We’ve been publishing at a rapid clip for what feels like ages.
From the Trump administration taking us to the brink of war earlier this year to the COVID-19 crisis and racial justice uprisings of the last few months, we’ve lurched along from one crisis to another, along with the rest of the news cycle.
This week, we’re taking a break to tend some internal housekeeping. But I’m also hoping we can use the week to re-share some solid, relatively evergreen pieces on events of the last few months, pieces we were thrilled to run but I worried might fall through the cracks.
Below is a mix of first-person experiences, bright ideas for the crises of our time, and a few selections on truly outrageous developments. It was fun to look at them again — they hold up well. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them again and, if you’re an editor who missed the chance to publish them then, consider syndicating these now.
Hope you’re staying sane best you can. We’ll be back soon.
First Person Stories
I Got COVID-19 at Work. I Won’t Be the Last One. | Claire Chadwick
Essential workers aren’t being treated like our lives are essential at all.
Going Back to Work in a Pandemic | Denita Jones
I don’t feel safe going back to work, but the state of Texas is forcing me to put my health and my family at risk.
I Remember the Lynchings of the 1960s. They’re Still Happening | Ron Carver
My civil rights movement colleagues were murdered in the 1960s, when lynching was common. Sadly, it remains so today.
Bright Ideas
Defund the Police, Invest in Communities | Ken Makin
Local governments have a revenue problem, while America has a policing problem. There’s a simple solution.
Child Care in the Time of Corona | Martha Burk
Congress is spending trillions to keep businesses afloat. Are families less important?
To Save Lives — and Democracy — We Need to Vote by Mail | Bernie Horn
We need tens of millions of fewer Americans voting at the polls. Sending ballots in the mail is the simplest solution.
Outrages
A Matter of Life and Breath | Josie Moberg
Firing tear gas at nonviolent demonstrators is unconscionable — especially in a respiratory pandemic.
It’s Absolutely Not Time to Cut Food Stamps | Jill Richardson
Tens of millions of us are out of work. Why on earth is Trump trying to cut food aid?
A Death Sentence for Meatpackers | Jill Richardson
Meatpackers are contracting COVID-19 and dying. Trump is requiring them to work — and shielding their employers from liability.
