Everyone is still buzzing after this week’s epic showdown between two of the left’s biggest media titans. In this corner: indie bad boy Freddie deBoer, who we’re sure you’ve seen from his numerous breadtube and podcast appearances over the years. (He also writes! Check out his Substack (subscribe!) and the entire book he wrote!) And in this corner: Twitter’s mad genius Matt Bruenig, cohost of the podcast The Bruenigs with his wife Elizabeth Bruenig! We’re sure you’ve seen Busy Liz on other podcasts like Left Right and Center; they both seem to do a lot of writing too, in addition other projects. (People’s Policy Podcast when, Matt?)

It began with fireworks a week ago when Freddie went off with a post that name-checked and called out everyone from Ezra Klein to Josh Barro to, you guessed it Matty B himself. We asked some intellectuals to explain his beef but still don’t really understand it, so we’ll leave the explainers to wonks like Professor Noam Chomsky and Vaush. Bottom line is that Freddie said that Matt “is not and has never been socialist”!

Ouch.

You think Matt took that lying down? Think again. Here’s what he had to say just a few days later:

I think this particular argument is really weak…

Fatality.

But here’s where it really gets good — reliable sources tell us that Freddie Deboer and Elizabeth Bruenig used to be friends. And none of them have talked to the media about this since Matt’s post. So have BFFs Liz and Freddie called it quits? How’s all of this impacted their clicks and subscribes? And can we expect a round three of Matt vs. Freddie anytime soon? We’ll keep you posted!

If you think things are getting heated between Freddie and the Bruenigs then put on your sunscreen, because this one’s a real scorcher. On Tuesday afternoon, Twitter Syriaheads got to see a huge three-way slugfest between the Quincy Institute’s Joshua Landis, the Washington Institute’s Robert Satloff, and Breakthrough News / Unauthorized Disclosure star Rania Khalek. (We haven’t found Josh and Rob’s podcasts yet, but when we do we’ll let you know.)

According to Wikipedia, Syria is a country in Asia ruled by a controversial president named Bashar al-Assad. From there…let’s just say it’s a real he-said / she-said situation. Rob, truly in give-no-fucks mode, put Bashar on blast Tuesday:

But Josh and Rania weren’t having any of it:

Sorry Rob, but if you’re getting owned by Rania this publicly you’d better be the new Dolce & Gabbana jeans we saw her rocking last week in Beirut!

Who do you think won Josh and Rania vs. Rob? Is the Washington Institute full of bloodthirsty maniacs or is this just another play for Twitter clout? And what do you think Assad’s gonna do when he finds out he got lit up? Sound off in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe!