The Breakroom
We can be grateful for our lives AND ALSO devastated by loss.
Welcome to the Water Cooler
Here at the water cooler, we gather around and share what we’re reading and thinking about. And there is a lot to think about in this third week of 2025.
First, we’re thinking about our friends, fellow members of the Spice Cabinet, and the millions we will never know who are being impacted by the LA Wildfires.
We’re thinking about the release of Jack Smith’s final report on his investigations into Donald Trump.
We’re asking questions like, “what does the future look like in a world where Climate Disasters are the new normal?”
We will be talking about all of that more this week on Pantsuit Politics, and our premium shows Good Morning and More to Say. But today, we really want you to keep reading because Angela wrote us a note about rebuilding after Hurricane Helene that we have been thinking about since she sent it over the holidays. She was gracious enough to let us share it with all of you.
Pantsuit Politics Bulletin Board
Good Morning: Sarah caught us up from the news of the weekend and will be back with more headlines tomorrow.
More to Say: Yesterday, Beth helped us sort through the reporting, heartache, and seeds of hope surrounding the LA Fires.
2025 Slow Read: Habits of the Heart
Habits of the Heart Slow Read
Last year, we loved doing a slow read of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America with you all (you can find all those episodes listed about halfway down this post). It was so fun and such a great way to reflect on America without being tethered to the current news cycle.
Save the Date: Pantsuit Politics 10th Anniversary Live Show in Cincinnati July 19, 2025
From the Spice Cabinet
We wrapped up 2024 with a conversation (the first of many, we hope) about overconsumption.
As always, your insights, comments, and input after the episode added layers and layers to our conversation. Our listener Angela wrote to us about her experience with “the things” after Hurricane Helene devastated her community in Northwest Florida.
Long after the news crews leave, the people in Florida and North Carolina are and will be picking up the pieces from Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene last fall, and part of our different approach to the news in 2025 is hanging in with these stories that it is so tempting to move on from.
Angela generously shared her experience and thoughts on the things we lose in these disasters and rebuilding from nothing.
Hello!
Thank you for the opportunity to get a few things off my chest. I am so grateful for this community and all you do. My life is infinitely better because of Pantsuit Politics.
As I said on Instagram, the conversation around consumption was fascinating and incredibly poignant for me and my community. I live in Pass-a-Grille, Florida - a fabulous little beach town established in 1857. We have evacuated at least once a season since 2017 (I see you, climate change). Walking around your home and deciding which items are worth saving and which items you will let wash out to sea is an interesting exercise. Often, a shockingly small amount of stuff ultimately makes the cut. On September 24th, we "packed and stacked" (local slang) and left the area, hoping Helene would dodge us like so many other storms had before.
She did not. Our entire barrier island was engulfed by over 6ft of water, and roughly 80% of the homes and businesses in my community lost the majority of their contents.
My house was mercifully spared (survivors' guilt is a beast). My brother and sister-in-law were not so lucky. Every single home in their neighborhood took in water, and we spent about 12 hours removing everything from the house and stripping it down to the studs. As so often happens in the wake of a tragedy, you try and make sense. As a community, we tossed around the same refrain
It's just stuff. We're alive; that's the important thing, right?
One of the greatest lessons I've learned from PP is that two things can be true at the same time. We can be grateful for our lives, that we had the privilege to evacuate, and that we (mostly) have the resources to rebuild. AND ALSO, we can be devastated by the loss.
We can be overwhelmed by the Amazon-Instagram-TikTok Industrial Complex, AND ALSO really want to have more than the five outfits that were in our evacuation suitcase.
Because of this dichotomy, we are faced with hard questions. With the slate wiped clean, what will we do with the empty space? How can I be intentional about what I replace? Will I overcorrect and buy in excess, or will I embrace my new-found minimalism? How can I replace things in an ethical manner? How do I prioritize when it feels like we need one of everything? How do I cope with the loss? How do I mourn the things that are gone while still being grateful for what remains? How on earth did I accumulate so much stuff in the first place? What does it mean to start from scratch, and how can I be more intentional in the rebuilding?
These are great questions with no easy answers. Sarah and Beth's conversation on Friday provided the insight and analysis I always crave, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in 2025.
Cheers to the days ahead and Merry Christmas!
Angela
A little laugh before you go…
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I’ve only read the subtitle and I had to comment. Maybe that’s what all the crises and catastrophes are here to teach us. As Kendra, The Lazy Genius says, “ Good is here now.”
So much death and destruction, but also, I get to spend time with my spectacular granddaughter today. I have a soft, warm cat on my lap and some good coffee. Please donate and volunteer, but it’s okay to feel okay.
Earlier this week I skimmed Dr. Vivek Murthy’s “Parting Prescription for America” and I felt emotional just reading it. What a wonderful act of service he provided for our country in naming the loneliness epidemic and also sharing actions that we can all take: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/my-parting-prescription-for-america.pdf