With the first Presidential debate airing tonight at 9 p.m. EST, it’s time for you to care. Here’s your way to catch up on all-the-political-things, quickly and for free if the headlines in your Facebook Newsfeed have informed most of your election knowledge. These outlets are more digestible than traditional press like The New York Times if you’re the type to spend more time perusing celebrity Instagram feuds than current political events (no judgement).
Use these articles to get informed before the candidates go head-to-head tonight.
Buzzfeed
Mani O'Brien
Storyteller and Virgo
LA-based social media marketer and brand journalist Mani O’Brien spends her downtime raising a small human and ranting on this blog. Here you’ll find frequent cursing, a self-indulgent analysis of her 30-something existence as a mother, Millennial, digital marketer, almost-wife and astrology-obsessed feminist.
The Skimm
My sister mentioned our obsession with daily news email subscription The Skimm in a previous post and our mutual admiration goes beyond the inbox. Founded by former newsroom ladies Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg, The Skimm offers a concise and often humorous overview of the previous days’ news headlines. It’s brief morning read that truly keeps you looped in on current events, politics, social just issues, celebrity gossip and more.
Beyond the daily reads, The Skimm also offers robust, well-designed, well-researched “guides” on intricate issues including this year’s election. Browse their Skimm the Vote election guide for a full run-down.
NPR Politics Podcast
This podcast is the BEST. NPR reporters Sam Sanders, White House correspondent Tamara “Tam” Keith, political reporter Scott Detrow, political editor Domenico Montanaro, campaign reporter Asma Khalid, and editor/correspondent Ron Elving get together to chat about the latest political headlines all the while explaining the context for the layman. This podcast comes out every Thursday with a weekly round-up of the top headlines from the campaign trail, and more.
Pssst… are you still not sure how to download podcasts? It’s okay. You’re not alone. Here’s a play-by-play for how to download/subscribe if you have an iPhone:
1) Open the Podcasts app on your iPhone. This comes standard on your phone and you probably nestled it into a folder with the Stocks app and others you don’t use (see right).
2) Tap on Search icon and type in “NPR Politics” (in the lower right-hand corner as seen below). You should see a screen like this:
Bonus Read: Lenny Letter
Here goes any attempt to be bipartisan, but in case you missed Lena Dunham’s interview with Hillary Clinton on the (amazing) email-meets-magazine Lenny Letter, you can check that out here.
