Dear John,
I hope you had a good week. I loved getting all of your notes.
The news broke too late for the Digest, but Minnesota is about to become the first state in the Midwest with clean car standards.
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Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:
1. Big Pharma
For too long we’ve accepted that Big Pharma will kill people for profits. This shouldn’t be huge news, but this week the Biden Administration announced it will support waiving COVID vaccine patents to get more vaccines out worldwide. See the latest in the New York Times. If you want to dive deeper, listen to this NPR piece.
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2. Vaccine
This piece in The Atlantic explores why some Americans are refusing to get the COVID vaccine. Read about what vaccine skeptics are thinking.
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3. “Operation Safety Net”
“Tear gas was created during World War I for trench warfare and was banned by the Geneva Protocol of 1925,” said Timothy Monko, a neuroscientist doctoral student at the University of Minnesota Medical School who studied the history of tear gas in American policing. Read this critically important Star Tribune piece on the chemical weapons used on protesters in Brooklyn Center and last summer in Minneapolis.
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4. MPD
As TakeAction leader Joey pointed out, it doesn’t matter what you think about pretext traffic stops: if you live in Minneapolis, you and your city council member have no say in police policy. Read about this viral report that found MPD searches Black drivers at 29 times the rate of white drivers after minor traffic stops.
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5. Abortion
Republicans are intensifying their attacks on reproductive rights. Read about why this has been the worst year for abortion access in a decade.
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6. Languishing
It’s the mental health term for what many of us are feeling (worn down, unfocused, etc.). Listen to this piece with Angela Davis on MPR News.
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7. Science
A super old article about a brain injury that turned a man into a math genius. Check out the piece that blew my mind.
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8. Doughnut Economy
Amsterdam is the first city in the modern world to put climate over economic growth in its indicators of success (!!). Watch this video about the doughnut economy.
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9. Nomadland II
So many responses to the Nomadland clip last week! A reader sent this critique of it as a follow up. Read The Neoliberal Fantasy at the Heart of 'Nomadland'.
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10. Gen Z Slang
It’s not you. Slang is changing faster these days. Enjoy this fun piece in Refinery 21.
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That’s a wrap. Send me what you’re reading, watching, and listening to.
- Kenza Hadj-Moussa
Paid for by TakeAction Minnesota
TakeAction Minnesota
705 Raymond Ave Ste 100
Saint Paul, MN 55114
United States
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