Evening Roundup, August 1!
Featuring Julie K. Brown with Jen Rubin (video and podcast available); Brian O'Neill; "Gaza in Starving"; Doug Jones; Frederic J. Frommer; Ezra Levin; Ruben Bolling; Emily Beyda; & our Pet of the Week
The rich and powerful go unpunished: Julie K. Brown on the scale of the Epstein scandal
Julie K. Brown is an investigative journalist whose 2017 probe into Jeffrey Epstein won multiple journalism awards, including a George Polk Award. She is still actively reporting on the topic, including Trump’s connecting with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s role in the sex trafficking conspiracy.
To hear this on The Contrarian Pod, please download on Apple podcasts or listen here:
The Damage Is Already Done: Gaza’s Famine and the Strategic Blind Spot of the West
The debate among pundits over what finally pushed President Donald Trump to acknowledge the ongoing famine in Gaza is beside the point. Whether prompted by intelligence briefings, diplomatic pressure, or—more likely—the horrific images on television, it got …
Gaza is starving
The most respected Israeli sources now confirm what many have long warned: Gaza is in a state of famine. As children starve and outrage grows, it’s time for world leaders to hold Netanyahu accountable for his cruelty. (Video)
Doug Jones on the MAGA sycophants dismantling the Justice Department
Top MAGA figureheads in the Justice Department such as Pam Bondi, Emil Bove, and Todd Blanche (who recently visited Ghislaine Maxwell in prison) are more than Trump loyalists; they’re former Trump lawyers.
Miller Lite’s Steinbrenner-Martin commercial proved all too real
By Frederic J. Frommer
Fifty years ago this week, the combustive relationship between an owner and manager began.
Every protest matters: Ezra Levin on getting involved in the movement
This July, Indivisible launched a campaign to place billboards in GOP districts demanding their representatives release the Epstein files.
Tom the Dancing Bug
Follow Ruben Bolling on Substack here; Join Tom the Dancing Bug’s Inner Hive here; and here is the Tom the Dancing Bug website, with information about the new book, “It’s the Great Storm, Tom the Dancing Bug!"
Make it work mujadara
Let’s start with a caveat: By official metrics, we’re not in a recession. But the vibes, very clearly, are bad. Everyone I know is either un- or underemployed, and tension is universally high. I don’t know about you, but I’m not exactly in a going-out mood.
Happy August, Contrarians…thank you for all of your support!












Children are starving in Gaza. Ukraine is in shambles and the US stands by. Trump hates his own
country and its people. This country has gone to hell. When will we say enough is enough?
Thanks to person who told me how to find the “read” button under “Read full story.” I was misinformed and not very observant.