Arrival

Is the U.S. Supreme Court losing public legitimacy? & Where does the U.K. stand with Boris Johnson on the way out? For centuries, change and uncertainty have defined the modern world—and for longer than most of us have been around, media has been central to how we orient ourselves in this world and decide its future. These days, with change accelerating and uncertainty spreading, media increasingly determines what we see, how we understand it, and ultimately how we all relate to one another. Now technology and culture are shaping this reality in ways that’d have been hard to predict even a few years ago: The digital social networks that drive the distribution of “content” to consumers now have advanced capabilities in algorithmic learning to predict, manipulate, and monetize user emotions and behavior; and the news industry feeding these networks has become a battlefield for elite moral and political conflicts, leading to coverage that can feel bewildering and alienating to those on the outside. In this context, there’s an almost atmospheric pressure to give ourselves over to dogmatic belief where we have the opportunity to think, defaulting to conflict over communication. Trust in this whole media ecosystem has been falling for years. Data shows it. Everyone feels it in some way. It’s an intuitively experienced reality. Since early 2021, we’ve been developing [The Signal]( in public beta for people who want something different. We share a fast commitment to liberal democracy and a deep belief in humanity, but above all, we’re in the business of complexity at a time of chronic change and uncertainty. We and our audience understand that no one owns the truth, that those who think differently from us often know something we don’t, and that what any of us does know is always overshadowed by mystery. Which is why everything The Signal does starts with questions, and every answer we find leads us to more of them. Over the next few months, we’ll be building on this idea, as we build a new iteration of The Signal—and as we do that, we’ll have questions for you. Watch this space for more. Be in touch with your thoughts [anytime meanwhile](mailto:mail@thesgnl.com?utm_campaign=The%20Signal&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter). We’ll be glad to hear from you. For now … Judgment Days Is the U.S. Supreme Court losing public legitimacy? Christopher W. Schmidt on the fallout from an extraordinary judicial term in Washington. [Sarah Penney]( Sarah Penney The Supreme Court of the United States is now “illegitimate,“ according to no less an established figure in the American political system than the chairman of the Democratic Party, Jaime Harrison. The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said the same through a megaphone to protesters on the Court’s steps, while the Democratic senator Ed Markey described it as having been captured by a “stolen, illegitimate, and far-right majority.” They all belonged to a national chorus responding to the Court’s decision last month in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned 1972’s Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion in America. Yet as their rhetoric indicates, the criticism isn’t just of the legal reasoning in one high-profile case; it’s of the Court as an institution facing a “[legitimacy crisis]( as public confidence in its performance has dropped to a historic low. What’s happened? [Continue reading …]( After the Scandals Where does the U.K. stand with Boris Johnson on the way out? Matthias Matthijs on the new political dynamics of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. [James Trenda]( James Trenda The United Kingdom’s Conservative Party is moving on from the outgoing prime minister, as members have begun voting on a new leader. After leading the U.K. government during Britain’s exit from the European Union and its uneven response to the coronavirus outbreak, Boris Johnson resigned on July 7 after almost three years as PM. The party forced him out following accusations that a top government official, the deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, engaged in several instances of unwanted sexual contact—as well as evidence that Johnson lied to his Cabinet and the public that he hadn’t known about a history of accusations toward Pincher before appointing him. As these machinations play out, Britons are living with rising inflation and a healthcare crisis. This week, millions received a one-time government subsidy to offset the climbing cost of living, with economists expecting inflation to hit 11 percent in the U.K. this year. Health authorities have put all domestic ambulance services on the highest level of alert, as emergency medical teams are overwhelmed by a surge in Covid infections and heat-related illnesses. When members of Parliament called in the health secretary for questioning on the ambulance crisis, the new secretary sent a junior minister instead, giving opposition leaders the opportunity to claim the Conservative Cabinet had given up on governing. Where has all of this left the country? [Continue reading …]( [The Signal]( explores urgent questions in current events around the world—to support it and for full access: This email address is unmonitored; please send questions or comments [here](mailto:mail@thesgnl.com) To advertise with The Signal: advertise@thesgnl.com Add us to your [address book](mailto:newsletters@thesgnl.email) © 2022 The Signal The Signal | 717 N St. NW, Ste. One, Washington, DC 20011 [Unsubscribe {EMAIL}]( [Constant Contact Data Notice]( Sent by newsletters@thesgnl.email