the brilliance of Luca, doing nothing, and Ilona Maher

#5SmartReads - January 28, 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.

What to know about executive orders as Trump prepares to take office (The 19th*)

The 47th president wasted no time on his first day in office, signing a flurry of executive orders shortly after he was sworn in.

Some of those executive orders appeared to have immediate, heartbreaking consequences. He rescinded 78 Biden executive actions and issued pardons for January 6th defendants. Lawsuits from multiple states have already been filed on the executive order to end birthright citizenship (here’s a helpful primer).

Like everything in life, executive orders exist on a spectrum - some are largely unenforceable and issued for the sake of being issued, and others have far reaching consequences (and also have recourse through Congress and the legal process). This primer does a great job of going deeper on what executive orders can, can not, and are limited in doing.

You can view and go deeper on his first executive orders here. I’ll be tracking the progress and impact of the following:

• birthright citizenship

• the reclassification of federal employees (this EO would make it easier to fire them, in line with Project 2025’s goal to appoint those loyal to this administration)

• the national border emergency declaration

• the rescinding of executive order 14087 (a $2 cap on many generic drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, increasing affordability for cell and gene therapy to Medicaid recipients, a streamlined clinical evidence model to accelerate new drug approvals).

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The Ilona Maher effect: How a whirlwind six months made her the face of rugby – and so much more (CNN)

I’m going to be repeating Ilona Maher’s words over and over again, until I finally believe them:

“I feel like I deserve what I’ve gotten. I think I’ve worked worked really hard, even in the rugby space…And then I do all the work off the field.”

I do my best to detach emotionally from celebrities and people I don’t know, but Ilona Maher may be the exception to this rule.

I want to be her. But she’d probably respond to that with “You’re great. Why be anyone else when you’re already you?” And then we’d go get Taco Bell and have a dance party in the car (she writes, in an effort to manifest this exact friend date with Ilona).

As I wait for that day to come, I want to commit the following Ilona-isms for myself:

Focus on consistency and authenticity when it comes to showing up. Own my multitudes and share them proudly. What your body does is far more important than how it looks like. Be proud of all the things your body has done. Never tone it down - the world isn’t going to tone down for you. Know you deserve what you’ve got and you’ve worked hard to get there. Be proud of yourself.

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#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):

the plan - january 2025

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