Isaac Saul

Isaac Saul is a journalist, entrepreneur, and media innovator known as the founder of Tangle News, an independent, nonpartisan political newsletter focused on reshaping how Americans engage with political media. Saul's work has appeared in CNN, The Huffington Post, TIME Magazine, Independent Journal Review, and The Daily Mail. After college, Saul contributed to the development of A Plus, a solutions journalism media outlet, working as an editor and politics reporter while also freelancing across the media industry. His reporting on an encounter with lawyer Aaron Schlossberg was featured in a live broadcast on CNN.

Motivated by concerns over political polarization, Saul launched Tangle News, a daily newsletter designed to encourage Americans to engage with diverse political perspectives. Tangle is an independent, nonpartisan, and subscriber-supported media organization that covers major political stories by summarizing arguments from the right, left, and center, followed by a "My take" section from Saul or a team member. The newsletter reaches more than 500,000 readers in over 60 countries, and its podcast attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners each month. Tangle is reported to generate over $2.25 million in annual revenue. The organization's commitment to ideological diversity is reflected in its newsroom, which aims to include staff with a range of political backgrounds. Media bias watchdogs rate Tangle as center bias and highly accurate, with an audience that is 40 percent liberal, 30 percent conservative, and 30 percent independent or other.

Saul's journalism has received recognition across the industry. Yahoo! News named Saul as one of the 16 people who influenced the 2016 U.S. election. He was also included in the Forbes "Next 1000" list of "upstart entrepreneurs redefining the American dream." Tangle received two Shorty Awards: Winner in the News & Media category and Audience Award in the same category. Saul was featured in an episode of "This American Life," which described how reading Tangle contributed to saving the marriage of a politically divided couple. During the 2020 presidential election, Saul's reporting was noted for addressing conspiracy theories and allegations of voter fraud, including a widely covered project in which he challenged readers to present an instance of alleged voter fraud that he could not disprove.

Saul delivered a TED talk in Vancouver on bipartisan communication and the impact of language in modern political discourse, examining how word choices can affect dialogue on significant issues. He has also spoken at conferences such as "Polarization and a Changing Media Landscape" at St. Olaf College and with the Nieman Fellows class at Harvard, discussing transparency, word choice, and building ideologically diverse newsrooms. The first live Tangle event, focused on the Supreme Court, was hosted in Philadelphia, reflecting the outlet's expansion beyond digital media. Saul's work centers on bridging political divides through rigorous reporting, transparency, and a commitment to open-minded discourse, establishing him as a prominent figure in American journalism.