Introducing: *Actually* Pro Life

Bonus: An *Actually* Pro Life T-shirt

We've spent the last two essays building the case for *Actually* Pro Life: wht it means, where it comes from, and why the logo was designed to be worn, carried, and declared in public. Now we're asking you to do exactly that. We just launched our first ever APL Member Drive. The first 50 people who upgrade to become an Important Member get a free *Actually* Pro Life t-shirt. And one member who joins before June 12th wins a full APL swag bag. A paid membership is what keeps this work honest. No advertisers telling us what to do. Just the work, funded by the people who give a shit about it. If that's you, the link is below. https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade [https://www.importantnotimportant.com/upgrade]

*Actually* Pro Life: The Design

If the name Actually Pro Life is deliberate, then so is the logo. Because like I said in our intro post, we’re reclaiming "pro-life" from the same people who blame kindergartners for getting shot at school, and we’re grounding it in evidence. Evidence like, “Does this action make it measurably less likely or more likely that kindergartners will get shot at school?” Any action can only go one way, and we only go one way, and you can go our way, or 🎵 you can go your own way 🎶, in which case — go fuck yourself. 🫡 Let’s talk pixels and protests. -------------------------- Get more: Take action at www.whatcanido.earth [https://www.whatcanido.earth] Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com [https://importantnotimportant.com] Support our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade [https://importantnotimportant.com/upgrade] Get our merch https://shop.importantnotimportant.com/ [https://shop.importantnotimportant.com/] Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com [questions@importantnotimportant.com] Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant [https://www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant] Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett [https://twitter.com/quinnemmett]; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social]; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett [https://www.threads.net/@quinnemmett] Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com [https://timblane.com] Take a nap you deserve it Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors [https://importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors]

Introducing: *Actually* Pro Life

250 years after a group of slaveowners wrote that "all men are created equal", we're done letting hypocrites own the language of life. Introducing Actually Pro Life: a reframe, a research platform, and a direct challenge to anyone willing to be held accountable to what they claim to believe. This is the foundation that unites everyone you actually gives a sh*t: No life is worth more than another. That foundation comes with eight non-negotiable Principles, six Guardrails, and 160+ measurable Positions because opinions are cheap and receipts matter. Together or nothing. -------------------------- Get more: Take action at www.whatcanido.earth [https://www.whatcanido.earth] Get more news, analysis, and Action Steps at importantnotimportant.com [https://importantnotimportant.com] Support our work and become a Member at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade [https://importantnotimportant.com/upgrade] Get our merch https://shop.importantnotimportant.com/ [https://shop.importantnotimportant.com/] Got feedback? Email us at questions@importantnotimportant.com [questions@importantnotimportant.com] Follow us on Twitter at @importantnotimp Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant [https://www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant] Subscribe to our YouTube channel Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett [https://twitter.com/quinnemmett]; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social]; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett [https://www.threads.net/@quinnemmett] Produced by Willow Beck Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com [https://timblane.com] Take a nap you deserve it Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors [https://importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors]

How You Changed The Lives of 250 Families in Rwanda

Last Christmas we teamed up with about 40 other big podcasts to support our dear friends at Give Directly with a very special campaign called Pods Fight Poverty. The goal was to raise $1 million to send to families in extreme poverty in Bwakira, Rwanda. Today, I want to share some of those results with you, and some of those stories from the folks you helped. But first, a reminder, some context in Bwakira, most people are farmers, but they don't own large enough plots to grow enough food, and many struggle to eat more than one meal a day. Water supply is inconsistent. People often rely on nearby natural streams to collect water when their wells are dry, and there are very few jobs for young people. Families don't have the capital to start small businesses to create their own jobs. Here's the good news. 500-plus rigorous academic studies show how effective cash can be for local economies, for infant mortality, food security, and more. And that's at least in part because when you give cash directly to people in poverty, it means they can choose how best to improve their own lives. You're also giving them dignity and flexibility. So how did our big campaign go? Well, you and me and the 40 other pods we worked with raised $386,000, reaching 250 families in need. Pretty incredible stuff. I'm extremely grateful to all of you. Families told us they spent the cash on urgently needed livestock, household items, food, housing, land, education, healthcare, and more. Listen for some of their firsthand stories about how much your generosity affected their lives directly. You did this, and you can keep doing this. Consider setting up a new monthly donation at givedirectly.org [http://givedirectly.org]. Let's go hear from those families. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us [http://www.twitter.com/importantnotimp], or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com [questions@importantnotimportant.com] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com [https://podcast.importantnotimportant.com]. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth [https://www.whatcanido.earth] ----------- INI Book Club: * Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club [https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club] Follow us: * Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com [https://importantnotimportant.com] * Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade [https://importantnotimportant.com/upgrade] * Get our merch [https://important-not-important.myshopify.com/]! * Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant [https://www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant] * Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkUwIVGwYxsZHEgL2fstz9Q] * Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett [https://twitter.com/quinnemmett]; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social]; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett [https://www.threads.net/@quinnemmett] * Produced by Willow Beck [https://twitter.com/willowbeck_] * Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com [https://timblane.com] Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors [https://importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors]

A Calm Voice In A Loud World

Your kids are hearing about the news whether you are ready or they're ready or not. One study said two-thirds of kids aged 8 to 14 are absorbing current events at least every few days, and almost none of it was made for them. They're getting the fear without the context, the headlines without any nuance, and the algorithms without any sort of filter, and in a country arguing over whether to teach history or ban books. The question of who helps kids make sense of the world has never been more necessary and urgent. So what can I do to help the next generation build a healthy, lasting relationship with news and information? Today's guest is Andrea Barbalich. Andrea is the editorial director of The Week Jr., the only weekly news magazine reporting current affairs directly to children, ages 8 to 14. Under Andrea's leadership, it has grown to over 155,000 subscribers. Andrea's got 25 plus years in editorial leadership at places like Child Magazine. She's also the editor of a book called Feeling Safe: Talking to Children About War and Terrorism. We talk about how you explain wars and elections and climate change to an 8-year-old without either terrifying them or talking down to them, why a physical magazine is thriving in a world of 8 second attention spans, and what every parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, and more can do this week to help the kids in their lives become informed, curious, and resilient. ----------- Have feedback? Tweet us [http://www.twitter.com/importantnotimp], or send a message to questions@importantnotimportant.com [questions@importantnotimportant.com] New here? Get started with our fan favorite episodes at podcast.importantnotimportant.com [https://podcast.importantnotimportant.com]. Find every action recommended in The Most Important Question here: www.whatcanido.earth [https://www.whatcanido.earth] ----------- INI Book Club: * The Golden Rock [https://bookshop.org/a/8952/9781612271347] by Theo Varlet * Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club [https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club] Links: * Subscribe to The Week Jr [https://theweekjunior.com/] Follow us: * Subscribe to our newsletters at importantnotimportant.com [https://importantnotimportant.com] * Join us at importantnotimportant.com/upgrade [https://importantnotimportant.com/upgrade] * Get our merch [https://important-not-important.myshopify.com/]! * Follow us on Threads: www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant [https://www.threads.net/@importantnotimportant] * Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkUwIVGwYxsZHEgL2fstz9Q] * Follow Quinn: on Twitter - twitter.com/quinnemmett [https://twitter.com/quinnemmett]; Bluesky - bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/quinnemmett.bsky.social]; Threads - www.threads.net/@quinnemmett [https://www.threads.net/@quinnemmett] * Produced by Willow Beck [https://twitter.com/willowbeck_] * Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com [https://timblane.com] Advertise with us: importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors [https://importantnotimportant.com/c/sponsors]