Florida, Drew Barrymore, and our other top picks

Hi! I’m Nisha Chittal, one of Vox’s managing editors. 

Is it just me, or does it feel like Florida is always in the headlines? I scan a variety of news outlets when I get up every morning, and there’s rarely a day when I don’t see at least one story about something happening in Florida. Whether it’s Ron DeSantis, Disney World, or extreme weather events, Florida seems to occupy a special place in American culture. So this week, we published an excellent package of deeply reported stories that seek to examine exactly why Florida is so, well, Florida. It was a true team effort across many teams from our newsroom: there are text articles, videos, and podcasts; the stories span politics, culture, climate, and science. More than 30 Vox staffers and freelance contributors worked on it, including text reporters and editors, audience strategists, copy editors, fact-checkers, illustrators, photographers, video and audio producers, and more. 

Everything in The United States of Florida is worth your time, but I’ll call out a few stories I particularly enjoyed: Emily Stewart explored why Publix, the beloved grocery chain, inspires so much loyalty among Floridians. Marin Cogan explored the rising trend of Americans moving to Florida since 2020, and talked to some recent Florida transplants about their decision. Kristen Arnett, a third-generation Floridian, unpacked the “Florida man” meme and the baggage around it. There are many more stories in the package, plus podcasts and videos, and while I don’t have space to shout out every single one, I hope you’ll spend some time with them this weekend, maybe over your coffee on Sunday morning — I think you’ll find the whole series illuminating and well worth your time. 

— Nisha Chittal, managing editor

Drew Barrymore tried to live, laugh, scab her way across the picket line. It didn't work.: 

Alex Abad-Santos brings clarity to the controversy over Drew Barrymore bringing her show back in violation of the WGA strike. Why was the backlash so much bigger over Barrymore than other shows that have announced plans to come back? Alex explains why Barrymore’s brand as a talk show host, built on the idea of her as a good person who empathizes with everyone, was especially hard to reconcile with the act of crossing a picket line. 

The wild allegations about India killing a Canadian citizen, explained:

I honestly did a double take when I first saw the news alerts that Justin Trudeau had accused the Indian government of killing a Canadian citizen, on Canadian soil no less. This explainer from Zack Beauchamp went beyond the initial headlines and also offered some much-needed historical background on the role of Sikhs in India, India’s relationship with Canada, India’s retreat from democracy, and what this means for the US’s foreign policy strategy.

Lead poisoning kills millions annually. One country is showing the way forward.: 

Lead poisoning may not get much media attention, but it’s still a critically important issue — it contributes to as many as 5.5 million premature deaths a year. I loved that this story from Kelsey Piper explored a potential solution to a challenging problem by looking at a country that’s doing it well, and examining what the rest of the world can learn from them. 

📹 How Republicans conquered Florida:

This video, published as part of the United States of Florida package, deftly explains how Florida went from a swing state just a couple decades ago to a solidly Republican state now. 

🎧 Does garlic break magnets?:

Our science podcast Unexplainable, which explores unexplainable scientific mysteries, just hit 100 episodes. To mark the occasion, they go way, way, way back in time and imagine what an episode of Unexplainable would have sounded like in the year 100 C.E. and what questions they would have explored back then. It’s a delightful, fun listen that will make you laugh, and makes for a perfect break from the news. 

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