News and Media
In 1970, Ivan Illich wrote Toward a History of Needs, a critique of the increasingly widespread belief that technological change was not only inevitable but nearly always a net good for society. Illich feared our growing dependence on rapidly emerging technologies and those that control them. Farmer and writer Wendell Berry made a similar argument in his 1977 book, The Unsettling of America, describing the process by which people and whole communities are “de-skilled,” their capacity to care for themselves and their neighbors atrophied.
In many ways, these dark visions are now unfolding. In particular, artificial intelligence is driving us toward de-skilling on a massive scale. This de-skilling, if it continues, will enable concentrated economic and political power at a level that will make the present seem egalitarian by comparison. And it will include the loss of hundreds of millions of jobs along the way, not as a byproduct but a feature, as evidenced by Open AI’s definition of AI as “highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.”
Rethinking Rural: RUBI’s Column in The Nation
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New List Item"Memo to California’s Next Governor: Rural Places Matter"
Rural communities are crucial to the state—and the country. Why do they get so little attention?
May 21, 2026
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![Rural Organizers Are Plowing Common Ground: April 2026 Nation article]()
"Rural Organizers Are Plowing Common Ground"
It’s hard to hate people when you’re working shoulder to shoulder with them on things that matter.
April 22, 2026
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![Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time: Mar 2026 Nation article]()
"Bridging the Red-Blue Divide, One Concrete Deed at a Time"
The evidence is in: working together to solve local problems reduces polarization.
March 19, 2026
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![Image of person shoveling a snow covered roof at a farm]()
"The Farmland Revolt"
America’s farmers are fuming over Trump’s tariffs. Democrats need to channel their anger.
January 26, 2026
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![A group of people protesting with signs that read 'No King' and 'No Kings' in front of a brick building with a sign that reads 'Welcome to Abilene' and mentions President Dwight D. Eisenhower.]()
"How to Place Rural Communities at the Heart of the Anti-Trump Movement"
Rural activists are ready to take their place and play their part in the coalitions that are forming.
October 27, 2025
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![Photo of Dingy Statue of Liberty]()
"Rebuilding Trust Across the Divide Isn’t Just Possible—It’s Essential"
And here’s how it can be done.
August 29, 2025
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![Image of Marie Perez]()
"If Democrats Want to Appeal to Rural America, They Need to Talk Like a Neighbor"
Saving a democracy that has delivered diminishing returns for 50 years—and is widely seen as rigged on behalf of the 1 percent—is not as compelling as the political class thinks.
July 11, 2025
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![Protesters Holding a sign that says Medicaid Cuts Kill]()
"Republicans’ “Big Beautiful” Medicaid Cuts Spur Rural Organizing Innovation"
Taking away healthcare coverage isn’t just “morally wrong and politically suicidal,” in Senator Josh Hawley’s apt phrase. It’s also putting pressure on rural members of Congress.
May 30, 2025
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![Man at farmers market with oranges on a scale]()
"Rural Trump Voters Won’t Regret Their Vote Until Democrats Fight for Them"
Trump promised to address the opioid epidemic and restore small towns to health and prosperity. The president has betrayed those who placed their trust in him.
April 23, 2025
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![A wooden archway with stone pillars on a country road, with snow-capped mountains in the background under a blue sky.]()
"Welcome to Bozangeles!"
The greater Bozeman, Montana, region has become ground zero for rampant luxury development that is taking the “public” out of public lands.
March 27, 2025
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![Chris Deluzio from Pennsylvania]()
"Resistance Is Not Enough. The Left Must Address the Grievances of the Working Class."
The left’s almost singular focus on defense is a grave mistake. We must offer a compelling, positive vision of what we are for.
February 27, 2025 -
![Customers in a Trump merch store]()
"What’s—Still—the Matter With Kansas?"
As recent events bear out, when Thomas Frank lamented, “We’ll have to drag the Democrats kicking and screaming to victory” in 2017, if anything he was understating the challenge.
November 26, 2024
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![Tim Walz Rally Image with Walz behind podium]()
"Harris-Walz Must Reclaim Progressivism for Workers, Farmers, and Rural Communities"
To win in 2024, Harris and Walz must wholeheartedly commit to a populist vision that makes people’s economic self-determination every bit as important as control of our own bodies.
October 31, 2024
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![JD Vance mid-sentence staring into space]()
"Democrats Dismiss JD Vance at Their Peril"
Calling the Ohio senator “weird” may feel satisfying. Pundits have dismissed him as a drag on the ticket. But the smarter play would still be to steal his thunder.
September 6, 2024
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![Image of a barn on a sunny day]()
"The Missing Pieces of the Democrats’ Rural Offer Could Fill a Barnyard"
Rural America looms large in the 2024 election. So why is it such a small piece of the Progressive Caucus agenda?
August 13, 2024
#RethinkingRural
RUBI in the News