Must-Reads and Some Thoughts on a Strange New Year

Must-Reads

From India’s Free Library Movement to New Orleans' decaying water infrastructure, here are some of the most important articles I’ve read this week.

• Disability Advocate Alice Wong on Resistance in the New Year: ‘Life is a Dumpster Fire, but I’m Not Alone’ by Maanvi Singh. “‘I wanted to make sure that my narrative isn’t solely one of struggle but one of abundance, love and pleasure. The lived disabled experience is complex and nuanced and I hope readers come away with an understanding that we are so much more than our pain and hardships’ [said Alice Wong].”
• Gaza’s Population Has Plunged at Least 6 Percent in 15 Months of Genocide by Sharon Zhang. “The decline in population, amounting to nearly a full percentage decrease once every 10 weeks on average, is a horrific show of Israel’s genocidal brutality — which has also encompassed the destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, economy and prospects for the future.”
• India’s Free Library Movement Counters Caste Discrimination and Authoritarianism by Emily Drabinski. “FLN libraries must be explicitly anti-caste and gender-inclusive, and programs must reflect this priority.”
• Between Lessons on Solidarity and Fascism, “Wicked” Is a Movie for These Times by Samantha Borek. “Now, seeing ourselves, and our current struggles, reflected back to us in stories is critical as those of us on the left consider how to become a formidable force in the Trump era.”
• Louisiana’s Governor-Elect Wants To Withhold Funds For New Orleans’ Decaying Water Infrastructure Until Women Who Seek Abortions Are Prosecuted by Gabrielle A. Perry. “Despite a race against time to keep saltwater from encroaching from the Gulf of Mexico, there has been no concerted efforts by the state to improve its most populated city’s water infrastructure.”
• Russia Warns of Severe Environmental Damage from Black Sea Oil Spill (Guardian Staff). “Thousands of volunteers have been mobilised for clean-up operations that have been criticised as insufficient by some Russian scientists.”
• ‘Baby in a dumpster.’ A spate of abandoned newborns unsettles Texas by Molly Hennessy-Fiske. “For all the angst every time a newborn is found, Republican leaders who control state government have long declined to fund an awareness campaign so that new mothers know where to turn should they decide that they cannot keep their baby.”
• Surgeon General Calls for Alcohol to Carry Cancer Warning by Fenit Nirappil and Vivian Ho. “Alcohol can trigger cancer by disrupting metabolism and damaging DNA, researchers have found, including when it alters breast tissue by increasing estrogen. Alcohol can also alter cells in the mouth and throat, making it easier to absorb carcinogens such as tobacco smoke.”

Shout Out: A Successful Fundraiser for Abortion Care

Last week, I wrote about Mariame Kaba’s end-of-the-year fundraiser for abortion funds. Between December 16 and January 1, over 1,500 donors contributed more than $125,000 to abortion funds. Some of us promoted the fundraiser on New Year's Eve by sharing NYE playlists on Bluesky using the hashtag #SkyFundathon.

You can find my playlist here. The list is a mashup of new songs I fell in love with in 2024 and old favorites that got me through the year. 

It was a joy to check out people’s musical offerings while participating in this act of collective care. I want to thank everyone who participated and give a special shout-out to Mariame for bringing us together in this effort. It was a lovely way to end the year.

(If you haven’t joined us on Bluesky yet, I have two starter packs that can help you curate a feed there.)

ICYMI

In my most recent piece, I thought alongside my friends Mariame Kaba, Dean Spade, Shane Burley and Eman Abdelhadi about how activists and organizers should approach their work in the new year. I have been so heartened by the reception this piece has received. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll check it out.

Strange Days

It’s only been a few days, and yet, 2025 is already a strange and ominous year. For many of us, the reascension of Donald Trump has made it impossible to disassociate the year 2025 from the right-wing policy blueprint Project 2025. When the year itself feels representative of attacks on reproductive rights, queer and trans people, free expression, the natural world, and so much more, a sense of trepidation seems apt. As the new year began, 15 people were killed in New Orleans when a man drove a truck into a crowd of revelers. Hours later, news spread about a bizarre suicide bombing in Las Vegas, where a Trump supporter reportedly shot himself in the head and blew up a Cybertruck outside a Trump Hotel. 

Notably, Trump used the tragedy in New Orleans as an opportunity to stoke unfounded fears about undocumented people committing crimes, despite the fact that the perpetrator was a US citizen. 

Meanwhile, Meta rolled out and then rolled back an escalation in its effort to integrate AI characters into the social experience of its platforms.

Israel rang in the new year by committing massacres in Gaza, killing at least 71 people, with the heaviest attacks unfolding in the so-called humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi.

Russia is now downplaying the severity of an oil spill in the Black Sea, while scientists decry ongoing cleanup efforts as woefully insufficient.

As I consume waves of disturbing news–some of it bizarre, some of it predictable–I find myself thinking about what it will look like to make light in these times. While the chaotic political forces of our time produce mass violence, how can we create life-giving moments and projects? As tech leaders pollute our information and communication infrastructure with bots, misinformation, and unreality, how can we foster genuine human connection and encourage critical thinking? When the Trump administration doubles down on US support for the genocide in Gaza, how can we defend Palestinian life? As the natural world is battered by the violence of capitalism, extraction and militarism, how can we defend it, and create spaces where life is precious? To ask these questions defies my sense of dread about the year we have entered. To ask these questions affirms the possibility of living otherwise, in spite of dominant forces and dominant narratives. 

Just as wearing a KN95 mask to protect myself and others from COVID-19 is now a countercultural act, refusing to submit to a cycle of dread, injury and angst is likewise countercultural. Creating space for hope and human potential, fostering empathy and connection, and strengthening our ability to resist the onslaughts we face interrupts the cycle. 

Claiming time and space for justice, for life, for empathy, and for joy in bleak times is defiant work. It requires imagination and initiative. If we want to do more than live in the shadow of destructive forces, we must make light. We must build and support projects that bring our values to life in the world. This is my intention for 2025, to live in defiance of what would destroy us, and to enliven my values and strengthen my relationships, so that together, we can live and love beautifully and rebelliously, no matter what evils we may face.

Does that sound like a New Year’s resolution? I suppose it is one. While it may not be that different from what I was resolved to do last year, the world keeps changing, and so the work of maintaining my values and intentions requires fresh efforts. What are your commitments in this moment? Whether you are doubling down on existing values and intentions, or making entirely new declarations about who you’ll be and what you’ll do this year, I wish you success. I also hope you will seek the support and comradeship you will need to make your hopes material. 

The fights ahead demand a great deal of creativity and courage, and we will not muster what’s required alone. Courage and creativity are best cultivated in collectivity. 

You will no doubt face a great deal of skepticism, as you try to make some light on this dark terrain. Some of that skepticism is wholly understandable. People are discouraged. They are often surrounded by horrors–either in-person, or on the digital landscape that informs their reality. When we can, we should try to offer some light to those people. Share examples of how people are caring for and supporting each other in these times. Remind people that amid all of the terrible things that are happening, there are people working to reduce suffering and to free themselves and others from oppressive conditions. Invite the disheartened people in your life into spaces where people are working in collectivity to do good. Remember that purpose can preempt despair, and that purpose can be shared.

Some of the skepticism you encounter will be less reasonable. Some people aren’t just hurting, but are also harsh. They not only don’t have hope, but resent yours.

Every year, I get a little annoyed as people bash the concept of New Year’s resolutions. We all know that personal efforts to make change often fail. However, no change ever happens without an attempt. I “quit smoking” at least half a dozen times before I permanently kicked the habit, more than a decade ago. Cynicism is a deadly thing. It assumes failure and futility, and discourages us from ever trying to begin what must be done. It lets us off the hook and leaves us to wallow in our discontent. I would rather try diligently, and fail frequently, than surrender to misery and a self-fulfilling sense of inevitability. This is true whether we are talking about my personal habits or my larger hopes for humanity.

I would rather cultivate possibility and inhabit my hopes for what could and should be than allow my life to be defined by monsters.

Taking a Break

In thinking about what I need, in order to show up well for the fights ahead, I have decided to take a couple of weeks off. That means this space will be quiet for a bit. Next week, I will be devoting some time to a book project that some friends and I are working on (more on that soon). The following week, I will be taking a week off to celebrate my birthday. I will turn 44 on January 15. I am someone who never expected to reach middle age, for various reasons, so birthdays are quite special to me. I will be spending time with my partner and with my friends that week, and readying myself for a lot of struggle. If you’re someone who will miss this newsletter while I’m away, I deeply appreciate your patience and understanding. When I return, I will be scheduling one of my periodic Zoom chats with my paid subscribers. I look forward to discussing how people are approaching the new challenges we face. 

For now, I hope you are looking after your heart and your health, as you step into this new year. I hope you’re caring for yourself, and also caring for others. I hope you’re mindful of what nourishes you and that you’re getting enough of it. Above all, I hope you remember that we are all worth fighting for, always.

Much love,

Kelly

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