real(ly hard) solutions for immigration and climate change
#5SmartReads - February 26, 2025
#5SmartReads is a Webby-honored weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.
In an Age of Right-Wing Populism, Why Are Denmark’s Liberals Winning? (New York Times)
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Immigration is an incredibly sensitive issue that elicits a powerful response, regardless of one’s position on the issue.
It’s also an issue that the American government continues to punt down the road, slapping woefully ineffective Band-Aids on a system that’s been broken for decades.
It’s an issue I hesitate to share much about, given how polarizing it is. It’s one that’s been core to my American identity, as the daughter of Indian immigrants and the cousin to many who have emigrated here in the decades since.
Immigration is as American as it gets - AND we need major reform to bring the system to date.
One of the major drivers of Denmark’s Social Democrats progressive wins is their conservative, strict approach to immigration (and a humane one, compared to what’s currently happening in the United States). Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is clear and steadfast in her reason for this position:
“Leftist politics depend on collective solutions in which voters feel part of a shared community or nation, she explained. Otherwise, they will not accept the high taxes that pay for a strong welfare state. “Being a traditional Social Democratic thinker means you cannot allow everyone who wants to join your society to come,” Frederiksen says. Otherwise, “it’s impossible to have a sustainable society, especially if you are a welfare society, as we are.””
The United States is not Denmark, given how the American experience is one built and forged by immigrants (and with its fair share of dark history). But Frederiksen makes a key point that I believe our country’s Democrats are ignoring or undermining:
“High levels of immigration can undermine this cohesion, she says, while imposing burdens on the working class that more affluent voters largely escape, such as strained benefit programs, crowded schools and increased competition for housing and blue-collar jobs. Working-class families know this from experience. Affluent leftists pretend otherwise and then lecture less privileged voters about their supposed intolerance.”
This article is a lengthy one (and a hard one to read), but it brings a reasoned, impeccably researched perspective rooted in fact and nuance - two things missing from the increasingly noisy debate over immigration. If you only read one article, please make it this one.
We Have Ambition All Wrong, and It's Making Us Sick. Amina AlTai Shows Us How to Break the Cycle (Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper)
Ambition is both my greatest strength and weakness. And it’s a mindf*%k.
For most of my life, my ambition was directed towards the typical goals (getting the job, closing the deal, writing the books, hitting a certain revenue number or deal size). Accomplishing one of those goals never felt like a true win, though. I’d sip a glass of celebratory champagne, and get back to work towards a new goal.
This relationship with ambition nearly broke me last spring, when I burned out spectacularly and needed to step away from my newsletters, social media, and even a number of relationships as I untangled my relationship with my self worth with net worth, and started to ask myself what I actually wanted.
I’m frankly still figuring it out - and reading
’s excerpt from her forthcoming book, The Ambition Trap, left me feeling less alone. I’d spent most of my life rooted in painful ambition, and seeking success for the external validation (and not my inner contentment).It goes without saying that I cannot wait to read Amina’s book as I continue to work at this. For now, I’ll be acknowledging my core wounds instead of hiding them away, and letting myself heal from them.
#5SmartReads is all about helping you feel smarter this week.
If you want to feel better but feel overwhelmed on what to do, check out this month’s plan (mindfulness practices, workouts, meals, and more):
What Really Happens to Your Used Clothing (Teen Vogue)
I promise you that you don’t need that thing - that cute dress you saw a creator wear, the ‘these are the best!’ socks, or those shoes you’ll wear for once and promptly forget about.
When I say you, I mean me. After living in the same 6 outfits for most of the summer (and again during our travels last and this year), I’m finding a lot of joy in being an unapologetic outfit repeater in the clothes that make me feel good, and renting trendy or occasion pieces to round out my wardrobe (hello, SXSW wardrobe).
Tracing where our old clothing goes has been a major reason why I’m shopping less. There’s a lot about climate change that is out of our control. But what we buy and how we buy and dispose of our goods is firmly within ours. Fast fashion production, textile waste, and increased plastic production and waste are a major contributor to climate change, and one we have greater power over than major industrial drivers.
Seeing how our discarded clothes has transformed Ghana into a dystopian, capitalistic wasteland is horrifying.
“It’s why the term “waste colonialism” is often used to describe the unequal dynamics of wealthy countries getting rid of waste through exploiting certain financial needs in smaller countries, like Ghana. The agreement that allows for this situation in Ghana and other African nations was meant to encourage duty-free trade between the region and the US, but without guardrails to ensure that textile waste is being shipped to Ghana in a usable condition, it has created a disaster.”
The solution is really simple - just buy less. When you do buy new things, be mindful about them (or borrow from a friend, or rent). If you are getting rid of old clothing, Retold Recycling is a transparent clothing recycling company to send your items to.
The best thing any of us can do is to simply buy less. That’s it.
In Pursuit of Wonder, Ada Limón Goes to Outer Space (ELLE)
Poetry has been the one genre of literature that I’ve struggled to ‘get’ - I overthink it, or miss the meaning, or wish I could connect with it.
Basically, I’m a try hard when it comes to poetry. For many years, I just avoided the genre and instead read acclaimed literary fiction that everyone else claimed to be reading.
And then I discovered romance novels, and re-evaluated every single narrative I had told myself about what I actually enjoyed reading.
I let myself find my way back to poetry and more lyrical prose, but I find space to be the inspiration or subject of my favorite works. I got lost in the stunning, almost musical writing of Orbital. When I first read Ada Limón’s “In Praise of Mystery”, I simply sat with the words, repeated them to myself, and sat with them again.
I’ve learned to stop trying to ‘get’ poetry, and to simply sit with the words, the pauses, and the intonations and appreciate them.
This poem is both inspired by space (commissioned by NASA) and intended for the vast beyond, as it was engraved on the outside of the Europa Clipper to study that moon. You may think that an interview about a specific work may ruin the mystery of a poem, but this one deepened my connection to this piece and to Limón.
Inflation, looming trade war take a toll as confidence of the U.S. consumer tumbles (Associated Press)
Consumer sentiment drives behavior. If current sentiment and recent behavior holds, then we have a rough path ahead. Here are some of the numbers:
retail sales took a steep drop after a solid holiday season (the biggest decline in a year)
inflation remains stubbornly sticky, and interest rates are expected to remain at the current rate instead of being cut
tariffs are about to go into effect in March, which will drive up prices (and likely continue a decline in retail sales)
the labor market is under pressure with significant layoffs and hiring freezes (along with the rollback of many flexible work arrangements).
Gird your loins - it’s going to get worse before it eases up, and it may be a while before things ease up.
Thank you for sharing the NYT article on immigration.
This is one of my favorite 5 Smart Reads yet! Thank you!