Citations Needed Newsletter - May 14 2025

Hi all, here is this fortnight's newsletter. Apparently there was some issues with these not pushing to our subscribers and we have since solved the problem. Apologies for the technical problems! And thanks again for your support!

- Adam, Florence, Julianne and Nima

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Trump's First 100 Days Have Been an Absolute Disaster for Workers Sarah Anderson, In These Times (May 8, 2025)

The Trump Administration has wreaked havoc on the federal workforce and opposed improving worker’s rights. While the administration has been bad for workers, they are beginning to spark opposition. 

Grocery Workers VS Goliath Sarah Lazare, In These Times (April 28, 2025)

Kroger and Albertsons posed an existential threat to workers when they tried to merge. Organizers were able to fight the merger, but other issues persist for Kroger. 

Don’t Expect Much Trade-War Pushback From Corporate America Casey Quinlan, The New Republic (May 12, 2025)

As trade policy goes back and forth, consumers are at risk of rising prices. While customers would like transparency about prices, corporations seem unlikely to cross Trump publicly. 

We Need Democratic Media, Not Corporate or State Propaganda Meagan Day, Jacobin (May 12, 2025)

Trump has targeted the funding for NPR and PBS in his latest salvo against the media. His attacks show the need for a publicly funded media free of the constraints corporate media operated under. 

Trump’s Budget: Starving Everything Except the Military Stephen Semler, Jacobin (May 12, 2025)

Trump’s proposed federal budget features major cuts to many government agencies and services. However, the Pentagon and DHS managed to escape the scalpel. 

The Unbearable Pain of Leaving Gaza Abubaker Abed, Dropsite News (May 12, 2025)

A journalist who has covered the ongoing genocide in Gaza made the difficult decision to leave after the Israeli military began to target him and his family with bombings. He described the health impact of the genocide and the inner turmoil of leaving the land.  

The Supreme Court Just Imperiled the Rights — and Lives — of All Trans People Natasha Lennard, The Intercept (May 7, 2025)

The Supreme Court decided to allow the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military to continue through deliberations. The order’s use of gender dysphoria as a criteria for the ban has serious implications even outside the military.  

“Intense Culture of Fear”: Behind the Scenes as Trump Destroys the EPA From Within Akela Lacy, The Intercept (May 13, 2025)

EPA staffers say Trump is destroying the agency with cuts and politicizing basic concepts of climate response. Staffers say the administration has discarded the health of communities.  

Cops Are Already Unleashed. Trump Is Telling Them to Run Wild. Radley Balko, The Intercept (May 2, 2025)

Trump’s executive order in support of policing is more rhetoric than policy, but it suggests a White House willing to empower authoritarian and brutish cops. It repeatedly promises to unleash cops on the country. 

Imprisoned People Can Do More than ‘Scare’ Kids ‘Straight’ Antoine Davis, Christopher Blackwell, The Appeal May 07, 2025

Scared Straight programs have long been used to scare kids from crime, using prisoners to make the point. While these programs are ridiculous, prisoners can mentor youths in ways not currently promoted in the system. 

Why Pete Hegseth Still Has a Job, Laura Jedeed, The Nation (May 12, 2025)

Pete Hegseth has been an embarrassment as Secretary of Defense in many facets. However, he keeps his job as the willing face of Trump’s erosion of checks on the military.