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...
Rebecca
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?
Okay, But Why Is No-Fault Divorce at Risk?
Back in 2021, JD Vance (now the Vice President of the United States) complained about no-fault divorce, saying it was “making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear.”He even implied that women should stay in violent marriages.
Since then, more politicians like Vance have criticized no-fault divorce and have even suggested banning it altogether. If this sounds extreme to you, it’s because it is. So, what exactly is no-fault divorce, and why are they targeting it?
Do This: Show Up for the Trans Community
This year alone, legislators have considered more than 900 bills in 49 states which target the rights of transgender people. These bills try to tell trans kids and adults which bathrooms to use, take away their healthcare, keep them from playing sports, and keep...
Recent Posts
Read This: Five Reasons Why We “Go Local”
Lately, you may have seen Red Wine & Blue say, “When they go low, we go local!” What do we mean by that? Almost a decade ago, Michelle Obama made famous the phrase, “When they go low, we go high.” This was the Obama family motto for responding to cruel, hateful...
Okay, But Why is Gay Marriage at Risk?
The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, but recent events have people wondering, is gay marriage at risk? The laws of the United States are supposed to protect and lift up all of us. For hundreds of thousands of gay couples across America, the right to get married isn’t abstract – it affects their daily lives, their finances, their health, and their family. Why would we turn back the clock on the social progress we’ve made? And why is banning gay marriage a priority for some people when there are so many real issues affecting Americans?
Okay, But Why is AI a concern?
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is everywhere these days. Some people think it’s the solution to all of humanity’s problems. Others 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. So let’s look at the facts and figure out, why is AI a concern?
Okay, But Why Are Romance Novels Political?
When people think of romance novels, the first thing that comes to mind is shirtless men with windswept hair on the covers of mass-market paperbacks, or maybe 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 often not thought of as ‘real’ reading, because they are stories typically written by women, for women, and starring women. But what if the truth is that even the most “raunchy” novels of the genre are deeply political?
Okay, But Why Is Autism in the Headlines?
Millions of Americans are pushing back against claims made by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and President Donald Trump about finding the cause of autism and their promises to find treatments for the disorder. Trump has called the rise in diagnoses of autism “a tremendous horror show.” Many autism advocates – and people with autism themselves – say Kennedy’s and Trump’s statements are misinformed and even dangerous. So what’s the truth? Are autism rates rising? Do we know why? Is it even something that needs to be “cured”?