ICYMI: I wrote about the difficulties that Alaskans face in obtaining SNAP and Medicaid—on top of existing challenges with accessing adequate food and medical care. Featuring on the ground reporting from rural coastal Alaska: newrepublic.com/article/2027...

You simply must read this feature from Grace Segers on SNAP and hunger in Alaska. Truly great policy reporting.

@gracesegers.bsky.social's feature on the hunger crisis in Alaska is an absolute banger of a story—and one which we wish we had no reason to publish newrepublic.com/article/2027...

Amazing long-form reporting and a really good read capturing what it's really like to deal with bureaucratic hurdles to getting food stamps, from @gracesegers.bsky.social. A document for the Trump 2.0 era: newrepublic.com/article/2027...

This is fantastic and eye-opening reporting from @gracesegers.bsky.social about SNAP and hunger in a remote part of Alaska -- Americans we don't hear from much in national reporting. More reporting like this, please, everyone! newrepublic.com/article/2027...

"Alaskans’ struggles are a microcosm of what poor and rural Americans face across the country. When the social safety net is riddled with holes, people fall through," writes @gracesegers.bsky.social. Great story. newrepublic.com/article/2027...

I traveled to Unalakleet, a coastal Alaskan village, to learn more about the difficulties rural Alaskans face in obtaining adequate food and medical care. With changes to SNAP and Medicaid, avoiding hunger and staying healthy may only get more complicated. newrepublic.com/article/2027...

A great piece from @gracesegers.bsky.social using Alaska as a way to show how Trump's benefit cuts are going to devastate the already struggling rural communities Republicans are supposedly so sympathetic to newrepublic.com/article/2027...

If you've ever thought, "I know how to make the Star Wars sequels better," you need to hear @gracesegers.bsky.social's pitch in our new "Hoth Tank" episode. hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/09/26/h...

I don't really post anything but my articles anymore but I cannot stay silent. Demon Slayer is painfully mid, it is boring narratively and visually (high quality animation =/= interesting animation), and it definitely does not deserve to be the most popular anime in the world

The USDA abruptly decided to terminate an annual survey that policymakers and organizations use to help Americans struggling with food insecurity. newrepublic.com/article/2007...

If Congress does not act before November 1, which is when ACA enrollment opens, people will get an early look at the effect of higher premiums and the expiration of tax credits. newrepublic.com/article/2002...

Great newsletter by @titonka.bsky.social on the conversation around political "authenticity." Authenticity is often just code for masculinity, which "defines what kind of behavior, what kind of signifiers, are acceptable in top political candidates." daniellekurtzleben.substack.com/p/when-authe...

The health and human services secretary wants to limit access to items he has called “poison.” But this mission is more complex than it seems, with serious consequences for low-income citizens. newrepublic.com/article/1988...

one day I woke up and everyone was saying "labubu" as if it was a word that meant something

A wide array of hunger and health care advocates are hoping to mitigate the effects of some provisions in Trump’s budget bill before they are implemented. newrepublic.com/article/1980...

How a skeptical Albany and hostile Washington could stymie the Democratic mayoral nominee’s agenda if he’s elected in November. newrepublic.com/article/1974...

@gracesegers.bsky.social takes the helm for our new episode, which is all about female characters (and creators) in Star Wars. hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/h...

Regardless of how lawmakers react, experts say the president’s actions were unlawful. newrepublic.com/article/1973...

was trying to type out "The New Republic" and my phone wanted to autofill "The Raid 2" instead, which I guess gives you a sense of how often I text about The Raid 2

ICYMI: I wrote about how the modern social safety net has been crafted around ideas of "deservingness," and how that has affected low-income single moms in the past—as well as how poor single moms today could be impacted by cuts to benefits. newrepublic.com/article/1970...

The U.S. social safety net was constructed around ideas of "deservingness." For single moms, that often meant additional hoops to jump through. Analysis on how poor single moms rely on benefits programs, & what the reconciliation bill would mean for them: newrepublic.com/article/1970...

Four years after electing Eric Adams, the city’s mayoral primaries on Tuesday will provide another chance for voters to use a still-novel system for choosing a nominee. newrepublic.com/article/1967...

Progressives are wringing their hands over the shift that took young men voters to the right. But some worry about focusing more on the symptom than the cause. newrepublic.com/article/1961...

Grant freezes and program cuts at USDA, as well as efforts to slash food stamps, could leave community providers in rural America floundering. newrepublic.com/article/1959...

Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced it would scale back enforcement of the FACE Act, which prohibits obstruction and property damage of abortion clinics. Abortion providers now worry about an increased threat environment, and emboldened protesters. newrepublic.com/article/1958...

I am once again asking you to read an article I wrote about the filibuster newrepublic.com/article/1956...

wake up babe new Hoth Takes just dropped (and I get very passionate about season 2 of Andor) hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/h...

🎙️ @gracesegers.bsky.social, @byrdinator.bsky.social, and I are back with a @hothtakes.bsky.social episode about #Andor season 2. It may surprise you to learn that we disagreed about a lot of things! hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/h...

From Cassian and Bix's characterization to the balance between idealism and nihilism, #Andor season 2 made a lot of controversial choices. In our new episode, @ericjgeller.com, @gracesegers.bsky.social, and @byrdinator.bsky.social break down the whole season: hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/h...

I'm looking forward MI: Final Reckoning, because I'm a red-blooded American who enjoys watching Tom Cruise try to kill himself for our entertainment, but I think my problem is that MI: Fallout is a basically perfect action movie and I know it won't live up to that

The USDA program changes are coming at what Vince Hall, the head of government relations for Feeding America, the nationwide foodbank network, called an already “very precarious moment for food banks because there’s no resiliency left in the system.” 19thnews.org/2025/05/usda... via @19thnews.org

I think @gracesegers.bsky.social really got an earful writing this excellent story: House Republicans Want to Force States to Cut SNAP for Them newrepublic.com/article/1953... via @newrepublic.com

House Republicans are pressing forward with a plan to cut billions of dollars from a critical nutrition program by forcing states to shoulder more of the cost, threatening benefits for roughly 42 million low-income Americans in red and blue states alike. newrepublic.com/article/1953...

anyway happy ten-year anniversary to Mad Max: Fury Road, one of the best movies of the 2010s* and personally one of my top five *also one of the best movies of the twenty-first century** **also actually one of the best movies ever period

all the reviewers who were like "Andor season 2 is the best Star Wars has ever been" clearly don't remember Andor season 1

The tens of thousands of Afghans who entered the U.S. in August of 2021 have been in the country for nearly four years. They are integrated in their communities. Many of those Afghans aided the U.S. military and would be killed by the Taliban if they return to Afghanistan.

“A one-time payment in the year of birth is not, I think, a credible pathway to long-term stabilization of family incomes” — the literal director of the Pronatalism Institute at the Institute for Family Studies

Recent conversations on conservative support for baby bonuses and other early childhood economic supports have focused on what such policies would mean for falling birthrates. But would they mean for poor families? newrepublic.com/article/1950...

having a pope who attended Villanova indicates that we will have the first pope to fill out a March Madness bracket

The Fed kept interest rates steady. Here's my Fedsplainer from last month, explaining what that means (and why it matters if the Fed's independence is threatened): newrepublic.com/article/1943...

I don't remember this scene from Conclave

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that each GOP proposals to cut Medicaid spending would reduce the federal deficit, but could also lead to millions of people with reduced Medicaid coverage or losing their insurance coverage altogether by 2034. www.cbo.gov/system/files...

I've been reporting for years on anti-abortion groups' strategy to push bills like this in many states and in Congress: www.politico.com/news/2025/01... www.politico.com/news/2022/11...

As GOP lawmakers mull how to slash federal spending, health care for low-income Americans could be first on the chopping block. newrepublic.com/article/1947...

Tragic news for anyone who has tried to avoid learning about how the stock market operates (such as myself): Unfortunately, you should care about the Federal Reserve. My Fedsplainer on why threats to Fed independence matter locally and globally: newrepublic.com/article/1943...

When I left the Washington Post in 2023, my colleagues and I were worried AI would hoover up our work and enable "zombies" to churn out stories based on our reporting and writing styles. Today WaPo announced a partnership with OpenAI. And here it is: Zombie Gillian Brockell. I DID NOT WRITE THIS.

Remember the debt ceiling? Tax day should remind you. Answering all your burning questions about how tax revenue affects reconciliation negotiation affects the nation's borrowing cap. newrepublic.com/article/1941...

“The vitriol of those in power has been destabilizing.” As the full weight of the federal government comes after trans people, families are scrambling to protect their kids from the onslaught. Their stories + @msjpauly.bsky.social + @hencarnell.bsky.social's gripping report.

News: Diana Greene Foster, the MacArthur-winning author of the Turnaway Study, learned her NIH grant — funding a multi-year study on Dobbs' impact — has been pulled. She was told its bc the govt won't study "gender identity." Her work has shaped our understanding of abortion bans' consequences.