Between social media, 24 hour news, and everything, the amount of information can be incredibly overwhelming. Every week I’ll share some posts and articles that cut through the noise, provide valuable information, diverse perspectives and thoughtful insight on current events. Here are some of the best things I read this week.

Things worth reading this weekend

How I’m Talking to My Kids About the Derek Chauvin Verdict by Esau McCaulley about walking the fine line between truth and hope.

“The United States demands too much wisdom from Black parents. We must walk that fine line between telling the truth about how cruel America can be toward Black bodies and souls and the hope that our children can be their free Black selves.”

Professor Heather Cox Richardson publishes daily news recaps with fantastic historical context. Thursday’s recap synthesizes “three stories in the news about the mechanics of government that add up to a much larger story about American democracy..”

Memo to the Media and Moderates: the GOP You Love is Gone from Dan Pfeiffer’s Message Box. I subscribe to Pfeiffer’s Substack and it is always really smart.

“When it comes to Republicans, Mitt Romney, Susan Collins… are the exceptions. Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Tucker Carlson are the rule. Even with Trump exiled into ignominy, this trend is going to get worse, not better. And the sooner everyone comes to term with that fact, the sooner we can go about the business of saving the country from the political arsonists that call the shots in the GOP.”

Abolish the Police from Design Mom. Gabrielle Blair’s twitter threads are epic, and thankfully she also puts them in blog form.

“I’m not radicalized because I want to abolish police. I thought it was radical when I first learned about it, but I was wrong. It’s not radical at all. Abolishing the police is the normal, common sense, middle-of-the-road position. Do even a small amount of reading about the history of policing, the purpose of policing, the current state of policing, and the fact that the Supreme Court has made clear that police have ZERO legal duty to protect citizens, and the only logical conclusion is abolition. If you do the reading and come to any other conclusion, the radical position is yours.”

This is an encouraging and inspiring Twitter thread on everything that’s changed in the 8 years since Sandy Hook from Shannon Watts.

The Cycle of Action from Danielle Coke is a great reminder about why it’s important to #keepgoing.

Guns Should Be Safe, Legal and Rare written by a Republican who has changed his opinion on guns over the past decade. Tim MIller in the Bulwark.

The Impact of Firearm Legislation on Firearm Deaths, 1991 – 2017 from the Journal of Public Health.

“Even after accounting for several key covariates… we found that firearm laws significantly predicted state firearm suicide and homicide rates. States with greater numbers of laws had reduced suicide and homicide rates compared with those with fewer laws. The present findings point to the role of firearm legislation in curbing rates of gun violence across the USA.”

Books I’m Reading

• Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover is a quick and captivating read. I devoured it in a day. It somehow manages to be both a totally depressing and uplifting love story.
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. I’m listening to this audiobook on my walks. It’s a slow pace but I’m curious to hear the story continue to unfold.

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Do you have a recommendation to include in next week’s Weekend Reading? Comment or email me.