Dear John,

I hope you’re doing well! With a few weeks left until Election Day, it has been incredibly busy over here. It feels like a lifetime ago that Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp all went down, but that was just Monday. The New Yorker piece on the Facebook whistleblower is excellent. Be sure to read it.

I hope you’re getting a chance to enjoy the season. My home has been full of apple cakes, apple butter, and squirrels trying to eat snacks off the porch. Send me what you’re reading. As always, I love hearing from you.

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:

1. Minneapolis

Here are some top pieces we’re reading this week from Minneapolis:

• Once again, MPD’s violence and misconduct, including new body cam footage of officers ‘hunting’ civilians, made national news. See the story on CNN. Read this piece in the MN Reformer.
• Rooted in geography and demographics, this Star Tribune op-ed explains why the mayoral control amendment mainly benefits white, affluent residents in a handful of wards. Read it in the Star Tribune.
• This is an incredibly powerful piece by City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison in the Star Tribune called No One is Supporting Less Safety. Read and share.

2. Water Protector Letter

Read and share this letter from a jailed Line 3 Water Protector. Follow up: read how oil companies pay police to target pipeline protesters.

3. Benton Harbor

In Benton Harbor, Michigan, the water is more poisonous than Flint. Read about who’s getting clean water – and who isn’t – in The Guardian.

4. Duluth

Read why more climate migrants are moving to Duluth.

5. NYC

So many people shared this piece about the forgotten 1992 New York City riot during which “thousands of furious, drunken cops descended on City Hall and changed New York history.” Learn about the riot here.

6. Facebook Whistleblower

Frances Haugen, the data scientist and Facebook whistleblower, did not mince words when she testified in Congress this week about Facebook knowing it puts profit over the public good. I highly recommend this piece in the New Yorker.

7. Rent Strike

Brooklyn renters are on strike. Patricia Edwards, an essential worker and mother working four jobs, is among the renters on strike. Read Patricia’s story and watch her powerful interview in Essence.

8. Child Care

I’ve been going to a lot of Zoom baby showers this fall, and there are always lots of conversations about the cost of childcare. A couple pieces caught my eye this week on making the Child Tax Credit permanent and from the New York Times, how other countries pay for childcare.

9. Pandora Papers

Leaked records released around the world last weekend document how the world’s top leaders and wealthiest people hide and hoard their wealth in offshore tax havens, often legally. Learn what we can do about it by reading this piece in The Intercept.

10. #BansOffOurBodies

Tens of thousands of women across the country took to the streets last weekend for the 5^th Women’s March. See the mobilization for reproductive rights in photos.

That’s a wrap. Send me what you’re reading!

- Kenza Hadj-Moussa