message to Chat was seven hundred and thirty words long" 22. The fossil fuel money behind the GOPs wildfire blame game Source: Emily Atkin Link: https://heated.world/p/the-fossil-fuel-money-behind-the As smoke from Canadian wildfires chokes the United States, Republicans are blaming everyone but the industry heating the planet. Guess why? 23. Everything You Need to Know About Kimi K3, the Latest Model From China to Shake Up AI Source: Kara Swisher Link: https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/everything-you-need-to-know-about Here's how the web reacted to Kimi K3's performance, politics, and how it changes the AI race. 24. Is Deckle a Scrivener replacement? Source: Simon K Jones Link: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/is-deckle-a-scrivener-replacement Some early first impressions 25. Turns out people will leave the house for wellness Source: Rosamund Dean Link: https://rosamunddean.substack.com/p/liz-earle-healthy-ageing-tips What happened at the first-ever Well Well Well Live with Liz Earle 26. 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. 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. It's Still The Economy, Stupid | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, August 1, 2026 Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/its-still-the-economy-stupid-the With Michael Lahanas-Calderón and yours truly, Robert Reich 32. July 31, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/july-31-2026 Courtney Kube, Monica Alba, Peter Nicholas, Gordon Lubold, Katherine Doyle, and Andrea Mitchell of NBC News reported Wednesday that President Donald J. 33. 11 products I love, free for a yearthe biggest Product Pass expansion in 2 years Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/productpass-summer2026launch Runway, Higgsfield, Waking Up, Brain.fm, Customer.io, Resend, Pangram, Mercury Personal, Supercut, Readwise, and Jam are joining Product Pass today, all included with Annual and Insider memberships 34. Local News Is Dying. This 25-Year-Old Bought His Hometown Paper Anyway. Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/local-news-is-dying-he-wants-to-save-it Two weeks ago, Evan Newton purchased a local paper in Georgia. He has three employees and a dream, writes Frannie Block. 35. Mega-events are the new monoculture Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/mega-events-are-the-new-monoculture Plus N.B.A. analytics, the Paramount deal, and the dream of stronger political parties 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 539 available items for this weekly brief.