The Slatest for Oct. 27: Mike Johnson Embodies Two of MAGA’s Worst Qualities

So who exactly is Mike Johnson, the House speaker that congressional Republicans finally coalesced around after three weeks of cycling through other candidates? What does he stand for?

He is, as Dahlia Lithwick puts it, “the terrifying embodiment of two anodyne faces that give cover to the worst forms of MAGA extremism: theocratic zealotry and lawyerly precision.” She explains why we should all be very, very wary of the new speaker.

Plus: Mary Harris speaks to Republican strategist Tim Miller about how extremists won the speaker fight.

Clarence Thomas’ forgiven RV loan isn’t just a Supreme Court ethics issue—it could also get him in hot water with the IRS. Adam Chodorow unpacks the potential tax implications for the justice.

Come hang out with us this Monday afternoon on Zoom! It should be a good time.

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Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand … and he was actually just pretty annoying. “I really can’t convey this any more effectively: It was highly repetitive and very frustrating,” Nitish Pahwa writes. Fortunately, Pahwa sat through the whole thing in court so you don’t have to. He gives you the CliffsNotes from Bankman-Fried’s turn in the witness box.

It’s been a year since Elon Musk bought Twitter! And Alex Kirshner has taken stock of everything he’s broken over there in those 365 days.

Only one Taylor Swift album never spawned a No. 1 hit—until four years later. Chris Molanphy tells the story of how “Cruel Summer” assumed its rightful place at the top of the charts.

Finally, a movie about the glamorous, exciting life of a freelancer. Time for some thrilling scenes of W-9 action! Dan Kois, for one, cannot wait to see John Cena in his new action movie about the gig economy.

… much like this delightful Slate Dad Cap, now available in the Slate Store. (Why yes, we have a store now! We’re pretty excited about it.)

We hope you can get some unstructured, low-profile downtime in yourself this weekend. Thanks so much for reading, and we’ll see you on Monday.