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.
As Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt wrote a couple months ago:
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 A Democrat Could Do with Trump’s Power by Paul Rosenzweig, The Atlantic ($)
A question folks who’ve been looking beyond this presidency have been wondering: “Let’s assume, for the moment, that the Supreme Court acts in good faith — that its views on presidential power are without partisan favor, and that it doesn’t arbitrarily invent carve-outs to rein in a Democratic president. What then?”
Happy Independence Day, NPR by Uri Berliner, The Free Press ($)
In this opinion piece a senior NPR journalist (who resigned last year) argues the federal government’s defunding of NPR is justified on many counts, calling it “a victory for those of any political stripe who believe the government has no business funding the media.” — The Citizen Staff Writer Malcolm Burnley
The Great Crypto Re-Banking Has Begun by Joel Kahlili, Wired
“Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, promising to end the alleged discrimination against crypto firms, a field of US-based fintechs … has competed to furnish crypto firms with bank accounts.”
Could Rahm Emanuel Be Our Next President? Bari Weiss interviews, The Free Press podcast
This episode raises the question if, in a party of weenies, only Emanuel — who once sent a rotting fish to a political rival — has the toughness to take on Trump.
The Conservative Case Against Trump’s Worst Judicial Nominee by Ian Millhiser, VOX ($)
President Trump nominated Emil Bove, one of his former criminal defense lawyers and a current senior Justice Department official, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. But conservative critics are saying Bove — whose nomination could set him up for a Supreme Court seat — represents the Trump’s decision to use the courts to prioritize fealty and cronyism over their legal agenda. — Courtney DuChene, Citizen Writer and Special Projects Manager
Finally, a viral Eagles post about a viral toy that made us LOL
Previous Must-Reads:
Week of July 14:
Three Scenarios that Explain the Epstein Debacle by Ankush Khardori, Politico
“The first scenario would be shameful and inexcusable. The second would be an unprecedented and historic political and legal scandal. The third may be the least nefarious, but what we have seen lately is disturbing for entirely different reasons.”
Grok’s MegaHiltler Disaster is a Preview of AI Disasters to Come by Kelsey Piper, VOX
“The chatbot that just scored a $200m contract with the US Department of Defense called itself “MechaHitler” last week. If that sentence isn’t enough to make your skin crawl, here’s a deep dive on how this kind of AI can veer towards bigotry and why we should all be concerned.” — Citizen Digital Media Marketing and Community Manager Olivia Kram
The Smallest Room in the House by Parker Molloy, The Present Age
This thought piece argues that Democrats who blame losing the White House on other Democrats’ support for trans rights are operating on a false premise. Or: “Trans people have had it with all of you, but especially Rahm Emmanuel.” — Citizen Assistant Editor Christina Griffith
Progressives Against Progress by Ruy Texiera, The Free Press ($)
“Even as American progressivism is having a moment, it has drifted so far from the values that it was founded on as to be unrecognizable. Today’s progressivism is both by and for young, well-off, and well-educated urbanites. But that wasn’t always the case.”
Finally, some thoroughly unsurprising yet awesome Philly news:
The Eagles Win Team of the Year; Barkley Gets Play and NFL Player of the Year at the ESPYs
Coach Nick Sirianni, players Jordan Davis, Jordan Mailatta and Josh Sweat repped the team. Mailatta went onstage two more times, accepting two more trophies for absent Saquon Barkley.
(Notably, at no point in the evening did our tenor-voiced OT attempt a backwards hurdle, even though 4’ 8” Simone Biles was right there.)
Week of July 7
Ten Charts To Explain Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill by The Economist
How does the spending bill passed by Congress last week affect the country’s deficit, household income and other measurable outcomes?
Is Elon Musk the New Ross Perot? by Matthew Continetti, The Free Press ($)
“Third parties in American politics come and go. But why do so many businessmen try to start them? This story suggests why a Musk-led party would even have a hard time matching the legacy of Ross Perot.” — Citizen Staff Writer Malcolm Burnley
The Healthcare Costs of Trump’s Big Bill by Dominique Mosbergen with host Annie Minoff, Wall Street Journal podcast (audio + transcript)
As Minoff says: “Nearly 8.7 million fewer people will be covered by Medicaid over the next decade, because of the bill’s new rules … But even if you’re not one of the one in five Americans who’s on Medicaid, the Big Beautiful Bill may change your healthcare because of its impact on hospitals.”
L.A. Taco: Documenting Raids, Arrests and Resistance in Southern California by Mandalit del Barco, NPR News
How a blog about local tacos became the preeminent source for recording and publishing ICE raids in and beyond Los Angeles.
Red States Consider “Alligator Alcatraz” Spinoffs by Emma Colton, Fox News
As Trump adviser Steven Miller puts it: “We want to go to every Republican state — now, of course, in a sane country, Democrats would do it, too, but they love the illegals and they hate the Americans — we want every governor of a red state, and if you are watching tonight: pick up the phone, call DHS, work with us to build facilities in your state so we can get the illegals out and we can get the criminals out.”
Finally, some (proud?) Philly news:

How a Show About Truly Terrible People Became the Defining American Sitcom by M.H. Miller, New York Times Magazine ($)
As The Times puts it, “Over the last 20 years, television has changed, but the malignant narcissists of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have not.”
Week of June 30
The Words That Made America by Bari Weiss with Akhil Reed Amar, The Free Press (read or audio)
In this beautiful podcast, the first in its series celebrating America at 250, Weiss interviews the author of The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760–1840 about why we can and should still love the idea of the United States. It’s a perfect listen for July 4th.
What’s In, What’s Out in Trump’s Megabill Passed By The Senate by Isaac Saul, Tangle
Saul’s nuanced take on the bill includes this: “Almost by design, this bill contains so much that even describing it all is difficult. Trump has tried to ram through the lion’s share of his agenda in a single reconciliation bill, and the result … is a Frankensteinian monster of sometimes incoherent proposals, many of which seem motivated by culture wars and talking points rather than sound economic policy.”
This Jobs Market Is Starting To Fall Apart by Justin Lahart, The Wall Street Journal ($)
From Lahart: “That might not be so much an indication of a weakening economy, but of a country that can no longer add jobs like it used to. The population of native-born Americans who are working age is barely growing, and the addition of new immigrants into the labor force has now been severely curtailed.”
Some Good News About Political Polarization: It Can Change by Holly Otterbein, Politico
“An interesting, and, dare I say, hopeful, study on political polarization conducted with 200 people in our own backyard.” — Citizen Digital Media Marketing and Community Manager Olivia Kram
A Wave of Victories for Trump by NPR staff
A summary of the Supreme Court decisions over the last couple weeks that have cemented President Trump’s agenda, including on abortion, citizenship rights and LGBTQ books.
Finally, a crash course in crass:
Jeff Bezos’ Big Fat Venetian Wedding Proves One Thing, by Meredith Blake, The Contrarian
Oprah Winfrey? Orlando Bloom? Climate activist Leo DiCaprio, hiding his face? The wedding that ate the world Amazon-style, also wound up on the cover of digital Vogue. Meredith Blake is having none of it.
Week of June 23
This Is Andrew Cuomo’s Nightmare Scenario, by Olivia Reingold, The Free Press
“This is one of the best explainers of this week’s New York City’s mayoral primary — and it was published two weeks before the election day!” — Citizen Co-founder Larry Platt
ChatGPT Is Making It Harder For Young People To Think, by Andrew R. Chow, TIME
“This is a scary study with an obvious conclusion: The more we rely on AI to do the work for us, the less motivated we feel to do the work ourselves. The less motivated we feel, the less we do it and then our brain says, ‘well I guess we don’t need that skill anymore.’ This study should serve as a reminder that AI should be a tool like spellcheck but maybe don’t use it to write your wedding vows.” — Citizen Digital Media and Community Manager Olivia Kram
The Supreme Court Wades Into The Transgender Healthcare Debate, by Saul Isaac, Tangle
“Isaac looks at takes from conservative and liberal media outlets before coming to a conclusion about the Court’s ruling that allowed Tennessee to ban hormone treatments for transgender people under 18. It’s a way to understand a complex and emotionally-difficult issue.” — Citizen Executive Director Roxanne Patel Shepelavy
How Conservatives Are Winning Young Women, by Emma Goldberg, The New York Times ($)
“Much has been made of the rightward shift we saw amongst young men during the 2024 election. But less has been said about the smaller, but meaningful shift amongst young women. This article looks at the influencers driving young women to conservatism and the appeal of RFK Jr. and the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement amongst Gen Z.” — Citizen Special Projects Manager Courtney DuChene
The Republican Plot to Un-Educate America, by Astra Taylor and Eleni Schirmer, The New Republic
From the article: “While it’s mostly gone unremarked upon in the mainstream media, institutions of higher learning across the country are about to be pummeled by the looming reconciliation bill, which may portend an extinction event for higher education as we know it. The bill weaponizes working-class families’ reliance on debt to finance their college dreams with such intensity that not only will it push millions to the financial brink, it will push them out of higher education altogether.”
Finally, a reminder to STOP WORKING all the time:
Why More Workers Are Putting in Extra Hours After the Workday, Your Money Briefing, Wall Street Journal (audio, $)
In case you didn’t already realize this: “A recent study from Microsoft showed that the average worker gets 117 emails and 153 chats per day. The ping after ping, combined with back-to-back meetings and a cooling job market, means that more of your workday is bleeding into the evening.”