Clay weekly context brief for the Substack category (ISO week 2026-W41). 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: Whats Up With Kansas? Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-whats-the-matter-with The power of kitchen-table economics 2. A Seismic Political Change Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/a-seismic-political-change To read this letter, click here: 3. Community Wisdom: Getting value from personal AI agents without handing over your inbox, the ego threat of going from IC to manager, uncommon perks to Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/community-wisdom-getting-value-from Community Wisdom 301 4. An A.I. legislator running a cost campaign Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/an-ai-legislator-running-a-cost-campaign Manny Rutinel is one of the few politicians to have spent his career trying to govern A.I. In the race to represent Colorados swingiest district, hes not talking about it much. 5. Caitlin Flanagan on the Cornell 7 and the Battle of the Sexes. Plus Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/caitlin-flanagan-on-the-cornell-7 In todays Weekend Press: Caitlin Flanagan on the Cornell 7. Taylor Swift, what went wrong? Marie Gluesenkamp Perez tells us theres more than one way to be a Democrat. Its time to read East of Eden. And more! 6. Emily Eakin On What Postmodernism Wrought Source: Andrew Sullivan Link: https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/emily-eakin-on-what-postmodernism She has a terrific book on some less-than-terrific French philosophers. Listen now on the Dishcast. 7. The woman who wrote Man in the Mirror sang it to me Source: Anand Giridharadas Link: https://the.ink/p/the-woman-who-wrote-man-in-the-mirror Notes on the world echoing back at you 8. Dance With The One Who Brung Ya Source: Dan Rather Link: https://steady.substack.com/p/dance-with-the-one-who-brung-ya Republican candidates may be stuck with the wrong partner 9. Listen to This Article: Marriage is Wonderful (He Said Controversially) Source: Matt Taibbi Link: https://www.racket.news/p/listen-to-this-article-marriage-is Narrated Version (10 mins)| The New York Times semi-retracts a 2015 celebration of marriage 10. AI makes its first meaningful breakthrough in theoretical physics Source: Ethan Siegel Link: https://startswithabang.substack.com/p/ai-makes-its-first-meaningful-breakthrough Making more complicated, more precise predictive calculations tells us what real experiments should deliver. AI just surpassed humans at it. 11. 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-5f6 Live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, Glenn will answer your questions, all of which you can submit by commenting on this recurring post. 12. More Problems at Ethos (LIFE) Source: Edwin Dorsey Link: https://thebearcave.substack.com/p/more-problems-at-ethos-life Ethos Technologies built its rapid growth using multilevel marketing agencies with aggressive sales tactics, now depending on three of them for nearly a third of revenue. 13. An Interview with Jason Del Rey About Muse, Amazon, and Walmart Source: Ben Thompson Link: https://stratechery.com/2026/an-interview-with-jason-del-rey-about-muse-amazon-and-walmart/ An interview with Jason Del Rey about Amazon versus Meta, which is a continuation of the oldest battle in retail between Amazon and Walmart. 14. What I Read in September 2026 Source: Helen Lewis Link: https://helenlewis.substack.com/p/what-i-read-in-september-2026 Blackbirds, tiny oceans, high-rise balconies and Barbara Cartland 15. Christian Bale, Freud, Indians Source: Rob Henderson Link: https://www.robkhenderson.com/p/christian-bale-freud-indians Links and recommendations 16. Will The Cornell 7 Feel Shame? Source: David Farrier Link: https://www.webworm.co/cornell7/ I've been mainly thinking about how unsurprising this all is. 17. Following: OpenAI taps the brakes Source: Casey Newton Link: https://www.platformer.news/open-ai-model-release-canceled/ On the eve of the company's developer conference, it cancels a new model over safety fears 18. Heres Everything OpenAIs Bots (And Others) Have Hacked Or Considered Hacking Source: Kara Swisher Link: https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/heres-everything-openais-bots-and Its getting hard to keep track of all the unauthorized agent activity. Here it is in one place. 19. Time-savers for serial fiction writers on Substack Source: Simon K Jones Link: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/time-savers-for-serial-fiction-writers Templates, subscriber-specific content and auto-dinkus 20. Why theres anything, anytime, anywhere Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson Link: https://startalk.substack.com/p/why-theres-anything-anytime-anywhere Plus, the thrilling conclusion of the periodic table trilogy 21. The Good Denis Source: George Saunders Link: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/the-good-denis A post-blunder repost. 22. Its Hard To Make Good Art When Your Muse Is A Podcaster Source: Hunter Harris Link: https://hunterharris.substack.com/p/its-hard-to-make-good-art-when-your Taylor Swifts Showgirl encore, reviewed. 23. PSA Update - New Podcast Episode: A Coin Toss for the Future (Ep. 494) Source: Sam Harris Link: https://samharris.substack.com/p/psa-update-new-podcast-episode-a Important Update: Our latest episode on AI is unlocked for everyone. 24. Why I turned down funding for my Miami story Source: Emily Atkin Link: https://heated.world/p/why-i-turned-down-funding-for-my Seven years in, HEATED still answers only to its readers. 25. The September reset Source: Rosamund Dean Link: https://rosamunddean.substack.com/p/the-september-reset-healthy-eating-nutrition Ready for a fresh start? Ive got you 26. Culture Study + Bama Rush S05 + All Your Personal Style Questions, Answered Source: Anne Helen Petersen Link: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/culture-study-bama-rush-s05-all-your Everything youre missing from the Culture Study Universe 27. Online Meetup Tues Aug 11 @ 9:30 am PT Source: David Eagleman Link: https://davideagleman.substack.com/p/online-meetup-tues-aug-11-930-am Looking forward to seeing you there 28. 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. 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. Is a Reckoning Coming? | The Coffee Klatch for Saturday, October 3, 2026 Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/anti-accountability-the-coffee-klatch With Heather Lofthouse and yours truly, Robert Reich 32. October 2, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-2-2026 Trump held a campaign rally tonight in Mobile, Alabama, the city where, as Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times recalled, his MAGA rallies really took off in August 2015, when more than 30,000 people showed up at a football stadium to hear the television personality turned presidential candidate. 33. OpenAI Dev Day 2026: The releases that actually matter Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/openai-dev-day-2026-the-releases Watch now (24 mins) | Claire tests OpenAIs DevDay releases, from Dots, Spaces, and Sites to AI-picked thumbnails and a $97 game, and shares whats worth trying first 34. Friday discussion post Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/friday-discussion-post-b88 Unbelievable polling, and who agrees with Matt? 35. Caitlin Flanagan: What Was Jane Doe Looking For? Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/caitlin-flanagan-jane-doe-frat-parties-cornell Women know that fraternity houses are dangerous placesand yet they go anyway, writes Caitlin Flanagan. 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 570 available items for this weekly brief.