Remember learning about the hole in the ozone layer back when we were in school? And that to fix it, we had to stop using aerosol hairspray? We also learned the importance of recycling to preserve natural resources. And none of us will ever forget to cut through...
Rebecca
Okay, But Why Do Billionaires Have Our Data?
Americans are worried about the privacy of our personal information. We check our settings on social media and monitor our credit cards to protect our identity. But as more billionaires are given powerful roles and expensive contracts with the government, they’re accessing and sharing our information across agencies, raising new privacy concerns we should all be aware of.
Why do billionaires have so much of our data? And why isn’t the government protecting us?
Watch This: The Climate Crisis Is a Health Crisis
We’re not doomed yet, but we’ve wasted a lot of time. That’s one of the takeaways we learned from meteorologist and climate change communicator, Chris Edwards, when he joined us recently for our virtual event, Climate Change 101: What You Need to Know. Chris talked...
Okay, But Why Does Your Garden Matter?
Summers past were filled with the sounds of buzzing bees and fluttering monarch butterflies, but it feels like we just don’t hear them anymore. It’s not your imagination – these essential pollinators are disappearing. Climate change and pesticides are killing off the creatures responsible for one in three bites of food we take, but there is an important action we can take to reverse this trend. It starts in our own backyard! We’re answering the question, Okay, but why does your garden matter?
Okay, But Why Are So Many People Talking about Trans Kids?
Transgender people, and especially transgender kids, have been in the news a lot lately. And a lot of that is because politicians have been super focused on them. In 2024, over 700 anti-trans bills were proposed – everything from regulating bathrooms and sports to laws prohibiting gender-affirming healthcare. And so far this year, over 900 anti-trans bills are under consideration across the country. The majority apply to kids, particularly in school, like laws that keep trans kids from playing sports. So why is this such a hot topic these days?
Read This: The Climate Crisis Is a Health Crisis
Thank you to our guest author this week, Dr. Alice Chen! Learn more about Dr. Chen below and follow her on Bluesky here. When I was a kid, summers meant riding our bikes around the neighborhood, lazing around outside watching clouds and ladybugs, and generally...
Okay, But Why Is Minimum Wage So Low?
The federal minimum wage has been hotly debated since it began. Right now, in twenty states, even if someone is working full-time on minimum wage, they make just $20 over the poverty line. And in Georgia and Wyoming, the state minimum wage is actually less than that. It’s nearly impossible to make a living on that, let alone climb out of poverty and build any sort of wealth. It’s hard to imagine how this is a good thing, so why is our minimum wage so low?
Do This: Celebrate the Fourth of July with Red Wine & Blue
It’s a long holiday weekend, which means many of us have even less free time than usual. So our Easy A is simple this week — invite your friends and family to join you in the Red Wine & Blue community! As we celebrate America’s 249th birthday, we’re all worried...
Okay, But Why Are Kids Struggling With Their Mental Health?
Kids today have a lot to worry about. We all remember how hard adolescence was for us when we were growing up. We struggled with doing well in school, making friends, fitting in, and figuring out who we are. And today, kids are still struggling with those same things, plus things we never had to deal with, like gun violence, climate change, and making it through a global pandemic. We want to help, but it’s hard to know where to start, so we’re here to explore the root causes of their struggle and what we can do about it.
Okay, But Why Don’t Abortion Law Exceptions Work?
In states with strict abortion bans, the laws attempt to define specific cases where medical professionals can make exceptions. These are typically for situations involving rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at stake. However, too many real cases fall into legal and medical grey areas, leading to trauma, permanent physical harm, and in some cases, even death. What do we do when the law doesn’t reflect the reality of what many women, and even children, are experiencing?
Recent Posts
Okay, But Why is Gerrymandering Legal?
Lawmakers in Texas made headlines for leaving their state to protest the unfair re-drawing of district maps, known as gerrymandering. Almost all Americans, regardless of political party, are against gerrymandering. But over the past few decades, it’s gotten worse and worse.
So… what exactly is gerrymandering? Why is it legal? And how do we get back to a fair system where all of our votes matter equally?
Okay, But Why Were The Suburbs Shaped By Racism?
We know that the suburbs have been diversifying over the past few decades, and today “suburban woman” is no longer code for “white woman” – no matter how much the media tries to simplify us. But there’s no denying that the suburbs have excluded families who aren’t white for most of their history, and if we’re not careful, they will again in the future. So why – and how – did the suburbs end up so white for so long? What happened to make them more diverse, and why are some people worried that we’re reversing that progress?
Do This: Start Talking About Racism
Anti-racism is not just a state of mind, it’s an active way of living our day-to-day lives. It’s the intentional practice of taking ongoing steps to confront racism in an effort to end it. Sometimes that might mean calling out overt examples of racism when we see...
Watch This: What Can We Do About Racism?
As we take on the work of anti-racism, we’ll probably run into friends and family who have varying degrees of understanding about it. Some may have their own deeply personal experiences with racism. Their stories are important and can teach us valuable lessons. But...
Read This: Anti-Racism, It’s More Than Any Of Us Think
None of us want to think of ourselves as racist, and it’s true that we don’t intend to be. But saying (and believing) that we’re “not racist” is not enough to tackle the very real problem of racism in America. We need to be anti-racist. But what exactly does that...