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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Bourgeois Paranoia

We didn't make that up, "bourgeois paranoia" is a well-established concept in Marxist studies, referring to the propensity for "haves" to become unduly obsessed with protecting themselves and their property from the "have nots." It would not be completely out of line to propose that bourgeois paranoia is the main driving force, or at least one of them, behind Trumpism.

We gave two hints for last week's headline theme. On Friday, it was: "after last week['s headline theme] worked out so poorly, we have a bad feeling about this." On Saturday, we followed that with: "If you're still working on the headline theme, we suppose that tells us you're not a replicant." And here is the solution, courtesy of reader J.S. in Atlanta, GA:

Unlike Indy, I am sure that you didn't just make up this theme as you were going along.

All the headlines today are titles of movies starring Harrison Ford.

The Middle East: The Houthis Enter the Conversation—The Conversation (1974)

The Economy: This Is What a Frantic Tariff Policy Looks Like—Frantic (1988)

TrumpWatch 2025: "Air Force One" Is the Story That Just Keeps on Giving—Air Force One (1997)

Political Bytes, Sports Edition: We Would Bet Number 42 Is Rolling in His Grave—42 (2013)

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Devil's Own Crop—The Devil's Own (1997)

This Week in Schadenfreude: Nolan's Heroes Fight the Trojan War AND the Culture Wars—Heroes (1977)

This Week in Freudenfreude: A Witness to History, in a Small Way—Witness (1985)

The hint, "after last week worked out so poorly, we have a bad feeling about this," refers to a line from a little-known indie movie called Star Wars (1977).

Yep, and this headline adds Paranoia (2013) to the list. Meanwhile, the replicants hint is obviously a reference to Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

M.W. in Altea, Spain
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
S.K. in Bethesda, MD
N.H. in London, England, UK
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
M.K. in Long Branch, NJ
D.E. in High Springs, FL
M.B. in Albany, NY
A.B. in Naperville, IL
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
K.R. in Austin, TX
D.M. in Austin, TX
J.M. in Eagle Mills, NY
J.T. in Philadelphia, PA
P.C. in Vero Beach, FL
S.J.V. in New York City, NY
G.M. in Arlington, VA
R.S. in Landing, NJ
R.K. in Indianapolis, IN
M.S. in Canton, NY
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM
K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI
J.S. is Atlanta
B.K.J. in San Diego, CA
S.G. in Durham, NC
M.K. in Forest Hills, NY
B.J.M. in Steep Falls, ME
A.J. in Baltimore, MD

P.R. in Havertown, PA
B.M. in Chico, CA
K.J. in Paw Paw, MI
N.S. in Fayetteville, NY
P.H. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
M.V. in Oak Park, IL
M.S. in Seattle, WA
R.N. in Cleveland, OH
G.M. in Chevy Chase, MD
E.S. in Cincinnati, OH
P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ
T.J.W. in Colorado Springs, CO
S.W. in Orland Park, IL
J.H. in Lake Forest, CA
S.B. Palm Harbor, FL
J.Y. in London, England, UK
D.S. in Mankato, MN
M.B. in Menlo Park, CA
J.R. in Austin, TX
J.M.R in Muncie, IN
A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD
J.S. in Huntington Station, NY
M.A. in West Windsor, NJ
G.W. in London, England, UK
D.P. in Minneapolis, MN
J.C. in Carmel, IN
M.A. in Sharon, MA
K.H. in Golden, CO
J.W. in Victoria, BC, Canada
A.C. in Kingston, MA

The 60th correct response was received at 8:08 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word in some headlines, and more than one word in others, and it's in the category Around the World (which was used in several supplemental Trivial Pursuit card sets). For a hint, we'll say that the key word in the first headline is NOT "Donald," as Donald Trump will never, ever qualify to be a part of this theme, no matter how much he (and FIFA?) wishes it was otherwise.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line August 1 Headlines. (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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