How money actually works in American elections
Speaking of election season, this time around, a large topic of discussion has been how much — and how — candidates are raising money. The uniting message for a new crop of progressives running (and winning) in a number of races has been not accepting corporate PAC money. And yet, this midterm cycle is projected to be the most expensive election cycle in US history — even with a huge spending disparity between progressive candidates and more moderate and conservative ones.
We’ve seen historic primary wins by candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Melat Kiros in Colorado, who both ran with a major financial disadvantage to their opponents. Rachel Cohen Booth talks with professor Danielle M. Thomsen, who teaches political science at UC Irvine, about the role money does play in the outcomes of today’s elections.
Who gets to freeze their eggs?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s livestreaming of her egg-freezing journey stirred up a reflection on all the conversations I’ve had with my friends about the topic. More and more of them are considering this route to possible parenthood, allowing them to have more control over their life paths. But just as AOC says in her livestream, for most women in America, that freedom comes at a great financial cost, with a price tag of upward of $10,000 out of pocket. It’s a serious financial investment that women are confronted with, that unfortunately yields uncertain outcomes. In his Good Medicine newsletter, Dylan Scott digs into the realities of egg freezing in America, where access and information are still limited to those who can afford it.
🎧 Vacation? In this economy?
When people are struggling to pay their ever-increasing bills, the idea of planning a vacation can feel almost impossible. But, as my colleague JQ Hill finds out in this episode of Explain It to Me, it’s not just the cost that’s keeping people from traveling right now. Fears over foreigners’ perception of Americans, ICE agents infiltrating airports, and high fuel prices from the ongoing war, has travelers more apprehensive to plan grand trips. As vacationing becomes more of a luxury for most, JQ finds out what people are doing to create their own unconventional versions of vacation.
How to rebuild your broken attention span
I know I’m not alone in noticing a declining trend in my ability to focus on one task. Even while I was writing this newsletter, I checked my email, started a conversation in Slack, looked at the next week on my calendar, and bopped around my many open tabs. This constant state of distraction feels almost second nature to me by now. But what do we lose by constantly multitasking? And is it possible to stop? Adam Clark Estes talks to experts about the makeup of our attention span and how to increase it.
