Week 2: Two Truths and a Fiction
News is overwhelming,... Let's try something new! This week we talk measles, Germany and Angelfall!
Top Domestic News Headline this Week:
West Texas child reported as first measles death in state's largest outbreak in 30 years. Houston Chronicle.
What?
You can read the headline for yourself: for the first time in since 2015, a child died from a disease that hasn’t been killing children because we have a cure for it. It is a preventable disease.
Why do we care?
As a mother, this one hit me hard. The disinformation about medicine and vaccines has led to the death of a child. We know kids can’t make their own vaccination choices. And I’m left wondering, where is the accountability? The impact of online conspiracies is literally killing our children, and we’re still having a hard time agreeing on what is true. This really drives home the casualties of disinformation—especially for the weakest among us.
Top International News headline this week:
Big challenges loom for Germany's Merz in divided country. BBC.
What?
This week, Germans turned out in record numbers to save their democracy. Though JD Vance gave his endorsement to the far-right, they gained a lot of ground but did not win.
Why do we care?
I read a few articles about Germany’s far-right party trying to tell people they weren’t racist or Nazis. I’m not going to say if it’s true or not, but when you have to put out a statement like that, there’s smoke—if you know what I mean. A lot of headlines focused on how much ground the far right gained, but I was more relieved to see a country where the citizens are so passionate about their democracy.
The Fiction Fix
While tackling the painstaking task of editing my audiobook (make sure you preorder The Herd if you haven’t done so already. Thank you to those who have!), I decided to revisit the very first audiobook series I ever listened to that made me fall in love with audiobooks in the first place: Angelfall. (I know, I also didn’t expect that from myself.)
Angelfall is a fantasy romance set in a post-apocalyptic world, and it has angels, demons, and a kick-ass heroine. It’s more on the YA side, which I don’t usually prefer, but it was a fun read (and listen). The author is a Korean-American woman, if you care about diversity. The book is currently at 4.1 on Goodreads—I’d give it a 4.2, personally. Honestly, I’m usually not into fantasy with aliens, demons, or non-real beings, but I enjoyed this one. It’s a trilogy, so you can immerse yourself. And these days, we could all use a distraction.
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