Mike Green published a piece redefining the poverty line at $140k. Some people debated his math. A lot of people just said "he used AI" and moved on. Watch how institutions dodge uncomfortable questions - not by winning the argument, but by telling a story that spreads faster.

You hear a funny thing when those of us who shout defiance at every conspiracy are told in plain words what the powerful plan to do: crickets.

Trump claimed Thanksgiving dinner is 25% cheaper this year. Fact-checkers immediately noted how the basket changed. But both Trump and his critics are correct. Because when you can choose which groceries to count, you control the inflation narrative. A data-driven look at how institutions select their truths this holiday season.

Anthropic released a threat report at the same time as Perscient's narrative tracking hit all-time highs on "we must spend to beat China." But the actual capability gap? Quietly buried. Hallucination problems in the attacks themselves? Also quietly buried. Infrastructure skepticism simultaneously at all-time highs? Doesn't move the needle. They'll be back. And next time, everyone ready to benefit will have more funding, faster timelines, fewer questions to answer. We're taking notes.

Bill Pulte walked into Mar-a-Lago with a high school posterboard and sold Trump on 50-year mortgages. By Monday, the White House was walking it back. The real story isn't whether it's good policy—it's what this reveals about how policy actually gets made.

There are two competing stories we are telling ourselves about the Tik Tok baby formula thing.

Neither is the really interesting one.