Ralph welcomes “New York Times” reporter Natasha Singer to discuss her new book, “Coding Kids: Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Public Schools.” Then, Ralph talks about Donald Trump’s midterm convention speeches and the latest impeachment drive with Constitutional law expert Bruce Fein.
Natasha Singer is a New York Times reporter covering the intersection of technology, business and education. She has covered tech industry influence in schools for the New York Times for more than a decade, and her school tech reporting helped prompt California to enact a landmark student online data protection law. In 2019, she was part of a Times team whose tech coverage won a George Polk Award and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for National Reporting. She is also the author of the book Coding Kids: Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Public Schools.
It’s not about the companies immediately making money off schools. It’s about influencing kids, getting customers early and for life. But I think more importantly, it’s about imprinting Silicon Valley worldviews and values on young people. So that you get docile consumers who maybe aren’t worried about wholesale surveillance and data gathering, and docile employees who are not going to push back against being surveilled by their employer or using AI tools or having AI replace them. And so I think this story about tech companies capturing the classroom is not just about how they’re shaping learning. It’s about how some of the most powerful, wealthiest corporations on the planet are able to influence school systems.
Natasha Singer
Since the time of Steve Jobs, Silicon Valley has attached this fancy word “literacy” to whatever product they have, and then told schools they needed to teach it. So in the era of Steve Jobs, there was suddenly this fervor that we had to teach “computer literacy” because Japan was ahead and if we wanted our country to compete, we needed computer literacy. And then the internet came and we got “internet literacy” and “smartphone literacy” and then “digital literacy”... And now we’re in this moment where Silicon Valley and tech-funded nonprofit groups are pushing “AI literacy”, except we don’t know what AI literacy is and we don’t know how to teach AI. And so it makes it sound really fancy: “AI literacy”. But oftentimes the companies are really just talking about: “Learn how to use our chatbot.” And now you have asked: When are we going to stop listening to these people? When are we going to stop rushing to teach whatever product “literacy” Silicon Valley is pushing us to do this week, and then pivot with whiplash to whatever they’re pushing next week? And I think that’s the question of the hour.
Natasha Singer
Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.
They’re playing to dodge accountability by saying, “We’re neither for nor against this,” like someone who’s claiming they’re agnostic. Now, how you could be agnostic on Donald Trump, whose impeachable offenses are proven out of his own mouth? All these statements that he’s made are open and notorious. And so it’s almost implausible to suggest that these people don’t know that he has committed impeachable offenses and are deciding to duck for political, partisan purposes (their calculation as to what would help them politically). Now, that, of course, is directly contrary to their oaths of office. Hakeem Jeffries, like his colleagues, has taken an oath (without mental reservation or purpose of evasion) to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. At present, the Constitution is in flames under Donald Trump. And to sit and do nothing—to declare neutrality between the firefighter and the fire—is itself an impeachable offense for which they should be impeached and be prosecuted for perjury when they were sworn into office.
Bruce Fein
News 9/18/26
Our first stories this week are about impeachment. On the Democratic side, outgoing Congressman Al Green, long a champion of impeachment, introduced a resolution which “sought to impeach Mr. Trump over the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection…[citing] the killings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero by federal immigration agents this year,” per CBS. House Democratic Leadership punted, announcing that they would neither whip votes for nor oppose the resolution, opting instead to simply vote “present” on the motion to table Green’s resolution. Ultimately 47 members voted present and 147 voted against tabling, but even put together it would not have been enough to overcome the 232 votes in favor of setting the resolution aside. Impeachment has resurfaced as a major question for Democrats as they appear poised to retake the House and perhaps even the Senate. Jamie Raskin, who would become Chair of the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats retake the majority, said earlier this month that Democrats “will not hesitate” to use the tool if needed and that Mr. Trump has “undoubtedly” committed impeachable offenses. However, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said this week that impeachment is “not anything that is top of the agenda for House Democrats.”
On the other side of the aisle, outgoing Congressman Thomas Massie also introduced articles of impeachment, with these singling out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for frustrating “Congress’s ability to exercise its most solemn constitutional responsibility” and allowing an “unlawful war” to continue in Iran. Axios notes that this resolution also includes articles concerning “U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Yemen, including accusing [Hegseth] of illegally directing the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization.” Massie lost his re-election primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed opponent; he has since made noises about pursuing the creation of a third party in conjunction with other dissident right-wing figures like Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene. It remains to be seen what he will do once he is out of office come January.
Speaking of bucking one’s party, this week POLITICO reported that conservative House Democrats Jared Golden and Marie Glusenkamp-Perez again broke with leadership to “advance a slate of GOP bills in a procedural vote that was otherwise on track to fail.” The rules in question set up votes to grant yet more power to President Trump, including “new authorities to sanction Russia’s trading partners…[and] rolling back…EPA regulations.” This same duo voted with the GOP several weeks ago, after which House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised a “serious response.” However, he “later indicated that there would be no public consequences.” It is impossible to imagine a progressive being given this kind of long leash by leadership. For his part, Golden is not seeking re-election, but Gluesenkamp-Perez is and if she wins – no guarantee as her district went for Trump in 2024 – she will certainly come into the next Congress with a substantial amount of enmity built up from the rest of the Democratic caucus.
In more news from the Hill, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) went into crisis mode earlier this week when some of the high-profile progressives in the caucus, namely AOC and Nydia Velázquez, found out that the institute’s Annual Awards Gala – at which Velázquez, who is not seeking re-election is to be presented with a lifetime achievement award – had agreed to be sponsored by Palantir. Apparently, the deal was brokered by CEO and President of the CHCI Marco Davis and Velázquez went “ballistic” upon hearing the news. Congressman Darren Soto, the Chair of the CHCI claims to have been “unaware of the donation” and that as soon as he learned of it, Soto “ordered Davis to return the money.” CHCI “has not said publicly what tier Palantir bought, what it paid, or…whether CHCI has any written policy governing which corporations may sponsor its events.” Palantir is the corporation responsible for the “ImmigrationOS platform used to target immigrants for arrest and deportation.” This from Migrant Insider.
In a final story from the nation’s capital, AP reports the celebrated John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will close, following a vote from the Trump-controlled board which came on the heels of a ruling blocking the president from returning his name to the building without the approval of Congress. According to this story, “Trump said the closure was needed for safety repairs. But he said the repairs, which Congress has allocated $257 million to cover, would only happen if the board was allowed to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.” All involved agree that the building is in need of major repairs. The administration however is hinting that if they do not move ahead with the plan to inscribe Trump’s name in multiple locations in the complex, “the building may need to be demolished,” a threat with added gravity in the wake of his demolition of the East Wing of the White House.
Turning to the campaign trail, this week former West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat-turned-Independent, endorsed his former colleague, Maine Republican Susan Collins. In a statement, he said “[if you] lose the Susan Collinses of the Senate, you’re losing the soul of the Senate.” Whether that “soul” is worth preserving is not something Manchin addresses. Manchin has also expressed support for Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Senate in Michigan, and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski. Collins for her part said she was “honored” to have Manchin’s support, calling him “a dear friend and trusted colleague,” though many have noted she never broke ranks to endorse her “dear friend” from across the aisle. In July, Manchin launched the Independent Leadership Council, a group dedicated to building up a centrist political base outside of the major parties. This from CNN.
In Michigan, the Detroit News reports the Democratic Party has, at long last, added progressive climate activist and Democratic nominee in the state’s 7th Congressional District to its heralded “Red to Blue” list. Lawrence, celebrating being added to the list, called it a “validation of all the hard work we’ve been doing and the movement we’ve built,” adding “I’m just proud of all the volunteers and the whole team. This shows this is one of the most critical races in the whole country that will determine control of the U.S. House in November.” This week, Lawrence also scored the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign, which called Lawrence a “Pro-Equality Champion.” The News highlights that Lawrence has “raised about $1.2 million from July 2025 through July 2026, and had about $383,000 on hand as of July 15…[he has also] organized a large grassroots movement to support his campaign and knocked over 100,000 doors ahead of his primary.”
In Los Angeles, new polling shows progressive challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres edging out embattled incumbent Congressman Jimmy Gomez. The new poll in question, conducted by Upswing Research and Strategy and commissioned by “Guardrails Alliance…[which] was formed this year to counter the influence of pro-AI groups like the Leading the Future super PAC network,” shows Gonzales-Torres at 41% and Gomez at 38%, with 20% undecided. The margin of error is calculated to be just under 5%. Guardrails Alliance is “keeping a close eye on the race,” because Gomez is considered among the most progressive Democrats who is close with the AI industry, being endorsed by Leading the Future, a Super PAC funded by and opposed to most government regulation of the AI industry. According to the same poll, “Gonzales-Torres leads 63% to Gomez’s 22% after voters are told he is backed by Leading the Future.” This from Semafor.
Meanwhile, in the final primaries in the nation, Spotlight Delaware is reporting a progressive sweep in state house races throughout the “First State.” According to this piece, the Working Families Party won eight out of the 13 races in which it endorsed candidates, including “five new House members, one incumbent House member, [and] one new State Senator,” as well as a new council member in New Castle County. This piece also highlights the victory of Tyeisha “Tye” Grier, who defeated Rep. Bill “Lumpy” Carson, a “nearly 20-year incumbent who represents the Smyrna-area 28th House District.” Another highlight is the victory of Delaware DSA-backed candidate Shay Frisby, who defeated incumbent State Senator Ray Seigfried. While centrist incumbents higher up the ballot, namely Senator Chris Coons, sailed to re-election, these down ballot victories will help build up a bench of progressive candidates for the future. Now, with the primary season officially over, we begin the final countdown to election day 2026.
Our final story this week takes us “across the pond,” where the unity of the United Kingdom is at a breaking point. On Monday, the political leadership of the three semi-autonomous regions of the U.K. – Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales – signed a pact affirming that “Scotland, Wales and Ireland have distinct histories, identities and political traditions…[including] the right to self-determination.” Elsewhere in this document, the parties agree that “the future of [their] nations [belong] in the European Union,” and “Westminster’s time is coming to an end.” ABC notes that this is “the first time the leaders of all three countries are either from pro-independence parties,” referring to the Scottish National Party and the Welsh Plaid Cymru or pro-unification in the case of Northern Ireland, which is led by Sinn Féin for the first time in its history. The pact ends with a demand for the “British Government to prepare for, plan and facilitate constitutional change in each jurisdiction,” such that the “voices of [their] nations are heard, that [their] people have the opportunity to thrive, and that cooperation between Scotland, Wales and Ireland can be strengthened.” This stunning declaration surely presents a crisis to the Labour government of Andy Burnham, who only took control from former Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the end of July. Where things go from here is anyone’s guess.
This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven’t Heard.
