National news these days is coming at us fast and furious, overwhelming our ability to keep up, understand what it all means and wade through the useless noise. It’s no wonder so many of us are tuning out instead.
That’s bad — for our democracy, our sanity and our ability to fight for what we believe in and what we want to see for our country, our city, our communities.
We’re here to help.
In the words of Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt:
The age of the editorial gatekeeper is over. You are your own editor these days. So each week from now on we’re going to provide you the must-read or must-see picks, without regard to ideology, that we think are worthy of your attention in an effort to get a handle on just what’s really happening in national affairs.
Here’s what to read this week:
What is Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ and who is joining, by Helen Regan and Kara Fox, CNN
A useful, up-to-date explainer of yet another new effort to remake the world order keeps it simple for those of us who have a hard time keeping up. “Trump has invited dozens of countries to join the board that seeks to resolve global conflicts, but its remit has alarmed several U.S. allies, as has the U.S. leader’s comment that it “might” replace the United Nations … its purpose … tackle conflicts the world over.”
I wish the states’ rights people had meant it, by Kelsey Piper, The Argument
From abortion to education to LGBTQ rights, the debate over who should make the laws — states or the federal government — has gotten pretty squishy lately. It matters, Piper notes: “Checks and balances and federalism are good, and if there is any hope that anything good may come of the horrific abuses of office Trump is engaging in, one hope of mine is that it will help more people see that.”
So You Want to Run For President? by Jennifer Rubin, The Contrarian
It’s not enough to run against Trump in 2028. Instead, notes the former Republican Washington Post columnist — who spoke at our 2022 Ideas We Should Steal Festival — Democratic candidates need a coherent vision that takes on very particular issues that have defined our political moment.
U.S. crime has dropped sharply since the pandemic. Here’s where it stands, by Tim Craig, John D. Harden and Carson TerBush, The Washington Post.
“Want to feel a little better about Philly? Check out this analysis of the past 5 years, noting that our hometown is distinctly absent from the list of cities with the 10 highest homicide rates.” — Lauren McCutcheon, Deputy Editor
Democrats hold 6-point lead over GOP on generic ballot, by Tara Suter, The Hill.
In case you’re wondering how the endless news out of Washington, D.C. might be impacting U.S. Congressional races: “The Emerson poll comes in the wake of rocky political territory for Republicans, who have been facing criticism over affordability, files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and President Trump’s recent foreign policy moves.”
What the U.S. Could Gain in Greenland Talks, Wall Street Journal
The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker and colleagues have a smart roundtable discussion in this podcast episode on the current players and factors swirling around Greenland at the World Economic Forum. Says Luke Vargas, “The details are still in flux, European officials tell us they could involve Denmark allowing American troops to be stationed at its Greenland bases, Europe boosting Arctic security, and the U.S. potentially getting a right of first refusal on investments in Greenland’s mineral resources.”
And, a look back on what famous writers — Herman Melville, for example — did to pay the bills.
The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs, by Ed Simon for Literary Hub
A beautifully written essay on iconic wordsmiths and their day jobs is a lovely piece writing itself. Example: “Most people don’t like their jobs, or at least many don’t, which means that any moments of transcendence, ecstasy, or beauty, caught in the midst of a day job are precious, and thank God we’ve got our poets and novelists working on assembly lines and in fields that can affix those moments in verse like Nabokov pinning a butterfly to a board.”
Previous Must-Reads:
Week of January 12:
Trump Threatens to Invoke Insurrection Act in Minnesota, by Ken Thomas and Victoria Albert, Wall Street Journal ($)
How bad might things get in Minneapolis, where ICE agents are rounding up immigrants and protests are raging? Already one protester, Renee Good, was killed by an ICE agent, another of whom shot an immigrant apparently resisting arrest. Amid calls to calm tensions, the worst may be yet to come.
The DOJ Investigates Jerome Powell, by Isaac Saul, Tangle
Philadelphia’s Saul analyzes the coverage of the Trump administration’s attack on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell: “The administration is threatening and politically pressuring the Fed. This investigation is not about Congress’s oversight, it’s not about the renovation of a building, and it’s not about whether Powell committed some kind of crime. It’s about the administration not getting the interest rates they want and using a criminal probe to pressure Powell into doing their bidding.”
The Wrong Lessons From Iran’s Past, by Eli Lake, The Free Press ($)
Everything old is new again? Lake unpacks the (rather sordid) history of American intervention in Iran as President Trump considers if and how much to intervene in that country’s burgeoning rebellion. What might we be getting ourselves into?
Why Smaller Houses Can Lead To Happier Lives, by Michael J. Coren, Washington Post ($)
“As the owner of a 1,200 square foot house (1800, with the basement) I have long believed that smaller is generally better. Not because I don’t long for more closets and storage (I do); not because I wish I didn’t have to share a bathroom with my cute but disgusting children. (I would add, Virginia Woolf, that one also needs a bathroom of one’s own.) But: For all the reasons this story enumerates, I think smaller really can be better. Especially in Philly, where it’s the neighborhood as much as — more than! — the house that defines your life.” — Philadelphia magazine editor Christy Speer Lejeune
A World Without Flu Is Possible, by Bryan Walsh, Vox
“Got knocked out by the flu this year? Hope for a healthier future may be on the horizon. Here, Vox looks at the progress we’re making towards a universal flu vaccine and gene editing treatment trials.” — Digital Media Marketing and Community Manager Olivia Kram
Jeff Bezos Needs to Speak Up, by Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic
“If you weren’t worried about American journalism before, this is one reason why you should be: Trump’s FBI raided a Washington Post reporter’s home and confiscated her computers looking for information about a confidential source within the federal government who criticized the president’s policies. As Chait notes: ‘The proper response in these moments is not to wax hysterical, but instead to draw clear moral lines. That is especially true for powerful people with the ability to make themselves heard.’” — Citizen Media Group Executive Director/Editorial Director Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
Finally, new advice from an old writer:
Acclaimed Novelist George Saunders Says Ditching These Three Illusions Can Save You, by The Interview, New York Times ($)
The award-winning storyteller has a novelist’s insight into the human condition. In this magazine interview, he talks about “the challenges of being kind, the benefits of meditation and the reality check of death.”
Week of January 5:
The U.S. captures Maduro, by Isaac Saul, Tangle
“The biggest story of the week hit over the weekend, when, on Trump’s orders, U.S. military attacked Venezuela, captured its president and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Here, Philly’s Saul analyzes the complicated situation the world woke up to this week.” — Roxanne Patel Shepelavy, Citizen Media Group Executive Director/Editorial Director
A new analysis says Harrisburg is among the least effective legislatures. Some say reform is needed, by Tom Riese, 90.5 WES
“Pittsburgh’s public news station confirms something PA has suspected for a few years now: Our legislature is among the least productive in the nation, passing only 4 percent of all proposed bills. Harrisburg provides a mirror to what’s happening in Washington, D.C.” — Lauren McCutcheon, Citizen Deputy Editor
Hospitals are a proving ground for what AI can — and can’t — do, by Te-Ping Chen and Chao Deng, The Wall Street Journal ($)
“I am, admittedly, an AI skeptic. Some of this is self-preservation, but a healthy portion of this skepticism comes from the speed in which it’s being implemented. Healthcare is one sector, though, where I’ve personally seen some value. This story helped open my eyes to that, while still including enough eyebrow-raising anecdotes to maintain my wariness.” — Brad Pearson, Philadelphia magazine Executive Editor
Feeling wonder every day improves our health. Here’s how to do it, by Dana Milbank, The Washington Post
“This is a really interesting read on how observing art and “inspiring awe” can be really beneficial to people’s wellbeing.” — Kae Lani Palmisano, Philadelphia magazine Food Editor
Grok is undressing children — can the law stop it?, by Hayden Field, The Verge
“In other disturbing news: Sexual exploitation workarounds using AI are taking over social media spaces, putting children at risk. The legal repercussions are murky, perhaps furthering the argument that rapid acceleration of unchecked AI is dangerous.” — Olivia Kram, Digital Media and Community Manager
Finally, for all the Gen Xers out there:
MTV Isn’t Dead Yet. But It Might As Well Be, by Meredith Blake, The Contrarian
“Rumors of the death of the music video platform are greatly exaggerated. But MTV — and its various spinoffs — is not what those of us who grew up on it remember. Who wants their MTV now?” — Roxanne Patel Shepelavy, Citizen Media Group Executive Director/Editorial Director
Week of December 22:
Two Countries, Two Responses to Gun Massacres by Jennifer Rubin, The Contrarian
Last weekend’s horrible mass shootings — of students at Brown University and Hanukkah-celebrating Jews at Australia’s Bondi Beach — made stark, again, the different ways our countries react to, and think about, violence. As Rubin says about America: “We have a popular consensus on many gun safety measures. However, we have a democracy problem preventing their enactment. So long as one party (insulated from accountability by gerrymandering) remains in the thrall of a paranoid anti-government cult allergic to social responsibility, we will be stuck in the endless loop of death, finger pointing, and paralysis.
Australia shows us there is another way for democracies to function. Perpetual slaughter of our children is a choice — one no civilized country should make.” — Roxanne Patel Shepelavy, Citizen Media Group Executive Director
Trump Addresses the Nation by Isaac Saul, Tangle
President Trump spoke to Americans in an 18-minute relatively benign speech from the White House on Wednesday night. Philadelphia’s Saul fact-checks his remarks, and asks: Is a televised, primetime speech really what Americans struggling with an affordability crisis need right now? “If last night’s speech was supposed to be a reset going into the new year, I don’t think it’s going to move the needle. If it was designed to make Americans worried about affordability feel better, I think it was a near disaster, full of denials about people’s experiences and forceful insistence that the administration is doing what it promised.” — Courtney DuChene, Staff Writer
The Race to Succeed Nancy Pelosi is a Fight for the Future of the Democratic Party by Peter Savodnik, The Free Press ($)
A longtime political reporter, Savodnik portrays the campaign in San Francisco as a contest between staid progressivism and new radicalism: “It’s about the Democrats in search of themselves.
It’s about a party that, over the past few decades, has become corporatized and averse to discord, a party that is now mostly run by suits … Overall, the race is about the Angry and Disaffected pushing back against the suits.”
Rob Reiner Was Good by Matt Stoller Zeitz, New York Magazine
Rob Reiner was my favorite director of all time. He was the modern master of blending comedy and drama into relatable storytelling with expert finesse. Vulture points out that his gift was a result of a fundamental need to do good and be good. In a world of impersonal AI slop, artists and people in general could serve to be a little bit more like Reiner. — Olivia Kram, Digital Media Marketing and Community Manager
How the Phone Ban Saved High School by Anya Kamenetz, Intelligencer
They’re playing poker, talking to each other and actually learning more. As a parent with a kid on the cusp of cellphone age, a phone ban in Pennsylvania can’t come soon enough. — Brad Pearson, Philadelphia magazine Executive Editor
Finally, some last minute gift ideas your loved ones will never forget:
600 Readers Told Us About The Best Gift They Ever Got. Here are 13 of Them New York Times Opinion ($)
Wondering if you can afford them, or get them on time for your holiday? You can. What you might not be able to do is keep yourself from crying when you read this …
Week of December 15:
Looking Back At A Year Of AI Cope And Progress, by Kelsey Piper, The Argument
Piper sifts through the media coverage of AI this year, for this look back and forward. As she says: “AI progress is happening very fast. More people than before are working on AI, and they are able to use more powerful computer chips to train their AIs, both of which make progress more likely. Some people hypothesized that simply adding more people with more chips couldn’t go on forever, but as of now, this trick has not stopped working. By most ways of measuring, AI progress hasn’t slowed down. By some, it has sped up.”
ICE Nativity Scenes, by Jack Jenkins, Religion News
This story, from one of PhillyMag Executive Editor Brad Pearson’s favorite reporters, looks at a particularly 2025 trend: “Amid rising faith-based pushback to Trump’s mass-deportation campaign, religious leaders say they are hoping to make the Christmas story relevant to modern believers by recalling the dire circumstances faced by Jesus and his parents as recounted in the gospels.”
We Gave Students Laptops and Took Away Their Brains, by Jared Cooney Horvath, The Free Press
As a former teacher, this pains me: “On average, students who used computers for more than six hours per day scored 65 points lower than their peers who didn’t use them at all. That’s the difference between the 50th and the 24th percentile — equivalent to a two letter-grade drop.” That data is jarring — for parents, educators, and students themselves. — PhillyMag Wellness Editor Laura Brzyski
The Wages of Failure, by Steven Malaga, City Journal
As Malaga notes, some of the worst-managed states pay their legislators the most — including Pennsylvania. Here’s just one example he offers: “A core function of local government is financing and maintaining infrastructure. Every year, the Reason Foundation produces an annual report comparing the condition of state roads and bridges with government spending. Among the least effective states are those with the highest-paid legislatures — Alaska, California, New York, and Massachusetts. Illinois and Pennsylvania, both in the top five for legislative pay, fared little better, ranking 36th and 37th, respectively.”
Socialism is Still Not That Popular, by James Freeman, The Wall Street Journal ($)
A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that 71 percent of American voters consider the state of the economy fair or poor. That’s not surprising. No matter where you stand on all the talk about the socialist takeover (of New York City, in particular), the more surprising stat is this: “When asked whether capitalism or socialism is the better economic system, 46 percent of registered voters say capitalism, 22 percent say socialism, and 32 percent say they’re not sure.” — Roxanne Patel Shepelavy, Citizen Media Group Executive Director/Editorial Director
Finally, a moment of pause:
From The Marginalian, Penn alum Maria Popova’s culture blog, “Beatitude,” by John Keene:
Week of December 8:
In the Line of Fire, by Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker ($)
It’s hard not to read this story and despair: How did we become this politically violent country? This long read includes a litany of recent attacks, featuring most prominently our own Governor Josh Shapiro, who was with his family in the Governor’s mansion last spring when a man set fire to it. An ambitious and joyful politician, Shapiro was forced to consider “the fact that my life choices put my family at risk.” Oof. — Executive Director/Editorial Director Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
The National Guard Shooting, by Isaac Saul, Tangle
Speaking of violence in America, Saul takes a look at what right- and left-leaning media outlets had to say about the horrendous shooting that left one National Guard member dead and another in critical condition in D.C. last week: “For many on the right, the story is about Afghan immigrants and the risks of letting radicals in through mass migration. For many on the left, it’s about a legally questionable deployment of the National Guard that was seemingly designed to provoke. But when you look past the partisan narratives, you find a complicated story that shows just how hard it is to reduce violent attacks to any one issue.”
Below the $140,000 “Poverty Line”? Give Anyway, by Jeruslem Demsas, The Argument
Demsas makes a compelling case for contributing to a Substack fundraising campaign for Rwandan families through GiveDirectly, using as a conversation starter a mini-scandal over Thanksgiving weekend in which “an asset manager with a newsletter” (poorly) calculated that the new poverty line in America should be $140,000. In essence: Yes, that’s absurd. But also, all of us can afford to give, even a little.
How a Man Convicted of Running a Latin American Narco State Landed a Pardon, by Vera Bergengruen, Alex Leary, José de Córdoba and Josh Dawsey, The Wall Street Journal ($)
The opener of this article tells you what you need to know about America today: “President Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was the result of something extraordinary for a Central American leader and convicted cocaine trafficker — a web of powerful advocates stretching from Washington to Mar-a-Lago.”
Can Opportunity Zones Ever Meet Their Poverty-Fighting Promise? by Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing
This is an interesting look into what Opportunity Zones have, and more importantly haven’t, done across the country. This in particular seems relevant to Philly: “…the real estate drawing the most investment tends to be in neighborhoods that have already started to improve without any opportunity zone involvement.” — Philadelphia magazine Executive Editor Brad Pearson
Could Massachusetts Become The First State To Undo Legal Weed? by Josh Code, The Free Press
“There’s an anti-weed backlash in America,” according to Code, who interviews drug policy scholar Kevin Sabet, an advisor to presidents of both parties who has helped anti-weed activists secure enough signatures to put the repeal of Massachusetts marijuana laws on the ballot in 2026. Here in Pennsylvania we are still awaiting the long-promised legalization of recreational marijuana. I guess if we stall long enough, we’ll be right on trend? — Executive Director/Editorial Director Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
Finally, can we drag you away from your doomscrolling for some joy?
From Digital Media Marketing and Community Manager Olivia Kram: The internet’s favorite outdoorsy drag queen Pattiegonia embarked on an awesome journey this week, hiking 100 miles to raise $1,000,000 for eight nonprofits that work to make the outdoors more inclusive.
Watch her equal parts entertaining and heart-warming journey here:
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