Study Marry Kill

Articles

Behind the Essay: Our Fate is in the Hands of the Most Disappointing People I’ve Ever Met

3 days ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

Study Marry Kill runs on reader support—and so do I! Become a subscriber to keep us in good standing. Welcome to chat week.
Paid in Pardon: Part I

1 week ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

Trump’s pardons underscore a simple truth: unchecked pardon power distorts justice into a tool of expedience. The double standard couldn’t be clearer: loyalty to the powerful earns mercy, while everyone else faces the letter of the law. This is, of course, the most extreme iteration. Reconstruction’s sweeping resets, Watergate’s political bargains, Vietnam’s mass pardons and Roosevelt’s insider lenience, clemency has oscillated between magnanimity and cronyism.
Witch Hunt Nation: The Endurance of a Metaphor That Burned

1 week ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

I’m glad that Forbes noticed this moment. Last month, I heard the phrase “witch hunt” invoked three times on national news. None of the circumstances bore even a passing resemblance to a witch hunt. At first, I dismissed it as one of our most persistent civic reflexes: paranoia cloaked in legality. Of course the execution of nineteen innocent people—condemned on spectral evidence—has become the ultimate presidential defense. A rhetorical talisman summoned whenever scrutiny threatens the powerful.
Congress Is Broken From Afar-And Soul-Crushing Up Close

2 weeks ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

The good news: I delivered some surgical strikes in-person. They definitely punctured their protective bubbles—thought Reps made sure it was soundless. The bad news: The dysfunction is more than structural—it's cellular. I went in with very low expectations but up close—the cold smiles and stunning disinterest in actual governance—was so much worse than I’d anticipated. I'm going to take a few days to process it all but for now, here's a clip of about half my statement.
Pocketbook Populism: A Historian's Guide to Opposition Messaging

3 weeks ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

The pocketbook has always been America’s most ruthless kingmaker. As a presidential historian, I’ve watched parties rise and fall by this verdict alone. And right now, prices are up, wages are flat, corporations are feasting, and the president’s approval ratings have collapsed like a soufflé—so why are Democrats scramble in the face of Trump’s economic chaos? To be clear, I’m not in the business of giving political advice on how to unseat a sitting president.
From Wilson to Samberg-Timberlake: America’s Most Psychodramatic Holiday

4 weeks ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

In 1914, Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official and then wrote to Ellen, his first wife, “Are you prepared for the storm of love making with which you will be assailed?”A century later, Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg echoed the sentiment: “’Cause every Mother’s Day needs a Mother’s Night.”Congratulations to America for turning motherhood into a spectacle of lust, guilt, merch, and—if there’s time—a phone call.
Take Nothing for Granted; or: How I Learned to Stop Hating Consecrated Yardsticks

1 month ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

In Newsweek, I argue that the true measure of a president isn't initial productivity, but the lasting impact of their changes on American government. Spoiler: Trump's revolution balances on executive authority alone—which means tomorrow's president can undo today's with a signature.
One Hundred Days of Hubris: A Pocket Guide To Constitutional Unraveling

1 month ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

History Cranks and Fiends,I'm making the media rounds today—which I pregamed with with Richard Gallant—but instead of sending you a postmortem, I'm giving you my notes for that blitz. Here's what I'm working with—an accounting of constitutional collapse, measured in days rather than decades. But first, a quick question! x Alexis Donald Trump has transformed the Oval Office into what historians call a "Habsburg hallucination meets Atlantic City fever dream." Gold cherubim stud the walls.
Oval & Out

2 months ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

“The four most miserable years of my life.”–John Quincy Adam4.14: Rhinebeck, NY. Upstate Films. Moderating a discussion on "Free for All: The Public Library."4.29: Washington, D.C. USC in D.C. Panelist with moderator Chuck Todd. Details to come. In Newsweek, I outline Trump’s disturbingly plausible path to a third term: with Republican dominance in Congress and state legislatures, the constitutional "methods" to eliminate the 22nd Amendment could easily become reality.
There's No Conspiracy-Just a Deeply Insecure Man Leveraging Distraction

2 months ago | alexiscoe.substack.com | Alexis Coe

Des Moines, I’m coming for you!In Rolling Stone, I wrote about Trump’s attempts to commandeer JFK’s legacy as nothing more than political theater aimed that has little to do with historical curiosity. Trump, fueled by envy, seeks to distract and rewrite the narrative of American greatness, transforming Kennedy’s narrative into mere footnotes. Harriet Beecher Stowe's abolitionist novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was published on March 20, 1852. It sold 300,000 copies in just three months.