The sky is blue, according to this thing I read

When basic facts are increasingly partisan and our sense of realities differ, how might storytelling evolve?

Issue #84

Hi all —

Let’s say I tell you a story based on the fact that the sky is blue. But you insist that the sky is green — and have partisan articles, forwarded videos and pundit talking points that back up the idea that the sky is green. Without the shared basis of reality and fact of whether the sky is blue or green, how might we be able to understand and empathize with each others’ stories?

Since the U.S. election a few weeks ago, this is something I’ve been thinking about a lot. Journalists and professional communicators like me have long espoused the power of storytelling in communicating facts in a society that mostly shared the same, general understanding of reality. And while I still believe in storytelling’s ancient force in building empathy, entertaining or teaching about something, I increasingly wonder if stories are just being shared in distinct bubbles that are echo chambers. Does it matter that stories aren’t breaking through to different bubbles? Shouldn’t it? Where does race and identity play into stories when those aspects of ourselves are increasingly being politicized — and sometimes weaponized?

In 2025, I’m looking forward to exploring these questions about story in further detail through journalism/nonfiction, fiction writing, a podcast, Bluesky, in-person events, virtual conversations and who-knows-what other ways to see how storytelling can evolve for an era in which reality and facts are increasingly fragmented and contested.

Despite the grim state of polarization, in just the last week, I have been heartened to see how others are experimenting with storytelling. I went to Third Culture Tales’ live Berkeley performance where largely Persian storytellers recounted stories about their diasporic experiences now living in the U.S. I also went to The Moth’s StorySLAM in San Francisco, where 10 storytellers recounted experiences around the theme of “reunion.” Both these events reinforced how age-old verbal storytelling is compelling and innate to the human experience.

Hope you all have a peaceful holiday season — and also get to explore some stories in other worlds through movies, TV and books. See you in the new year.

Thanks for joining the conversation,
Vignesh

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Some interesting stories as we move into 2025

• Old picture of Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, goes viral (The Times of India)

  • Why care? It has been strange and frankly sickening to see some South Asian Americans share a bond with Mangione across social media largely because an old photo surfaced with him wearing a kurta to an event. Some have also expressed fascination with his Ivy League pedigree and supposed good looks, reinforcing that parts of our South Asian communities are obsessed with superficial status and white fetishization to the point of ludicrous insanity. Insurance debates aside, the man allegedly killed another human and faces serious charges, including murder and stalking.

• What the FBI has done, and Kash Patel could do (Columbia Journalism Review)

  • Why care? An Indian American man, Kash Patel, might just end up being a key official that helps harm press freedoms in the United States. Donald Trump has nominated Patel, a known conspiracy theorist, to head the FBI. CJR writes that Patel’s “threats to go after journalists have been unusually explicit” but “how exactly he might weaponize the FBI against members of the press and Trump’s other perceived enemies remains to be seen.”

• Usha Vance is a ‘powerful’ voice in JD’s ear. What will she say? (The Washington Post)

  • Why care? Usha Vance will continue to be the woman in the ear of the soon-to-be vice president, JD Vance, who may have (little? some? zero?) influence on the soon-to-be most powerful political leader on earth, Trump. As the Post story reiterates, we actually don’t know much about Usha Vance — other than her silence.

• Isha Sharma: I dreamed of this many Indian Americans in politics. I’m heartbroken by the reality. (USA Today - opinion)

  • Why care? Representation can’t just be for representation’s sake when some Brown leaders support policies and rhetoric that harm the very communities they come from. Sharma writes: “Instead of authentic leaders, what I overwhelmingly see is a band of characters with questionable morals thirsty for the spotlight and a taste of power.” … “What’s disappointing is that, despite having finances, rights and education, we have descendants of Indian immigrants – oftentimes wealthy entrepreneurs or CEOs – lobbying or voting against the key policies, like immigration and equality, that gave them the privilege to rise to positions of power in the first place. Their blatant disregard for their roots is, frankly, tacky and tone-deaf.”

• Surya Gowda: I’m an Indian American, but I’m not a Democrat. Here’s why so many of us are. (USA Today - opinion)

  • Why care? Gowda explores her perception of social and fiscal conservatism in South Asian communities juxtaposed with communities’ majority support for candidates on the left. However, there has been a gradual rightward shift in many minority communities, including South Asian Americans, that political parties, polling and mainstream punditry seem not to have fully caught up with yet.

• They turned against Kamala Harris in decisive numbers. They’re about to find out if it was worth it. (Slate)

  • Why care? It will be interesting to see if people of color who were single-issue protest-voters on the Israel-Gaza conflict and people of color who had the right to vote and chose not to exercise their right to vote in 2024 decide to speak out — or stay silent — during the upcoming Trump administration that might erode the very same communities’ civil rights in other ways.

• Kamala Harris grapples with her future in a wounded Democratic Party (The Washington Post)

  • Why care? Many of these types of “what will Kamala do now” stories have been annoyingly speculative after her presidential loss. But as the highest-ranking Black-Indian American person in U.S. history, it could be interesting to see what political and professional direction she moves toward, amid a fractured Democratic Party.

• Trump nominates conservative culture warrior to lead DOJ’s civil rights division (NBC News)

  • Why care? I received at least two surface-level press releases from organizations that normally advocate for Sikh rights that they were excited about Trump choosing Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, noting it as a landmark for the Sikh American community. Dhillon supported Trump’s 2020 election lie and has fought against corporate diversity. So will she actually move the needle for Sikh rights and representation in a civil rights role? Or, once again, is it representation for representation’s sake? The irony is far-right Trump supporters spewed hate toward Dhillon after she shared a Sikh prayer at the Republican National Convention.

• His friends and family members in Georgia voted to support mass deportation. Now he’s scrambling to stay in the country. (The New York Times)

  • Why care? Fascinating read about the contradictions between how people vote and how it actually might impact people in their own daily lives.

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