Akela Lacy
@akelalacy.bsky.social
human @theintercept.com | co-host 🎙️ The Intercept Briefing podcast Brooklyn, NY | https://theintercept.com/staff/akelalacy/ https://akelalacy.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/akela_lacy/
We're going to be recording a special primary episode of the @theintercept.com briefing podcast tonight for Michigan and Missouri! Let us know if you have any burning questions for our politics team @jonahmv.bsky.social and @akelalacy.bsky.social
Great piece by @akelalacy.bsky.social about Cori Bush's race to reclaim her seat. theintercept.com/2026/08/01/m...
Cori Bush Has No Regrets
The incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell has AIPAC on his side, but the grassroots energy seems to be behind Cori Bush in the rematch for a House seat.
theintercept.com
NEW: Cori Bush has no regrets. We spoke ahead of her race to take back her old seat on Tuesday. No, she hasnt spoken to AOC. No, she wouldn’t take back her infrastructure vote. And yes, she is still the same Cori. “They just radicalized me more.” theintercept.com/2026/08/01/m...
Cori Bush Has No Regrets
The incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell has AIPAC on his side, but the grassroots energy seems to be behind Cori Bush in the rematch for a House seat.
theintercept.com
The Michigan Senate primary is the next biggest test for the direction of the Democratic Party. @abdulelsayed.bsky.social joined @akelalacy.bsky.social to talk about the state of the race: youtube.com/shorts/FRzTC...
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed On AIPAC Money In Politics
YouTube video by The Intercept
youtube.com
NEW POD: Abdul El-Sayed tells me about the Trump voters backing him. "I give them a kinda quizzical look," he said. "I ask why, and it's because, 'Hey, I really think you want me to have healthcare.' I'm like, 'I really want you to have healthcare.'" podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Can the Left Win in the Midwest? Abdul El-Sayed Says Yes.
Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · July 31 · 48m
podcasts.apple.com
New: I spoke to Samuel Tunick, the man the U.S. is charging with allegedly wiping his GrapheneOS phone before CBP could search it. “I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to intimidate people against protecting their data and their privacy.” www.404media.co/the-governme...
‘The Government Hopes To Set a Precedent’: An Interview With the Man Charged for Allegedly Wiping His GrapheneOS Phone
The U.S. government has charged Samuel Tunick with allegedly typing in a passcode to wipe his phone before officers could search it. “I hope people understand that the charges against me are meant to ...
404media.co
I joined The Intercept to talk about the increasing violence of mass deportation and the political agenda that has led ICE to maximize arrests and minimize accountability at the expense of public safety, core democratic values & the livelihood of immigrants.
Akela Lacy@akelalacy.bsky.social · 2w agoNEW POD: Trump built a national police force to go after immigrants. Now, with a budget bigger than most militaries around the world, it’s bringing the war on the southern border home to roost. w/ @naureenshah.bsky.social & @naynagupta.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
NEW POD: Trump built a national police force to go after immigrants. Now, with a budget bigger than most militaries around the world, it’s bringing the war on the southern border home to roost. w/ @naureenshah.bsky.social & @naynagupta.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Trump’s National Killer Police Force
Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · July 24 · 44m
podcasts.apple.com
There were a few articles in recent years about how Shri Thanedar reaped a "windfall" after investing campaign money in crypto. This week he reported more than $630k in investment income losses for the quarter and >$3.9 million in losses for the cycle theintercept.com/2026/07/17/s...
Two-Thirds of Shri Thanedar's Campaign Cash Came Through AIPAC as He Lost Over $600K
Two-thirds of the Michigan congressman's campaign cash last quarter came from AIPAC bundlers after he invested millions in crypto.
theintercept.com
NEW: Rep. Shri Thanedar’s campaign reported losing $630k after investing $3.7 million in crypto. Amid those losses, AIPAC donors stepped in and gave Thanedar 2/3 of the money he raised last quarter ahead of a challenge from Dem Socialist Donavan McKinney theintercept.com/2026/07/17/s...
Two-Thirds of Shri Thanedar's Campaign Cash Came Through AIPAC as He Lost Over $600K
Two-thirds of the Michigan congressman's campaign cash last quarter came from AIPAC bundlers after he invested millions in crypto.
theintercept.com
NEW: Billionaire Republican megadonor Harlan Crow maxed out a donation to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., in June theintercept.com/2026/07/15/h...
Harlan Crow Maxed Out Campaign Donations to John Fetterman
The Republican megadonor had come under scrutiny for his ties to Clarence Thomas, while the senator drew ire for supporting Israel.
theintercept.com
NEW: Billionaire Republican megadonor Harlan Crow maxed out a donation to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., in June theintercept.com/2026/07/15/h...
Harlan Crow Maxed Out Campaign Donations to John Fetterman
The Republican megadonor had come under scrutiny for his ties to Clarence Thomas, while the senator drew ire for supporting Israel.
theintercept.com
New: After voting to cut U.S. military aid to Israel, NY Rep. Pat Ryan — who serves in a competitive district — says he does not expect nor want AIPAC's support in future elections, and says he is "returning" their funds
NEW: three super PACs with ties to the pro-Israel lobby are spending on a competitive race in Arizona where the Democratic machine has consolidated around a candidate who was a Republican until 2018 theintercept.com/2026/07/15/a...
Democrats Are Desperate to Flip an Arizona House Seat. They’re Rallying Around a Former Republican.
Three of the super PACs spending in Arizona have their eyes on different candidates — but they all have ties to AIPAC.
theintercept.com
Read our new report w/ @legaldefensefund.bsky.social on New York's long history of discriminatory policies – from slavery and segregation to voting laws and criminalization – that have exploited and excluded Black New Yorkers and created a vast racial wealth gap. We're calling for reparations now.
The Other New York: The Legacy of Slavery and the Case for Reparations Now - NYCLU
nyclu.org
I joined @theintercept.com to talk more about my new podcast FIRST AMERICA. We got into the Declaration's final grievance, calling Native people "merciless Indian savages,” and why so many historians read the document as ordered least to most important: theintercept.com/2026/07/11/a...
Nirav Shah has pushed back on criticism that he's pivoted left after entering the race to replace Graham Platner in Maine. “Critics who are suggesting that this is a newfound policy position, they are putting politics over the facts,” he told me. theintercept.com/2026/07/10/m...
Maine Senate Candidates Claim They’re Just Like Platner — But Entirely Different
Candidates are desperately trying to appeal to Graham Platner’s base. But they’re keeping Platner himself at arm’s length.
theintercept.com
NEW: DSA members circulated a letter calling on candidates & elected officials to refuse to work w/ Morris Katz & Fight Agency after Platner’s campaign. Progressive strategists I talked to pushed back, pointing to the rehabbing of other Dem consultants theintercept.com/2026/07/10/d...
DSA Members Urge Campaigns to Ditch Platner Consultant Who Advised Mamdani
DSA members penned a letter urging candidates to ditch Graham Platner campaign consultant Morris Katz, who advised Zohran Mamdani.
theintercept.com
i'm on 1A @npr.org talking about democratic socialism! will be joined by @melatkirosco.bsky.social later in the hour t.co/SADeWvJnNO
https://wamu.org/show/1a/
t.co
In a statement, a DSCC spox slammed Platner's campaign for claiming its staff are pushing a closed-door process in Maine: "This is false." Maine Democrats have referenced an "open" or "public" process without saying publicly what that would entail. theintercept.com/2026/07/08/g...
“Hobbled Out of the Gate”: Platner Allegations Set Off Scramble to Find a New Maine Senate Nominee
Amid Graham Platner’s swift downfall, most paths to selecting a replacement Democratic Senate nominee look poisoned.
theintercept.com
an anonymous google doc making the case for Troy Jackson circulated in progressive group chats this AM, I'm told, hitting Platner for having "attempted to sell himself as the populist solution." theintercept.com/2026/07/08/g...
“Hobbled Out of the Gate”: Platner Allegations Set Off Scramble to Find a New Maine Senate Nominee
Amid Graham Platner’s swift downfall, most paths to selecting a replacement Democratic Senate nominee look poisoned.
theintercept.com
Full episode available here: theintercept.com/2026/07/07/g...
The People Who Stood By Graham Platner — Until He Was Accused of Rape
Democratic strategist Adam Carlson backed Platner through all his other scandals. He says he shares the blame – but people are learning the wrong lessons.
theintercept.com
The Democratic Party is once again in upheaval as Graham Platner faces a rape accusation that threatens to end his once-powerful campaign. The Intercept Briefing host @akelalacy.bsky.social is joined by democratic strategist Adam Carlson to discuss:
Is This The End of Graham Platner?
YouTube video by The Intercept
youtube.com
NEW Intercept Briefing episode ➡️➡️ the people who stand by Graham Platner — until he was accused of rape. I speak with Dem strategist @admcrlsn.bsky.social about what he says he got wrong, and whether people are taking the wrong lessons from Platner’s downfall podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The People Who Stood By Graham Platner — Until He Was Accused of Rape
Podcast Episode · The Intercept Briefing · July 7 · 26m
podcasts.apple.com
NEWS: Speaking now, Dr. Nirav Shah tells me he has *not* heard from any national Democrats encouraging him to officially jump into the Maine Senate race
Bernie Sanders: “I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”
NEW: DSA might bristle at the idea that it's building a machine. But it's playing the game. And with more than 300 dem socialists elected in 39 states since 2018, democratic socialists are bucking the claim that they can only win among white coastal elites theintercept.com/2026/07/06/d...
There’s a New Democratic Machine. It’s Unabashedly Socialist.
While establishment Democrats argue socialists are confined to the coasts, DSA chapters have helped elevate more than 300 candidates nationwide.
theintercept.com
NEWS: After raising eyebrows for staying out of congressional primaries in her home state this week, AOC endorsed a candidate today in Tennessee: state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, a @justicedemocrats.com pick also endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders theintercept.com/2026/06/25/a...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wades Into Tennessee Primary, Endorsing Justin J. Pearson
The congresswoman has a strong track record of backing winners this cycle, though she stayed out of key races in her home state.
theintercept.com