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Deere Settlement Is a Win for the Right to Repair. But Advocates Say There’s a Catch
FTC settlement has raised questions about why the Trump administration chose not to pursue a trial
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Opinion
Some Establishment Democrats Want to Ban Ranked-Choice Voting
Will the Democratic National Committee limit how voting is done in presidential primaries?
Voters Reject Farm Bureau Push to Limit Citizen Amendments
From abortion to state constitutional amendments, the nation’s largest farm group is using their money and platform to influence elections
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Maine Dems Tackle Immigration After Local ICE Murder
At their Democratic convention, delegates acknowledge the state’s reliance on low-paid immigrants
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Opinion
The Save Our Bacon Act Won’t Save American Farms
The bill supports multinational corporations and not independent farmers like me
August 1, 2026
Urban Candidates Pivot to Rural Voters After Tennessee Redistricting
Democratic frontrunners from a former Black-majority congressional district in Memphis compete in rural Tennessee
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July 24, 2026
Data Centers Divide Democrats in Michigan Primary
Senate candidates offer conflicting visions over the role of A.I. and corporate power
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Politics & Policy
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A Young Populist Heats Up the Texas Agriculture Commissioner Race
Data centers, Big Ag and the New World screwworm take center stage for rural voters
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Jim Hightower on Texas Politics and What’s Next for the Country
You can’t crush the spirit of populism
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Senate Faces Mounting Pressure to Restrict Voting Rights
Rural voters, conservative women hurt most by SAVE Act
Food & Agriculture
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The Bigger the Corporation, the Bigger the Diarrhea Outbreak
Taylor Farms and other large produce corporations have long exerted political power to weaken food safety regulations
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Why America Doesn’t Grow Its Own Food
Our system of agriculture is designed to punish farmers and rural communities
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America Can Grow Its Own Food Again
Stop treating rural America like a colony to be drained
Special Reports
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New
Rethinking Immigration and Health in Rural America
How rural immigrants sustain networks of care and resistance in Maryland
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Protecting Rural Public Schools
The Movement to Defund Rural Public Schools
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The Fight to Prevent PFAS Pollution
Why PFAS—forever chemicals—contaminate wells in many rural areas
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Reimagining Rural Cartographies
Written and photo essays that examine nontraditional maps of the Midwest
More →Native Life
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Native Americans Resist SCOTUS Voting Rights Decision
Callais ruling has ramped up gerrymandering—and could choke off Native access to the polls
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Georgia Garden Connects Cherokee Nation to Its Roots
Tribal elder helps safeguard Cherokee culture with more than 400 traditional plants
Science & Environment
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Is Sludge Poisoning Your Well?
PFAS wreak havoc on rural Wisconsin drinking water. Rural wells nationwide could face similar issues.
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The Truth About Roundup Herbicide
The Supreme Court will soon determine whether corporations get a free pass for poisoning the public
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Iowa’s High Cancer Rate Linked to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon
A new report combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer
Nina Elkadi, Sentient
Religion
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This Reconstruction-Era Church Is a Place of Sanctuary, Liberation and Reunion
With many rural churches closing their doors, Riverhill has found a way to thrive for over 150 years
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Defusing the Christian Right Requires Understanding It and Offering Something Better
Respectful dialogue begins by listening to people’s beliefs and values
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County Before Country
How a Wisconsin pastor is leading the far-right crusade to criminalize LGBTQ people and destroy Western Christianity
History
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How Dissent Shaped America
From 17th century religious dissenters to Occupy Wall Street, dissent has been an integral part of our history
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Texas’ Radical Past Points to a Possible New Future
The People’s Party history shows how to build a working-class movement
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Barn Raisers
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Common Ground is Found at a Montana Barn Raising
The former speaker of the Montana House and Missoula mayor reflects on working together across differences
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Barn Raiser’s 2025 Year in Review
In a year of sweeping federal policy change and visionary rural organizing, Barn Raiser covered rural America from coast to coast
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Wendell Berry: What New York Times Columnist Paul Krugman Gets Wrong About Rural America
‘Those of us who speak for the country (“rural America”) must never give up’
Letters to the editor
Readers Respond to the DCCC
Read →Arts & Culture
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The Music of Progressive Patriotism
When social movements need to march in beat, Dick Flacks gives them a song
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A Farmer Reflects on Juneteenth
Liberation and the healing power of breaking free
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You Are Never Too Old to Believe in a Better Future
And that could be good for you