Plus: Oil in Venezuela, strawberry people, and more.

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Each week, a different Vox editor curates their favorite work that Vox has published across text, audio, and video. This week’s recommendations are brought to you by Sydney Bergan, Vox's audience editor.

Each week, a different Vox editor curates their favorite work that Vox has published across text, audio, and video. This week’s recommendations are brought to you by Sydney Bergan, Vox's audience editor.

Congratulations, you made it through the first full work week of January! I’m Sydney, and even though we haven’t officially met, you’ve probably seen some of my work without knowing it. I’m the keeper of keys for all of Vox’s social media accounts (if you don’t follow them, go look for @voxdotcom or @vox across platforms like Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, etc.). In addition to creating posts, I also curate the strategy of all of these lovely platforms we share our reporting to. Basically, I love social media. And I love getting to talk with you guys and educate you on the news of the day, so this is a real treat! 

 

Now, onto the serious stuff. This was an undoubtedly difficult week in the US. From the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis to the aftermath of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, tensions are high across the country. Our work this week breaks down what this all means. And, don’t worry, I’ve thrown some lighter things in this list as well because I know we all need it. 

 

—Sydney Bergan, audience editor

TOP PICKS THIS WEEK

Trump’s menacingly dishonest response to the Minnesota ICE shooting

 

In this article, Eric Levitz discusses the harm caused by President Donald Trump’s response to Renee Good’s killing in Minneapolis. He writes, “the president evidently feels he has little to lose by refusing to treat his government’s killing of a young American mother as a subject worthy of solemnity, honesty, or scrutiny. In doing so, he has demonstrated that ICE’s abuses of power stem not from a few ‘bad apples,’ but from an increasingly rotten tree.”

 

The problem with blaming everything on inflammation

 

It is so incredibly easy to fall for the myths and diet culture surrounding inflammation, especially when it’s seemingly everywhere on social media. But Dylan Scott’s inflammation explainer (which is also the first installment of his new weekly newsletter, Good Medicine) made me rethink what I know about inflammation and my health. 

 

America’s century-long interest in Venezuelan oil

 

In the wake of Maduro’s capture, many of us found ourselves asking… What does this have to do with oil? Caitlin Dewey does a fantastic job explaining how the US is entangled with Venezuela’s oil industry, and how “oil isn’t the easy explanation that many commentators seem to think it is.”

 

How to turn casual friends into close friends

 

When I read Hannah Seo’s piece about finding your “strawberry people,” it really warmed my heart. Listen, I know firsthand how hard it is to find new friends in your 20s, and this mindful method of carefully curating the people who deserve the most of your time by placing a specific emoji next to their name (strawberry or otherwise) feels approachable and productive. 

 
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