Where should I get my US political news from?
March 15, 2025 3:58 AM Subscribe
The usual sources don't appear to be reliable narrators, so where do I go now?
As the world burns, I'm trying to follow what's going on in the USA, but I'm aware of the criticism levelled at my usual sources - NYT, WaPo and CNN - of pussyfooting around the issues, pandering to Trump, and (other than a few contributors) a lack of any proper analysis or criticism of the Trump regime.
Where can I, in the UK, find subscriber-free online news content (and specifically, content that isn't blocked by the GDPR, as some US news sources are) to get a balanced perspective on what's happening.
As the world burns, I'm trying to follow what's going on in the USA, but I'm aware of the criticism levelled at my usual sources - NYT, WaPo and CNN - of pussyfooting around the issues, pandering to Trump, and (other than a few contributors) a lack of any proper analysis or criticism of the Trump regime.
Where can I, in the UK, find subscriber-free online news content (and specifically, content that isn't blocked by the GDPR, as some US news sources are) to get a balanced perspective on what's happening.
I read Letters from an American daily, which places the day’s events in historical context.
posted by Ollie at 4:32 AM on March 15 [16 favorites]
posted by Ollie at 4:32 AM on March 15 [16 favorites]
Best answer: As a former newspaper editor, I still find myself going to the Associated Press. That, and the fine work the Guardian's US version does for us.
posted by bryon at 4:57 AM on March 15 [26 favorites]
posted by bryon at 4:57 AM on March 15 [26 favorites]
Reuters is good for straight news.
They aren't feee but they have easy paywalls to get around: Talking Points Memo is a good source for "savvy" political new and analysis. The New Republic has been farther left since it was bought a while back and has had some good coverage as well.
And a bunch of newsletters: Heather Cox Richardson as mentioned, Paul Krugman (he left the NYT), WTF Just Happened Today, Liberal Currents
posted by ropeladder at 5:34 AM on March 15 [2 favorites]
They aren't feee but they have easy paywalls to get around: Talking Points Memo is a good source for "savvy" political new and analysis. The New Republic has been farther left since it was bought a while back and has had some good coverage as well.
And a bunch of newsletters: Heather Cox Richardson as mentioned, Paul Krugman (he left the NYT), WTF Just Happened Today, Liberal Currents
posted by ropeladder at 5:34 AM on March 15 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I didn't read your post correctly, so apologies for my US-centric response. I read the Guardian's US edition, the AP, and the Philadelphia Inquirer (which despite its relentless focus on the local news has some national news and is supported by the nonprofit Lenfest Foundation).
posted by Peach at 6:33 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]
posted by Peach at 6:33 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]
Erin in the Morning is an award winning, trans led, independent news source covering LGBTQ+ news
posted by Geameade at 6:44 AM on March 15 [7 favorites]
posted by Geameade at 6:44 AM on March 15 [7 favorites]
The Guardian, Pro Publica, Christian Science Monitor
posted by Awfki at 6:47 AM on March 15 [4 favorites]
posted by Awfki at 6:47 AM on March 15 [4 favorites]
If you speak German, you can watch Tagesschau. I started watching it during COVID, when it became clear that US news would probably not ever be serious again.
posted by zirconium_encrusted at 7:11 AM on March 15
posted by zirconium_encrusted at 7:11 AM on March 15
Best answer: Electoral-Vote covers U.S. political news Monday through Friday (with occasional global news too). The site is run by several people, though mostly contributions from a computer scientist and also a historian. It leans left, but takes the position of offering a reality check to what’s in the news (for example, see some recent articles about the Democrats’ positions with the CR for the budget).
posted by El_Marto at 9:14 AM on March 15 [6 favorites]
posted by El_Marto at 9:14 AM on March 15 [6 favorites]
Mod note: One comment removed for not answering the question. Please remember that AskMe has strict guidelines that emphasize helping the answering the question instead of lobbing in smart ass comments.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:15 AM on March 15 [9 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:15 AM on March 15 [9 favorites]
This may not be wise of me but I like to assume Wikipedia’s current events page is vetted by enough editors and source quality is internally examined enough that it ultimately comes out “good”. Although it is indeed dependent on what “respected” sources cover and focus on. It’s not US-specific but it’s a decent filter for getting only the biggest US happenings in the context of world events.
I also read Erin in the Morning, extremely seconding her substack. my partner watches the Democracy Now daily updates which I also respect a lot.
posted by crime online at 9:25 AM on March 15 [3 favorites]
I also read Erin in the Morning, extremely seconding her substack. my partner watches the Democracy Now daily updates which I also respect a lot.
posted by crime online at 9:25 AM on March 15 [3 favorites]
+1 for Electoral-Vote, mentioned by El_Marto. When I was much more into reading about politics, that is where I would go daily. My spouse still reads it every day and often tells me what the team there is thinking.
posted by chiefthe at 10:01 AM on March 15
posted by chiefthe at 10:01 AM on March 15
Best answer: I'm not sure if this is a particularly good source, but I've been reading https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
posted by elizabot at 11:39 AM on March 15 [10 favorites]
posted by elizabot at 11:39 AM on March 15 [10 favorites]
Best answer: you've gotten a lot of great answers above, so this one is kind of leftfield answer, but TheOnion is paywall free and great.
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:04 PM on March 15 [1 favorite]
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:04 PM on March 15 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I'm a Guardian subscriber, which I'd forgotten to mention, but there are some great suggestions for me to get stuck into.
posted by essexjan at 1:09 PM on March 15
posted by essexjan at 1:09 PM on March 15
Run by the same guy behind WTFJHT, there's Current Status, which is useful for a quick headline check of which stories are high up on people's radars.
posted by emelenjr at 1:55 PM on March 15 [2 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 1:55 PM on March 15 [2 favorites]
Just FYI for anyone else who tries to visit the "Erin in the Morning" site recommended by Geameade my browser says that either the security certificate is expired or my PC has the wrong time (it doesn't, I checked it against time.gov).
posted by forthright at 5:05 PM on March 15
posted by forthright at 5:05 PM on March 15
Ach, sorry about that. Thanks for the heads-up!
She's at Erininthemorning.com
And blue sky @erininthemorning.com
posted by Geameade at 5:46 PM on March 15
She's at Erininthemorning.com
And blue sky @erininthemorning.com
posted by Geameade at 5:46 PM on March 15
Sorry Geanmeade but the second link you gave still didn't work (at least for me), but I found that this works just fine for me:
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
posted by forthright at 6:33 PM on March 15
https://www.erininthemorning.com/
posted by forthright at 6:33 PM on March 15
I read Bloomberg for financial news, Pro Publica (as mentioned above), Wired, Teen Vogue (really!), Defector, and the Philadelphia Inquirer (owned by a non-profit and not a billionaire).
posted by frumiousb at 12:10 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by frumiousb at 12:10 AM on March 16 [1 favorite]
Some good suggestions above. Beyond those, Politico and Axios provide decent daily coverage of US politics - I'd say both lean anti-Trump without being overtly partisan. For more tendentious coverage, Salon and AlterNet are ok - the former is probably the better of the two.
posted by deeker at 3:47 AM on March 16
posted by deeker at 3:47 AM on March 16
I second the Associated Press. I switched from NYT to AP News for my "what's going on in the US right now" breaking news checking, and am appreciating their coverage of current political news.
Doug Muder's Weekly Sift is also useful to me as summary and analysis.
posted by brainwane at 5:30 AM on March 16
Doug Muder's Weekly Sift is also useful to me as summary and analysis.
posted by brainwane at 5:30 AM on March 16
ProPublica is the only news organization I give money to. I have high hopes for Evident, which just launched.
posted by dobbs at 6:11 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
posted by dobbs at 6:11 PM on March 17 [1 favorite]
Mod note: Thanks for asking this, it's a really good question these days! We've added it to the sidebar and Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:30 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:30 AM on March 18 [1 favorite]
Lots of great suggestions here, many I’d recommend myself.
While not a specific news source, I’ve been using Ground News for the last 6 months or so. It does a very good job of identifying the factuality and bias of many sources for the same story (and not just limited to politics.) It also identifies when stories are a “blind spot” (i.e. not covered) for the “right” or “left”.
They did an advertising blitz on YouTube before the election and it really is as good as advertised. I swear I’m not associated with them in any way, just a satisfied customer.
posted by howling fantods at 4:55 PM on March 18
While not a specific news source, I’ve been using Ground News for the last 6 months or so. It does a very good job of identifying the factuality and bias of many sources for the same story (and not just limited to politics.) It also identifies when stories are a “blind spot” (i.e. not covered) for the “right” or “left”.
They did an advertising blitz on YouTube before the election and it really is as good as advertised. I swear I’m not associated with them in any way, just a satisfied customer.
posted by howling fantods at 4:55 PM on March 18
For US news I go to The Guardian, BBC, Politico (.com but .eu has much which is global) and Mark Chadbourn on Bluesky (again, global with a lot of US).
posted by Wordshore at 7:48 AM on March 19
posted by Wordshore at 7:48 AM on March 19
As other folks have said: Ground News really is excellent if you want to keep an eye on what and where the media's blindspots are, who's covering what stories, etc.. ProPublica does consistently fine work.
I've also credited Zeteo for keeping me sane lately, especially with regards to the mainstream media's generally high level of gaslighting re: Israel/Palestine, but the folks over there are straightforward and no-bullshit about American elections and domestic politics as well, though the degree to which they are often visibly stressed out by all this stuff (understandably!) doesn't do much to lower my stress levels.
In These Times is an explicitly leftist magazine, but has done some extremely solid investigative reporting that rarely gets much coverage anywhere else.
Lastly, we had a post on the blue prompted by Mike Masnick's post on TechDirt about why it's now covering politics whether it wants to or not. That post -- echoed by Jason Kottke's response - make the point (and a look around their sites bears it out) that tech blogs like TechDirt, Wired and Kottke are actually doing a better job at understanding and explaining Elon Musk's coup and the doings of DOGE than the regular sources of political coverage are, because what Musk and DOGE are doing is straight out of the Silicon Valley "disruptor" playbook and (until now) totally foreign to the political sphere. If what DOGE is actually doing is a specific angle that you're interested in understanding better, I do think those normally-tech-focused spaces are good places to look.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:56 PM on March 20
I've also credited Zeteo for keeping me sane lately, especially with regards to the mainstream media's generally high level of gaslighting re: Israel/Palestine, but the folks over there are straightforward and no-bullshit about American elections and domestic politics as well, though the degree to which they are often visibly stressed out by all this stuff (understandably!) doesn't do much to lower my stress levels.
In These Times is an explicitly leftist magazine, but has done some extremely solid investigative reporting that rarely gets much coverage anywhere else.
Lastly, we had a post on the blue prompted by Mike Masnick's post on TechDirt about why it's now covering politics whether it wants to or not. That post -- echoed by Jason Kottke's response - make the point (and a look around their sites bears it out) that tech blogs like TechDirt, Wired and Kottke are actually doing a better job at understanding and explaining Elon Musk's coup and the doings of DOGE than the regular sources of political coverage are, because what Musk and DOGE are doing is straight out of the Silicon Valley "disruptor" playbook and (until now) totally foreign to the political sphere. If what DOGE is actually doing is a specific angle that you're interested in understanding better, I do think those normally-tech-focused spaces are good places to look.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:56 PM on March 20
Tangle attempts to analyze news in the US from across the political spectrum, and it is widely praised.
posted by mortaddams at 8:44 PM on March 23
posted by mortaddams at 8:44 PM on March 23
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posted by trip and a half at 4:21 AM on March 15 [1 favorite]