Everyone is a storyteller. Every day, we relate different stories to different audiences with different objectives. How we frame the story, the voice we use, and what details we include all contribute greatly to how audiences respond. Commiserating with a neighbor about our street flooding due to a leaf-blocked storm drain, for example, or calling Comcast about an internet connection that drops randomly, both involve telling our stories in search of a particular outcome.

I grew up in northeast Wisconsin, about 40 miles outside of Green Bay. So, naturally, I’m a Packers fan.

You might say Packers fandom is part of my DNA. So, in a way, anti-vaxxers are right. The vaccine—or at least one gormless Green Bay goober’s decision to reject it—has changed my DNA, and not in a cool X-Men way or anything.

How the hell did Republican Louie Gohmert of Texas ever become a member of the House of Representatives? Did he collect the most Froot Loops box tops in his district? Did our reptilian alien overlords take a sudden liking to him halfway through eating his brain? Did he run against a seagull crapping in a bag of Ruffles? 

I really want to know, because something here just isn’t right.

by Juliana Clark

This story was originally published at Prism.

From an early age, Joel Velasquez knew that Texas A&M University was his dream school, drawn by the university’s sizable student population, traditions, and leadership opportunities.

Around 2,000 health care workers at South Buffalo Mercy Hospital have been on strike since Oct. 1. Now, they have a tentative agreement and picket lines are suspended while the workers vote whether to ratify the contract.

It is Friday. It has been another week filled with names like Manchin and Sinema, along with words like “conservative” and “blame.” But we are on the precipice of having our government accomplishing something! It has been a tough week for progressives and the centrist discourse that the traditional media promotes, and has always promoted, is once again searching for surface-level answers to poorly thought out questions about our country’s deepest concerns.

When will people learn that families come in all different colors? Well, someone needs to start by teaching Southwest Airlines employees before a major misstep evolves into a major lawsuit. 

The most recent gaffe by the airline took place a month ago when Mary MacCarthy, who is white, boarded a plane in San Jose, California, with her 10-year-old biracial daughter Moira MacCarthy to attend a funeral.

After weeks of striking and 15 days without food, New York City’s taxi drivers were served a crucial victory as Mayor Bill de Blasio finally agreed to a debt restructuring plan building off an initial program that already eliminated $21.4 million of debt for individual drivers who took out loans to secure their medallions.

When detained immigrants are able to access legal help and gain representation, they are up to 10 times more likely to be able to stay in the U.S., the Vera Institute of Justice said earlier this year. “Lawyers make a big difference.” Maybe that’s one reason why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have consistently set up roadblocks that make just trying to get a lawyer on the phone outright impossible.