What if people aren't apathetic? What if they just want something to DO? Insightful stuff from @lizafeatherstone.bsky.social about the data center backlash and the mechanisms of political change.

Without even clicking I guessed that there was an 80% chance this happened at a multi-lane, unsignalized crosswalk. And sure enough. www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...

The Washington Post editorial board claims the benefits of reducing climate pollution are "modest" Who wrote this, exactly?

NEW: The FDA just shot down Moderna's new flu shot. From me: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

I called up Nixon last week and he told me how Haitians are feeling terrified, targeted, isolated. But when I asked if I could quote him by name in this story, even if it might put him in greater danger, he said of course. He wants people to hear. newrepublic.com/article/2062...

“I am very worried for myself, for my wife, for my kids. ... If they can do it to white people in Minnesota, they can do it to anyone.” Gut punch of a piece from @melodyschreiber.com newrepublic.com/article/2062...

HAPPENING NOW: DHS just expedited Liam Conejo Ramos' asylum hearing to this morning, meaning it's possible the five-year-old and his family could be deported as soon as today. Rep. Joaquin Castro: "The Trump administration is trying to take him away again." www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...

I love freelancing but this is true. There are stories I simply cannot do without a newsroom behind me. There are also practical reasons some people can't just freelance, like needing health insurance or paid time off.

"The planned hyperscale facilities of north and west Texas, if fully built out, could be among the largest emissions sources in both the country and the world, Bird said" “I’d be hard-pressed to think of a bigger emitter"

"We systematically overlook the costs (mortgages, commuting, maintenance) while dramatically undervaluing intangible benefits that actually dictate our happiness (seeing our kids at night, hanging with friends, knowing our neighbors and walking places)."

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year? My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive. www.science.org/content/arti...

Turns out that Bari Weiss's all hands at CBS today is to announce she's bringing on some anti-vax guys and Niall Ferguson. www.axios.com/2026/01/27/b...

I just want to point out that Alex Pretti became a registered nurse in early 2021 -- the height of death from Covid. And he chose the ICU, the sickest patients, in Veterans Affairs.

"If all we had to rely on in our fight against fascism was the Democratic Party, we’d be toast. But that’s not all we have." New from @aaronregunberg.bsky.social: newrepublic.com/article/2055...

This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.

Have a larger story on this coming, but I’ve been embedded with this group, and this story from yesterday is part of what they’ve been doing in the city: religionnews.com/2026/01/22/h...

"This is the central problem with the America First industrial agenda...In practice, rebuilding an American industrial middle class would require higher consumer prices, and even MAGA’s most devoted supporters are unwilling to pay them."

I know there's a lot going on in the world to track. Learning about the intricacies of our vaccine supply line shouldn't be one of them - yet here we are. New @newrepublic.com piece: newrepublic.com/article/2053...

"I spent my morning buying water purification tablets, butane for a camping stove, a first aid kit and other emergency gear in between Slack messages and Zoom calls for my day job, where no one talks about the elephant in the virtual room."

Look at these numbers and imagine what 2026 could look like if Democrats successfully attach Republicans to every crisis of Trump (cost of living; ICE; Epstein Files; healthcare cuts; corporate greed) —>

"We can still stop these abuses of power, but we need to be clear about what we’re facing. This is no longer a conversation about law enforcement or immigration policy. This is about authoritarianism."

Grim reminder that striking the word "climate" from all government materials does not mean there's no climate agenda. newrepublic.com/post/205302/...

"If I don’t find a clinical trial for my child, she’ll be dead in a year." www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Fascinated by this report, which found that the average US city is delivering transit at a *fifth* of the level that our peers in other countries are — but closing the gap could be done, in our lifetimes, with a lot less money than it cost to build the highway system.

About the smearing of Nicole Renee Good, a new piece from me:

Trump: "All you have to do is say to China, how many windmill areas do you have in China? So far they're not able to find any." China:

I’m not convinced they actually believe this video to be exculpatory. It reads as more triumphalist to me — i.e., a ‘look what we can do’ vibe meant to shock and numb and intimidate

incredibly clear to me that they released the video not because they necessarily think it shows the officers innocence, but because it shows two gay women confronting a man

The recent spate of seafood heists in New England may seem comical, but it shows just how under-regulated freight is in the USA ... and how important regulation are for an abundant and healthy food system. Myself and @gnrosenberg.bsky.social for @newrepublic.com. newrepublic.com/article/2050...

Get ready

Wildfire fighters who get cancer will now get $450k and college tuition for the children they leave behind... Obviously better than nothing. And yet: how unbearably grim. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/u...

Holy crap chart from Gallup

Crops under climate change: "While zinc levels in particular drop, lead levels increase." Oof.

Some pundits claim replacing climate with affordability messages is the way for Dems to win. But climate is driving unaffordability (like with home insurance), voters trust Dems on climate, & solution exist that center people not CEOs. That’s a layup. @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2044...

Can we get a "ctrl+stfu gemini" command? Would prefer this to having to check a gazillion boxes and have it only get rid of 55% of the problem.

This video is something else. Never going to understand the attraction natural gas seems to hold... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

My daughter is a joy and she is doing great -- she started preschool this year. But she seems to have developed reactive airway disease or asthma, which makes every respiratory illness more complicated. This infection could follow her for the rest of her life, and that breaks my heart.

Exactly one year ago, my daughter was in the hospital battling RSV. The thought that more families might go through that when an incredibly effective and safe medication exists is mind-blowing. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic and made way for parks, people-streets and bike-lanes.” Better for the climate, better for health, better for livability and quality of life. Common sense. Such a no-brainer, it’s remarkable that more cities HAVEN’T done the same.

"Interventions in the sex lives of animals are so intrusive and ubiquitous that..bestiality laws had to be rewritten to include explicit exceptions for farmers." love this piece by @jandutkiewicz.bsky.social & Gabe newrepublic.com/article/2036...

We are now living in a 1.5 degree warmed world—with no end in sight (at least not based on current policies or practices). www.ft.com/content/9e0e...

"The message is increasingly clear: In Donald Trump’s and RFK Jr.’s America, illness comes from—and is experienced by—other, lesser people." Vital and thoughtful piece from @melodyschreiber.com newrepublic.com/article/2040...

"Nothing collapses all at once. It just stops working in small places first while everyone else calls it local hardship." newrepublic.com/article/2040...

A projected 1,400 infants per year will now get Hep B infections that carry a 1 in 4 chance of causing early death from cirrhosis or liver cancer. Sources below: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... theconversation.com/vaccine-comm...

Climate advocates aren't losing the information war. They're losing the money and power war. That's very different. newrepublic.com/post/203935/...

This "most read" box from @bangordailynews.bsky.social is wild stuff.

For me, 2025 has felt like a particularly heavy year ... and you might feel the same. So as we head into the holiday season, I wanted to share a few recommendations — books, podcasts, and newsletters — that encourage me, make me think, and remind me how hope begins with action.

Oh my God, this story. And this, too: "...friends and family began sending her mother articles about past deaths...Two teenagers whose cars collided last year, a mother crossing the road while holding her 3-year-old in 2021, a teenage girl heading home from a party on the beach in 2015."