Steve Caplan | ctrl+alt+persuade

picking a fight with liberal young women in a red state is like picking a fight with a dude with cauliflower ears

I think Canada is at the “drop the gloves, empty the bench” portion of the game.

the funniest thing is jeffries being surprised jared leaked the meeting lol

Why a viral apology from a Japanese volleyball player reveals something profound about their culture

substack.com/@stevecaplan... Absolutely chilling story in today’s NYT comparing the Trump Administration’s immigration efforts with US nativist policy in the 1920’s. Our nation needs deep repair. It will take at least a generation. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/u...

open.substack.com/pub/controla...

Technocrats think they can fix a fractured superpower by adjusting tax credits and environmental permits. They think people want cheaper consumer goods but you can’t fix a crisis of faith with a policy paper. They want a reckoning. My latest on Substack. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

NEW: #SCOTUS, in 6-3 ruling, OKs denying entry to asylumseekers at US-Mexico border. Sotomayor dissents, raising US history turning away Jewish refugees during Holocaust www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

This is JJ Cafaro's mugshot. Who is JJ? The guy who gave Trump at least $350k and got a no-bid contract for the reflecting pool scam. He also pled guilty to bribing a member of Congress. I thought I saw some shit during my time in Philly politics. Wrong. www.newsweek.com/who-is-john-...

@axios.com on the "patriot philanthropist" whose marriage was officiated by John Roberts. They also report this was "the best-kept wedding secret of the year." 😂😂😂 Clearly you people need to get out of DC. www.axios.com/2026/06/07/d...

OMG, Nike's 2026 World Cup commercial is epic. Part of the fun is trying to identify all the celebs in it... youtu.be/IyZ1WIua_1s?... #advertising #soccer #WorldCup #TedLasso

Turned down the green room this cycle and watched the returns from my phone. Spencer Pratt got 30% with AI ads, a Musk retweet, and zero campaign infrastructure. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

I wrote about a trip to my daughter's graduation, Ben Sasse, and the Pope. Check it out. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

Had the experience of working with this guy for a moment in a previous life. He wanted to play politics with Dems. As dreadful as you would expect. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Talked to @theguardian.com about the intersection of AI and the LA mayoral race. ​Political consultants are flocking to AI for the speed, (more AI slop, hooray) but using it in a town that's lost tens of thousands of production jobs is... a choice. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Two billionaires in court fighting over who owns the AI future. One 'stole a charity.' The other is trying to burn it down to win a market. Either way, you weren't in the room. Welcome to the age of Houses. #NameTheHouses More at controlaltpersuade.substack.com

HAPPENING NOW… marching on the Capitol…. #NewJimCrow @GovBillLee

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez won a historic sum of $375 million in a landmark child safety case against Meta earlier this year. The next stage of the fight begins today, and it could be even more consequential for Meta and the social media industry at large.

Someday soon people like Jeff Bezos will pretend they never supported Trump, that they were against this the whole time ——- NEW: Generic ballot 2026 among independents: 🔵Democratic: 52% 🔴Republican: 32% Washington Post/Ipsos poll | April 24-28

Hello @bsky.app My latest on the week that was. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

Why does every Whole Foods have ASPCA and Doctors Without Borders soliciting in front of store? Dems are pounding donors and supporters with direct mail and missing a very real chance to just SHOW UP! Tactics can matter.

Every time I hear dems talk "norms" or "abundance" can't help but think about Allen Iverson's famous press conference. "We talkin' about practice." Dems still use 20th-century vocabulary to describe a 21st-century architecture. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

Nate Silver did the "don't worry, be happy" move by claiming concerns about our democracy are overstated. I put his theory to the test in a way that he would understand - putting it to the betting markets. open.substack.com/pub/controla...

one of my strongest beliefs is that we're in our situation right now bc some of the most prominent talking heads (e.g. joe rogan, andrew schulz) are learning about politics in their 40s and 50s, instead of their teens and early 20s, and we have to go along for the ride as they learn basic things

open.substack.com/pub/controla...

We still talk about politics like persuasion drives outcomes but Increasingly, power looks like it runs on proximity, loyalty, and transactional protection instead. That shift changes everything about strategy, media, and governance. open.substack.com/pub/controla...