Clay weekly context brief for the Substack category (ISO week 2026-W45). 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. How to Close the Muskrat Loophole, and a final word on Prop 40 Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-to-close-the-muskrat-loophole Government contractors are barred from making campaign contributions, but Elon one of the biggest of all government contractors has poured a half-billion into the midterms. Heres how to stop him. 2. October 31, 2026 Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-31-2026 On his Swing Around the Circle in summer 1866 to drum up support for his party before that years midterms, President Andrew Johnson denounced Congress as an illegal body, called certain Republican members of Congress traitors who should be hanged, and compared himself both to his martyred predecessor Abraham Lincoln and to Jesus Christ. 3. Community Wisdom: The biggest sources of interruptions for PMs, hiring junior PMs with case studies vs. Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/community-wisdom-the-biggest-sources Community Wisdom 304 4. Supernatural NIMBYs Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/supernatural-nimbys When magic spooks progress 5. What My Exorcist Friends Tell Me About Halloween. Plus. . . Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/why-i-dont-celebrate-halloween-plus-glee-wicker-nicki-minaj In todays Weekend Press: Rod Dreher doesnt celebrate Halloween. Lenore Skenazy says carve the pumpkins. Suzy Weiss on whether Nicki Minaj is the next press secretary. The Mossad chief makes a rare on-camera appearance. The greatness of early Glee. And more! 6. What do we owe each other? Source: Anand Giridharadas Link: https://the.ink/p/what-do-we-owe-each-other A conversation with Robert Reich 7. You Know What To Do Source: Andrew Sullivan Link: https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/you-know-what-to-do Its our last chance to show that Americans have not forgotten who we really are. 8. Sharp Tech on Video: Anthropics S-1 and What It Means for Meta and Muse, You Can See Everything, and Brewers! Source: Ben Thompson Link: https://stratechery.com/2026/sharp-tech-on-video-anthropics-s-1-and-what-it-means-for-meta-and-muse-you-can-see-everything-and-brewers/ Sharp Tech is, for the first time, available on video. You have three ways to consume it: YouTube, Spotify, and here on Stratechery. 9. Is the MAGA Magic Gone? Source: Dan Rather Link: https://steady.substack.com/p/is-the-maga-magic-gone Trumps cult is showing signs of collapse 10. Why AI Hackers Still Fall for Simple Traps Source: Kara Swisher Link: https://www.bigtechnology.com/p/why-ai-hackers-still-fall-for-simple Horizon3 CEO Snehal Antani on AI cybersecurity hype, the real danger of faster exploits, and why agents should be treated as insider threats. 11. So Untalented, He Was Accused of Being AI Source: David Farrier Link: https://www.webworm.co/sicktodeath/ A man so terrible at drawing, millions have accused him of being ChatGPT. 12. Maries Answers to Your Questions Source: George Saunders Link: https://georgesaunders.substack.com/p/maries-answers-to-your-questions And more. 13. How long does it take to travel through the Universe at 1g? Source: Ethan Siegel Link: https://startswithabang.substack.com/p/how-long-does-it-take-to-travel-through 1g is our acceleration in Earth's gravity: 9.8m/s. If a spaceship constantly accelerated at that rate, here's how far we could travel. 14. Cornell 7, Illicit Activities, Violence Interventions Source: Rob Henderson Link: https://www.robkhenderson.com/p/cornell-7-illicit-activities-violence Links and Recommendations 15. The AI election that wasn't Source: Casey Newton Link: https://www.platformer.news/ai-midterms-openai-deepfakes/ Voters have other things on their minds for now. PLUS: OpenAIs clever policy to fight deepfakes, and the Anthropic S-1 16. You Can See Everythings (Mostly) Silent Star Source: Hunter Harris Link: https://hunterharris.substack.com/p/you-can-see-everythings-mostly-silent Elizabeth Holmess dad. 17. After Midterms, Lets Make Politics Boring Again Source: Matt Taibbi Link: https://www.racket.news/p/after-midterms-lets-make-politics After midterms, life in America may not get better, but it could suck more quietly 18. Short story: On the Other Side of the Street Source: Simon K Jones Link: https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/short-story-on-the-other-side-of There goes the neighbourhood 19. Catch our new StarTalk spin-off this week! Source: Neil deGrasse Tyson Link: https://startalk.substack.com/p/catch-our-new-startalk-spin-off-this Plus, get sciencepilled and start knowledgemaxxing 20. The Bear Cave #349 Source: Edwin Dorsey Link: https://thebearcave.substack.com/p/the-bear-cave-349 New Activist Reports, Notable Departures, News of the Week, and Tweets of the Week 21. Vivek Ramaswamy, Flavio Bolsonaro, and the Corrosive Never Apologize Culture Source: Glenn Greenwald Link: https://greenwald.substack.com/p/vivek-ramaswamy-flavio-bolsonaro What happens to a political system when admitting error is vilified as weakness, refusing to apologize is venerated as courage, and shamelessness is embraced as a virtue? 22. 439: Dodgy polls, Sally Rooney, and Trumps love of badonkadonk Source: Helen Lewis Link: https://helenlewis.substack.com/p/439-dodgy-polls-sally-rooney-and people on the internet have diagnosed him with a novel medical condition: gay dementia 23. Why smart people believe the myth that natural gas is clean Source: Emily Atkin Link: https://heated.world/p/why-smart-people-believe-the-myth Listen now (34 mins) | How the gas industry turned a half-truth into one of the most successful PR campaigns in fossil fuel history. 24. The Birth of AGI (Ep. 499) Source: Sam Harris Link: https://samharris.substack.com/p/the-birth-of-agi-ep-499 A Conversation with Kevin Roose 25. The lazy persons guide to getting off the sofa Source: Rosamund Dean Link: https://rosamunddean.substack.com/p/how-to-stay-motivated-to-exercise-in-winter I dont want to exercise. I want to hibernate 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. Sunday thought: Vote the Bums Out Source: Robert Reich Link: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-thought-vote-the-bums-out Friends, 32. Not Moving the Needle, Anywhere Source: Heather Cox Richardson Link: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/not-moving-the-needle-anywhere To read this letter, click here: 33. Grok vs. Dot vs. Muse vs. Claude Duet: which one crushes the competition? Source: Lenny Rachitsky Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/grok-vs-dot-vs-muse-vs-claude-duet Listen now | I ranked Grok Bot, Dot, Muse, and Claude Duet across 9 real tasksand the scores told me which agent runs my work and which runs my life 34. Friday discussion post Source: Matthew Yglesias Link: https://www.slowboring.com/p/friday-discussion-post-ef3 Is it all rage bait? Matt finally comes clean. 35. The Exorcists Warned Me About Halloween Source: Bari Weiss Link: https://www.thefp.com/p/the-exorcists-warned-me-about-halloween-ghosts-demons-religion You want to know why I stay home on the spookiest night of the year? Ive got stories, writes Rod Dreher. 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 549 available items for this weekly brief.