Happy Thursday, readers,
Here’s what’s making headlines today: progressives notch wins on a big primary night, TikTok faces scrutiny over its handling of self-harm content, and more.
Today’s estimated reading time is 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
- The Daily Dip Editor
CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S SHOW AD-FREE BELOW
Nostalgia Nerd
On this day in 1926, who became the first woman to swim the English Channel?(answer revealed below!)
(hint: American swimmer)
Before We Dip In (TL;DR)
In today’s issue:
Progressives win big on primary night. 🏛️
TikTok faces scrutiny over safety experiment. 💻
Leaked call reveals abortion plans. 📋
Plus, take today’s poll and check out the Nostalgia Nerd quiz answer down below!
POLITICS
🏛️ Progressive Upsets and Ballot Measures Mark a Big Primary Night
Michigan Democrats picked progressive Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor backed by Bernie Sanders and AOC, over the establishment’s moderate pick, Rep. Haley Stevens, in a closely watched primary for an open US Senate seat.
The win is notable because El-Sayed overcame roughly $70 million in outside spending, nearly half from the pro-Israel group AIPAC, which set a record for a single race. It points to deep Democratic divisions over Israel and electability.
The bigger picture: Progressives also won two Michigan House primaries, though moderates prevailed elsewhere, including in Missouri, where Wesley Bell beat Cori Bush. In red-state ballot measures, Kansas and Missouri voters rejected Republican-backed efforts to reshape their courts and amendment rules.
TECHNOLOGY
💻 TikTok Faces Scrutiny Over Self-Harm Content and a Safety Experiment
A livestream in which media personality Perez Hilton harmed himself has renewed scrutiny of how TikTok handles self-harm content. Police in Miami said Hilton was safely recovered and hospitalized; TikTok removed the stream.
The incident follows a Bloomberg report that, around 2021, TikTok kept about 10% of US users, roughly 15 million people, on a less-safe version of its algorithm as an experiment to measure engagement.
The fallout: One of those users, 16-year-old Chase Nasca, was repeatedly served suicide and self-harm content and died in 2022; his family is suing TikTok. An internal review found his account fell into a filter bubble. TikTok says it is committed to user safety and may exclude children from these test groups.
Dipper Poll
:📈 Today’s Poll: Platform Policing
Reports say TikTok kept millions of users on a less-safe version of its algorithm as an experiment, reigniting debate over who is responsible for what social platforms show people.
Who should be most responsible for keeping harmful content off social media feeds?
LAW & POLICY
📋 Leaked Call Shows Blanche Discussing Nationwide Abortion Restrictions
A leaked phone call captured Todd Blanche, a senior Justice Department official, telling faith leaders he wants to end abortion access nationwide, including in states that currently protect it.
On the call, Blanche said he is working with HHS, the FDA, and the White House on what he called permanent solutions to make the Dobbs decision effective in every state, with a focus on mail-order abortion medication.
The context: Since Roe was overturned, abortions have risen, with over 140,000 people traveling out of state last year and most procedures now done by mail-order pills. Anti-abortion advocates have promoted the Comstock Act to target that. For now it is only a leaked call, and no formal policy has been announced.
Fun Facts
🦴 Anatomy: Babies are born with about 300 bones, but adults end up with only 206 as many of them fuse together with age. Growing up, literally.
👃 Science: The human nose can tell apart an enormous range of smells, by one widely cited estimate around a trillion of them. Your sniffer is overqualified.
⏳ Physics: If you fell through a tunnel bored straight through the Earth, you’d pop out the other side in about 42 minutes. Gravity’s express lane.
🤯 WTF: Your stomach acid is roughly as strong as battery acid, acidic enough to slowly dissolve bones and teeth. Please don’t test that.
TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWER:
Gertrude Ederle
On August 6, 1926, 20-year-old American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She finished in roughly 14 hours and 30 minutes, beating the fastest men’s time by nearly two hours. She came home to a ticker-tape parade in New York.
Poll Results From August 5, 2026
Did you take today’s poll?
Show Notes
Looking for more specific details on each story? Click here for the full show notes for yesterday’s PDS episode.
Over and Out...
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