Welcome to Beat Project 2025 Five Minutes at a Time.

Project 2025. In five-minute chunks that everyone can understand.

Welcome to my newsletter! It’s called Beat Project 2025 Five Minutes at a Time.

I’ll explain what this newsletter is. And then, there’s a REALLY CUTE DOG at the end of this post. She will be at the end of every post. Enjoy!

What IS this newsletter?

This newsletter is a place to understand what would happen if Donald Trump becomes president again. Specifically, it will focus on a huge book of right-wing policies called Project 2025, which is intended for President Trump to use as soon as he is inaugurated. These policies would change our government in big ways.

A lot of people are talking about Project 2025, which is good. For a long time, people did not know about it. They didn’t understand what it was. I want to help more people understand.  This newsletter will explain parts of Project 2025 a teeny bit at a time, so you’re not overwhelmed.

Each time, you can choose whether to read this newsletter with your eyes, or with your ears, using the recording at the top of the post.

Image: The cover of Project 2025. It is navy blue with a bright blue “20” at the top left and a bright read “25” at bottom right. White text at the center says “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.” Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

How is this newsletter different from other sources you can find?

I have noticed that a lot of stories or material about Project 2025 are hard to read. They’re long, they use fancy words or ideas that not everyone understands, or they make us feel too overwhelmed or afraid to learn more. I want to explain it in a simple way, because everyone deserves to know this info, no matter what their age is or how tired they are or how their brain works.

Another way people share info about Project 2025 is through memes with just one or two sentences, or simply by telling people to “Google it.” That’s not very helpful, either. It doesn’t give us any context and it makes us feel worried instead of informed. Others post information on Instagram slides with lots of small text that is hard on your eyes (and blind people might not be able to read them at all).

This newsletter is also a way to help you beat “the news cycle.” The news cycle happens when a big story (or something pundits want you to think is a big story) breaks and suddenly every news outlet is talking about it nonstop…until something else comes along. That means our attention moves quickly. We have trouble holding onto more than one thing at a time. With this newsletter, you can take time in a regular way to understand something important, no matter what the news cycle is saying.

Why Five Minutes?

I want the info in this newsletter to be easy to read and remember. Each installment after this one is designed to take you five minutes or less to read. (Unless you read very slowly, which is fine! Take your time.)

Each installment of this newsletter will tackle one tiny part of Project 2025 and help you understand it. That’s the Five Minutes part. The Beat Project 2025 part is staying inspired to vote because you took five minutes to read.

Who is writing this?

My name is Alaina Johns, and I’m a journalist in Philadelphia, PA. I spent many years as a freelance reporter, and I wrote about many topics, including local news, business, technology, nature, science, history, and the arts. I am also a cultural critic (I write reviews) and have been an editor for almost a decade. I have written and taught classes about journalism and public relations.

On the personal side, I have a disability and I’m passionate about disability justice. I support reproductive rights, including abortion rights. I believe in anti-racist policy and education. I am a progressive voter who has many serious concerns about Democratic politicians, but I believe a Democratic vote is the best thing for the US right now. I do not think Trump deserves anyone’s vote.

I am not a political journalist. But I do have a lot of practice in judging good sources, understanding what I read, and sharing clear information.

Who is this newsletter for?

Short answer: anyone who wants to read it!

Longer answer: this newsletter is for people who feel worried about the MAGA movement, JD Vance, and Donald Trump, but are not sure that their vote matters. It’s also for people who are committed to voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic or progressive candidates, but want to understand more along the way and want an easy source to share with others who are curious, and keep them excited to vote.

This newsletter is not meant to convince MAGA folks or right-wing Evangelical Christians that Project 2025 is bad for America, even though I definitely think it is bad. It is not meant to convince them about other people’s human rights, if they don’t believe in them already. But they are welcome to subscribe.

Why is this newsletter important?

If Trump wins this election and puts Project 2025 into practice, we might not have a fair election or a working federal government ever again. I think everyone who believes in democracy has a responsibility to do SOMETHING, right now, even if it’s small. So I will.

Image: The logo for Project 2025. It appears in blue and red letters, with “Presidential Transition Project” written in gray below. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Maybe only a few people will read this newsletter. That’s ok! I know what it’s like when an article gets only a few readers, and I know what it’s like when an article goes viral. (We writers never know in advance which it will be, but we do the work anyway.) I think the quality of what I do is more important than the number of clicks or views I get.

And in my home state of Pennsylvania, and my home city of Philadelphia, reaching even a small number of people could really matter. PA is a very important state (well, a “commonwealth” actually, but you know what I mean) in the Presidential election. The next President will probably win by a small number of votes in a handful of states. Pennsylvanians can make a big difference for the whole country right now. That might be true in your state, as well.

Image: Photo of the gleaming glass skyscrapers of Center City Philadelphia against the blue sky on a sunny day, seen from the window of a high-rise building a few blocks south. Photo by Alaina Johns.

If Vice President Kamala Harris wins in November, I will be relieved and happy. If Trump wins, I will not have to say to myself, “I wish I had done something while I still had a chance.”

Is it time for the cute dog yet?

YES. Every time you read this newsletter, you will get a picture of my dog Ginny at the end, because you deserve it. Ginny is a rescue dog. I don’t know exactly how old she is, or what breed she is. My best guess is a Chihuahua mixed with a Yorkshire terrier. She is a weird, bossy little dog who loves her people. She has the best eyebrows.

Image: Photo of Ginny the dog, an 11-pound chihuahua mix. She is black with tan paws, eyebrows, mustache, and beard. She has a long tassel of hair hanging from each ear. She is wearing a tiny blue sweater and sitting on a sunny patio, looking directly up into the camera. Photo by Alaina Johns.

How can you support this newsletter?

If you made it this far, I assume you liked it. Subscribe now so you get new posts in your inbox (social media just doesn’t work the way it used to, and we have to stay in touch in more old-fashioned ways).  

Send this post to your friends.

None of these posts will be behind a paywall. But it would be great if you want to pledge your support! Then when I get paid subscriptions up and running, people who want to can pay a teeny bit each month to support my work.

One more question!!

Why do I describe what is in the pictures?

That’s because a lot of people are blind or have low vision. But they still like to read things on the Internet like everyone else, using screen readers. The text lets them know what is in the pictures. That way nobody is left out. The Internet should be accessible to everyone.

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