The other day, one of my sisters sent me a video of someone twisting spice out of a spice jar, rather than shaking it (like I do.) The video wasn’t mindblowing or anything — I try not to spend more than an hour or two a day pouring spices. But it was one of those tiny little reminders that the way people do things is not inevitable. We gather information, we assess, and we make choices.
That puts Spain in sharp contrast to the U.S., of course, but also to much of the rest of Europe. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that readers of this newsletter are probably familiar with the U.S.’s hard line on immigration. But it’s worth noting that in recent months and years, the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, and multiple other European countries have also either passed or strongly advocated for increasingly strict and punitive immigration policies. Leaders in those countries, especially those on the right, have repeatedly blamed all sorts of social and economic problems on migrant communities. But even Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads Britain’s center-left Labour Party, has referred to immigration as having done “incalculable” damage to the country, and vowed to end the country’s “failed experiment in open borders.”
So how is it that Spain seems to be forging a different path? As so many other places are trending one way, what has allowed Spain to act differently — at least for now? After all, it’s not as though Spain is devoid of racism, or the Spanish public (or government) is immune to the appeal of scapegoating immigrants.
I don’t have many answers to those questions yet (though I’m determined to dig deeper now.) But I do know that for years, Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, has voiced his perspective that immigration, if well-managed, could fuel the country’s prosperity, rather than jeopardize it. “Throughout history, migration has been one of the great drivers of the development of nations, while hatred and xenophobia have been, and continue to be, the greatest destroyer of nations,” he said at a speech in 2024. Of course, it may have also helped that this new Spanish policy did not require parliamentary approval — it was brought in by something called royal decree.
Still, it’s a reminder to me that countries of the world are not all predestined to follow the same trends and paths, make the same decisions, and reap the same results. As I said before, we gather information, we assess, and we make choices. And though some of our leaders may tell us there is no other alternative — that their way is gospel — it’s helpful to remember that the world is a rich tapestry, and it is often no more than a lack of imagination that limits the scope of our possibilities.
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ON THE POD
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To the casual observer, it might seem like the U.S. has spent years in a constant state of protest — and they’re only getting more intense under the second Trump administration. So we’re revisiting our conversation with Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, the author of “A Protest History of the United States” about what forms of protest have worked in the past, and what lessons people can take from those protesters.
Then, later in the week, we'll be talking to NPR reporter Meg Anderson about why "fighting crime" is used as a justification for all sorts of U.S. governmental policies — from Venezuela to Minnesota — despite the fact that crime is at a historic low, and has been falling for decades.
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Well fam, we've made it just about to the end of January. One month in to 2026, and I feel like we've already had enough news for the year. But the world keeps turning, the news keeps cycling, and the spices keep shaking.
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