Okay, But Why?

Ever since last year’s election, suburban women have had more questions than answers. How are we supposed to deal with the firehose of information that’s coming at us all the time? Can we believe what we read in the news or on social media? And, most important of all, why is all of this happening? That’s why we made “Okay, But Why.” Because these days, good information can be hard to find. And no...

Americans don’t talk about state attorney generals very much. Technically it’s “attorneys general”—like “sisters-in-law” instead of “sister-in-laws”—but don’t get hung up on the wording. It’s what AGs actually do that matters so much. A state attorney general is basically the top legal expert in their state; they’re also known as The People’s Lawyers because they fight for us, their constituents,...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, recently announced that he’d be “revealing” the “cause of autism” this month. It’s true that rates of diagnosis have gone up over the past 20 years — from 1 in 150 kids to 1 in 31 — but autism advocates are worried that Kennedy’s mission will do more harm than good.  In the past, RFK Jr. has spread disinformation about vaccines, in...

When people think of romance novels, the first thing that comes to mind is shirtless Dukes with windswept hair on the covers of mass-market paperbacks. The damsel in distress main character who is waiting for a love interest to come and save her from the clutches of evil. They’re a thing for girls. It isn’t ‘real’ reading, because they are stories typically written by women, for women, and starrin...

In June of 2015, the Supreme Court made history by ruling that Jim Obergefell and other same-sex couples deserve the right to have their marriages legally recognized — not just in a few states, but across the country.  It’s strange to think that only happened ten years ago. Gay couples across the country have only had the right to marry the person they love since the year of Jurassic World and the...

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is everywhere these days. Some people think it’s the solution to all of humanity’s problems and some think it’s going to bring about the end of life as we know it. The truth, as usual, is somewhere in between. But with so many different opinions and so many ways that AI can be used, it’s hard to know exactly what to believe. There’s no denying that AI has enabled so...

Gerrymandering is one of those things that makes people tune out of politics. It doesn’t just sound technical and complicated, it feels so far outside our control. But it’s important to understand because we all deserve to have our votes count. Gerrymandering is basically politicians picking their voters, instead of the other way around. And in Texas, Democratic reps like Ann Johnson are standing...

For nearly a century, the suburbs have been a cornerstone of the American Dream. But for almost as long, some people have criticized the suburbs for being too conformist, too dependent on cars, and to be blunt, too… white.  We know that the suburbs have been diversifying over the past few decades, and today “suburban woman” isn’t just code for “white woman” — no matter how much the media tries to...

The Supreme Court gets to make decisions that affect our most fundamental rights. When it ruled on Roe vs Wade in 1973 and then overturned that ruling in 2022, it determined our ability to access reproductive care. And in 2015, their ruling on Obergefell vs Hodges gave same-sex couples the right to marry the person they love. Just last year, they ruled that Trump has absolute immunity for “officia...

Conspiracy theories might be having a moment, but they’re as old as civilization itself.  In 64 AD, for example, the Great Fire of Rome sparked competing theories over who started the fire and why. And just like many of today’s conspiracy theories, it resulted in suffering and innocent deaths — Emperor Nero accused Christians of lighting the fire, which led to many being crucified or burned alive....

Since January, Americans have had serious concerns about Elon Musk’s DOGE (the “Department of Government Efficiency”) and the privacy of our personal data.  The government used to have careful guardrails in place to protect our information. Only certain people, after careful background checks, were given access. But DOGE was given unprecedented access to all of our data, across departments and age...

Climate change is a lot of things: big, scary, scientifically-accurate. And as we just saw in Texas, it’s not just a matter of principles or talking points. It’s causing tragedies in our own country and around the globe. In the face of such an overwhelming issue, it can be hard to know what we as individuals can do. Of course we can donate to environmental causes and vote for leaders who prioritiz...

This week is the 4th of July, which means we’re celebrating American independence. But what exactly is it that we’re celebrating? What’s so special about American democracy, and how does it work? And with everything going on in politics, should we be celebrating at all? In a word: yes . America was founded on the principles of liberty, justice, and freedom from the tyranny of kings. And those idea...

There’s a lot to be stressed about right now. We’re seeing the dissolution of our democratic norms and ideals before our very eyes. But extremists don’t want us thinking about democracy. They want us thinking about the 5 trans kids who wanted to play soccer this year. Just so far this year, over 900 anti-trans bills are under consideration across the country. The majority apply to kids, particular...

The federal minimum wage right now is $7.25. For someone working full-time, that translates to $15,060 per year, just $20 over the national poverty line. The US minimum wage has been hotly debated since its beginning, so this week, we’re taking a closer look at its history, exactly who is making it, and dispelling some misinformation. In 2023, almost a million hourly workers in the United States m...

Kids today have a lot to worry about. Getting through adolescence was hard enough in generations past, but these days, kids have more anxieties than ever. And who can blame them? There were 83 school shootings in 2024 and gun violence is now the number one cause of death for kids. In 2023, 40% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and that increases to 53...

Few issues polarize this country like abortion. Most Americans believe these intensely personal decisions should be made by families and doctors, not politicians. But even those who call themselves “pro-life” usually believe some exceptions should be made — in the case of rape, when it’s a matter of saving the mother’s life, or when doctors determine the fetus has no chance of survival. But we’ve...

You may have seen headlines recently about extremists going after no-fault divorce. “Yeah, okay, I’ve seen those stories,” your friends might say, “but… why would they do that?” The answer, of course, is simple: it’s about controlling women. Critics of no-fault divorce, like JD Vance, claim that it’s bad for couples and especially bad for kids. But the data just doesn’t bear that out. The really i...

Donald Trump promised to be “tough” on immigration on the campaign trail, vowing to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history.” “Criminals,” he said. So why is ICE detaining children? And why do half of the adults held in ICE detention facilities have no criminal record? In New York, a mom and her three kids—including a third grader—were arrested by ICE and shipped o...

When James Baldwin went on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969, he was asked a very loaded question: why aren’t Black people more optimistic? Jim Crow laws had been outlawed, Black people were becoming mayors and successful businesspeople… so why was he still talking about race? Obviously racism didn’t “end” with the Civil War, or the Civil Rights Act, or Obama’s election. In fact, Donald Trump has spurr...

Last year, extreme weather cost us hundreds of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. So… why is the Trump Administration defunding the Weather Service? The Weather Service is part of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We need NOAA to help us predict storms and warn people when they need to evacuate. The data is used by airports to make sure planes can fly safe...

Right now, most of us are feeling stress and anxiety. On top of everything else in our lives, the political chaos seems too much to bear. A 2024 survey from the American Psychological Association found that over 70% of adults consider the country’s future a significant source of stress — and even though we’re only four months into 2025, if our group chats are any indication, we’re struggling now m...

Social security is an American institution. After decades of working hard, we expect to retire with a well-earned safety net to help us with our monthly expenses.  Trump and Elon Musk claim that Social Security is rife with corruption and fraud. Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan that it’s “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” But whenever unbiased, nonpartisan groups study the numbers, they find ver...

When Trump was running for office last year, he promised to “lower prices on day one.” So… why are eggs still so expensive? And why are other groceries still so expensive too? Sure, bird flu is one factor - but it’s actually having less of an impact than you’ve been told. A lot of other factors are at play too, from tariffs to corporate profits to immigration policies that target our agricultural...

With breaking news and shocking headlines still happening on a weekly basis, sometimes it's hard to believe that  the current war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three years. You may have heard a neighbor or family member asking… why should the United States be involved at all? With so many problems here at home, why should we care about a war on the other side of the world? Well,...