Kate Woodsome

Examining the ties between mental health & democracy. ✍🏼 Invisible Threads. Won Pulitzer w/ @washingtonpost colleagues covering Jan 6 attack.

Articles

Invisible Threads

1 week ago | open.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

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Protesting? Parading? Practice this.

2 weeks ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Nearly every day this week, people have asked me different versions of three questions. ”Are you going to the No Kings protest?” ”Are you leaving town?” Are you going to the military parade? Reading between the lines, these queries are about one’s voice, choice, agency and dignity. These concepts are related to self-determination and independence and are the foundations of a healthy body, mind and spirit. They also happen to relate to trauma-informed care.
Veterans rally against Trump's cuts and violations on D-Day anniversary

2 weeks ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Herb Stokes choked back tears as he spoke about his grandfather’s role fighting for freedom in the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Eighty-one years later to the day, Stokes stood on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. protesting what he sees as his own government's betrayal of veterans like his grandfather — and himself. “He lied about his age to get into the U.S. Navy,” Stokes told me at the “Unite for Veterans” rally in D.C. on Friday. “Him and his brother stormed the beach at Omaha.
You're invited: Chat with a voice of America

1 month ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome |Steve Herman

Hi there,I’d like to invite you to a live conversation I’m having with Voice of America correspondent on Wednesday, May 7, at 7 pm EST here on Substack. Voice of America staffers are legally fighting to reverse an executive order to defund and dismantle the international broadcaster. VOA and its sister agencies delivered independent news to hundreds of millions of people around the world until the order was issued in March.
From triage to strategy: A new era for press freedom

1 month ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Programming note: On Wednesday, May 7, at 7 pm EST, I’ll be going live with Voice of America correspondent to discuss the impacts of the Trump administration dismantling U.S. broadcasters. To ask questions and share reflections live, download the app. Available for iOS and AndroidThe National Press Club is hallowed ground for American journalism — a beachhead for the First Amendment in the heart of the nation’s capital.
Invisible Threads

2 months ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

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What the Khmer Rouge can teach us about U.S. authoritarianism

2 months ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Publisher’s Note: This essay is intended to empower you with information, to ground you in history and to offer hope for the future. When we understand how harm spreads, we’re better able to stop it and choose a different path. An action guide is at the bottom of this essay. Please spend time with it and pass it on. Visibility is what keeps this work in motion. In the ruins of war, even false promises can feel like salvation. Cambodians know this well.
Got grit. What about resilience?

2 months ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Americans got grit. But we need something else. Grit, as defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth, is “a combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal.” It is “the hallmark of high achievers in every domain.”Can you picture the clenched jaw and gritted teeth of someone who has grit? In the movies, it’s a lone hero pushing through pain, white-knuckling their way to victory.
Invisible Threads

2 months ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

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A journalist's guide to (witnessing) protests

2 months ago | katewoodsome.substack.com | Kate Woodsome

Programming note: On Saturday, April 5, at approx. 12 pm EST, I’ll be live-streaming on Substack from the “Hands Off” protest in Washington, D.C. The action is part of a nationwide fleet of non-violent protests against the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s violation of the Constitution and rule of law, organized by the grassroots movement Indivisible. I’ll be witnessing the action as a journalist, practicing many of the tools below. This isn’t a guide to civil disobedience.