Happy Tuesday!

In this issue, we cover a massive cybercrime in Finland and the recent leadership shakeup at CBS News. We also look at the disputes inside the University of Austin and the administration’s plans to change how the 2026 elections work. To finish, we recommend two Texas-based podcasts about a cold case and a strange bit of local history.

Happy Reading,

Brett

In October 2020, 33,000 Finns discovered their therapy notes were being held for ransom. A hacker had breached Vastaamo—Finland's dominant digital therapy platform—extracting years of patients' most intimate confessions: trauma, suicide attempts, sexual violence. The extortionist demanded €200 per person. Many paid. At least two victims killed themselves. The hacker had already published everything.

Security investigator Antti Kurittu recognized the perpetrator's signature: Aleksanteri Kivimäki, a notorious 24-year-old cybercriminal who'd been terrorizing victims since age 14. His previous exploits included swatting attacks, shutting down PlayStation at Christmas, and ruining countless lives for entertainment. He called himself an "untouchable hacker god."

In October 2020, Bari Weiss resigned from the New York Times, condemning it as "doctrinally liberal" before launching The Free Press on Substack as a champion of heterodox journalism. Within months she was earning millions and attracting billionaire investors. Last October, David Ellison—who'd just bought Paramount—hired Weiss to run CBS News after purchasing The Free Press for $150 million. Many saw this as a symbolic gesture to Donald Trump to secure regulatory clearance.

Her tenure has been chaotic. She pulled a vetted "60 Minutes" segment on Trump's El Salvador deportations three hours before air, claiming it needed administration voices despite their refusal to comment. Weiss has alienated staff, laid off eight female on-air personalities, and promoted Tony Dokoupil to anchor "CBS Evening News" with heavy script involvement. His debut suffered technical issues from last-minute changes.

The University of Austin launched in 2021 promising liberation from campus cancel culture. However, by 2024, the dream collapsed. Administrators expelled a student over alleged harassment without due process—the very overreach the school condemned.

Behind the scenes, a power struggle raged. By April 2025, donors demanded allegiance to specific political principles, threatening dissenters with termination. The hardliners won. By summer, liberal advisers like Nadine Strossen and Jonathan Haidt had resigned as the school embraced an ideologically rigid path. The anti-woke university became what it claimed to fight: donor-controlled and intolerant of dissent.

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President Trump is currently recasting the framework of the 2026 elections through a singular use of federal authority. He successfully urged several states to redraw their voting maps early, resulting in nine new seats that favor his party. He is also demanding that local governments stop using voting machines and mail-in ballots.

Under Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, the Justice Department is suing states to obtain private voter data. Critics argue this could enfeeble the rights of voters. Additionally, the administration has weakened digital protections and ordered a new population count excluding undocumented residents. While state officials retain primary authority, experts believe the resulting chaos is intended to erode public trust.

I recently listened to two great podcasts from our friends in Texas and wanted to share them with you.

The internet gives you everything and helps you understand nothing. The Lunch Break Reads Weekend Edition solves that problem. Every week we pick one theme that actually matters and build you a curated reading list that goes deep instead of wide. Underground book markets. Deep-sea mining's geopolitical consequences. The kind of stuff that makes you dangerous at dinner parties.