Last week, we asked #NewstodonFriday readers if anyone else felt sick at the thought of the U.S. election, and here we are. Not much levity in this week’s thread, but rather stories on the state of journalism and media, how different outlets plan to tackle the Trump administration, and even one about how political polarization can literally make you sick. We’ve sprinkled a little lighter fare in there, including a beautiful Tiny Desk concert from Meshell Ndegeocello (close your eyes and scroll to the bottom if you can’t bear to read any news). Please check out the stories, follow the publications, click on the stories, subscribe, donate and otherwise support if you can. Independent media matters now, more than ever.
In a mission statement earlier this week, the team at @ProPublica explained their plans on holding the incoming Trump administration’s feet to the fire. Here, they dive into the specific issues journalists will be following, and how to get in touch with reporters if you have information to share.
https://www.propublica.org/article/second-trump-presidency-issues-contact
Tech site @404mediaco says people have been canceling their subscriptions to the site out of a general sense of depression since the Republicans clinched the presidency and the Senate in the U.S. election. Here, co-founders @jasonkoebler, @emanuelmaiberg, Samantha Cole and @josephcox explain why their work is still valuable.
https://www.404media.co/why-the-work-still-matters-under-trump/
A little bit of Democrat joy from @bolts as they report on Monique Worrell, the state attorney who was ousted by Ron DeSantis last year, and beat her replacement, Federalist Society member Andrew Bain, to win her job back.
https://boltsmag.org/tampa-orlando-proscutor-elections-2024/
Political polarization is making us sick, according to new research from a team at New York University. @thetyee’s Crawford Kilian writes about how COVID-19 epitomizes this and whether there’s a possibility of repair.
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/11/06/Political-Polarization-Making-Us-Sick/
Democrats in Texas were thrashed in last week’s election. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. For @TexasObserver, Gus Bova looks at how it happened, and offers a couple of things to think about.
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-democrats-lost-decade-2024/
Humans spend a lot of time moving in crowds. Matthew R. Francis and Maki Naro collaborate on this comic for @KnowableMag, which demonstrates how tools from fluid dynamics can help model crowd behavior and smooth the flow of crowds, potentially making us safer.
People in Ukraine are worried about how Trump’s victory might affect them. The team at @timkmak’s Counter Offensive talked to people on the ground about their concerns. “If we get discouraged because an election has taken place in another country and we don't like the president elected, we will never have independence and autonomy,” says 21-year-old Yelyzaveta Kanievska.
https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/the-street-level-view-from-kyiv-on
Last year, the Indian government announced they had found a huge reserve of lithium in Kashmir. Now, @restofworld reports that extraction plans have been halted as industry experts say government info on the land is “misleading and quite inadequate.”
Nearly two million Massachusetts residents are food insecure, and that’s been exacerbated by rising prices and the end of pandemic measures. @gbhnews reports on a new group, the Make Hunger History Coalition, which aims to solve the problem of hunger, not just through food donations and charity but by addressing the underlying issues that cause it.
One story we thought was great this week didn’t get enough attention: @ArtPhotosDesk shared an animation about an incarcerated artist and his mentor, which was published by the incomparable The Marshall Project. Take a look at it here.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/11/01/animation-life-inside-prison-artist-mentorship
And finally, @CultureDesk shared a little music, a Tiny Desk concert from Grammy winner Meshell Ndegeocello. Her profound, thoughtful songs focus on love, race, sexuality and religion; she is committed to being herself and speaking her truth. Listen to her concert here, which includes “Thus Sayeth The Lorde,” a song from her latest album with the Audre Lorde quote, “If I did not define myself for myself, I’d be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/06/18/g-s1-3207/meshell-ndegeocello-tiny-desk-concert
@Flipboard @TexasObserver Yeah, it was a real shit show.
Sure feels like the depths of the lowest point ever for Dem voters in Texas. If Latino men and young men are breaking for Republicans the Texas Democratic Party mine as well not even exist.
@RVLara23 @Flipboard @TexasObserver this week the entire country became Alabama Rich white population run the state and the rest are convinced crumbs from the table are gifts. #RollTide
It's not "political polarization", it's the rise of fascism. Stop both-sidesing this!
@Flipboard Unfortunately he will probably just do it again because he's a fascist little pr*ck who doesn't care what voters want