These first five weeks of 2025 have already made an overwhelming year for many of us, so for our Friday water-cooler post, we thought we’d share a small slice of media we’ve been enjoying recently. What’s been your favorite article or TV show or podcast recently? It doesn’t have to be political, either—let us know in the comments.

Also, some of our friends have been rallying everyday people, especially in rural areas, to protest the shutdown of USAID, and we wanted to get y’all in on the action. USAID isn’t just a humanitarian effort that benefits people in other countries, it’s a huge investor in agriculture and rural industry right here at home. Here’s a whole set of graphics for each state on what role USAID’s contracts play there—download your state’s graphic, share it on your social media, tag your senators, and use the hashtag #USAIDRural if you can. We’re also hearing that calls to Senators, especially from Texas, Iowa, Kansas and the Dakotas, are working. Here’s a script you can use when you call.

While we’re aware of the controversies that USAID has dealt with, and we don’t love that BigAg is getting some of these federal subsidies to do their literal dirty work, the immediate effects of dismantling USAID hurts small towns and rural areas that rely on these jobs for their survival. Please give your reps a call if you can!

Now, onto our recommendations…