A better America is within reach
Americans are ready for a change. Democrats' sweeping victories in the midterm elections were a resounding rebuke of Trump and his agenda. But this election also represents an opportunity. A chance to move beyond what isn't working—and what hasn’t been working for a long time—and start building something better.
That's the spirit behind Repairing America. Over the past several weeks, we've explored some of the country's biggest challenges, from the systems that make everyday life harder to the policies that have left too many people behind. But rather than simply cataloging what's broken, we set out to find what works—and what it would take to bring those solutions to more Americans.
The result was a series grounded in a particular kind of hope. Not the kind that assumes everything will work itself out, but one rooted in evidence, experience, and tangible possibilities. We found ideas and policies already delivering results in communities across the country—approaches that could make a meaningful difference in American lives if brought to more people. And perhaps most importantly, we discovered that addressing America’s problems doesn't mean starting from scratch. It can mean repurposing how states like New Mexico and Vermont made child care affordable, how funding changes can reimagine college and health care to remove debt, or how Congress can use its current powers to rein in and reshape the courts.
And now, there's an opportunity to put these ideas to work. A new Congress has the chance to turn public appetite for change into meaningful action. The point of Repairing America was never to pretend the cracks aren’t there. But instead, to look closely enough to understand how they got there—and to recognize that a country built by people can be changed by people, too.
The solutions are out there. We hope this series has helped make the case for putting them into practice.
As always, thank you for reading,
Clare Murphy, Editor
Jennifer Reitman, Founder
How To Repair America
For millions of Americans, life feels harder than it should. The systems shaping daily life, from housing and healthcare to rights and representation, are under visible strain, and the gap between what is promised and what is delivered continues to widen. Repairing America is a DAME series that moves beyond documenting crises to examining how these systems were built, where they break down, and what it would take to fix them. Across reported pieces grounded in policy expertise and lived experience, this series focuses on real, attainable solutions designed to make life better for all Americans.
Read More From the Series
What It Will Take to Protect the Right to Vote
From federal interference in elections to a Supreme Court that has weakened voting rights protections, the threats to American democracy are interconnected—so are the reforms needed to confront them.
Read Anoa Change-Peck’s reporting here.
AI Doesn’t Have to Be This Harmful
AI is already eroding privacy, undermining public services, and imposing costs on local communities. Experts say strong regulation could help prevent further damage and ensure the technology’s benefits are shared more broadly.
Ryan Biller reports here.
Why Having Insurance Still Doesn’t Guarantee Mental Health Care
Patients seeking mental health care are confronting ghost networks, provider shortages, denied claims and rising barriers to treatment. Here’s what advocates say could make the system work better.
Read Misha Valencia’s feature here.
How Big Money Took Over American Elections
The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision helped create a new era of corporate and billionaire spending in elections. Here’s how that system took shape — and where efforts to rein it in are gaining ground.
Read Anoa Changa-Peck’s feature here.
How Congress Can Take Back Its Power Over the Courts
Congress has the constitutional power to expand the lower courts, reshape the Supreme Court, limit its jurisdiction and restore checks on an increasingly powerful judiciary.
Read Lisa Needham’s feature here.
What If We Treated Housing Like a Human Right?
America’s housing crisis is the product of decades of underbuilding, restrictive zoning, rising costs and policy choices. There are ways out — if we’re willing to think differently about housing.
Read the reporting from Ryan Biller here.
The Student Debt Crisis Needs More Than Another Repayment Plan
As borrowers face rising payments and an increasingly chaotic loan system, experts and advocates are pushing for solutions that address the cost of college itself — from stronger grants to free college and debt cancellation.
Read the feature from Rainesford Stauffer here.
America’s Child Care Crisis Was a Political Choice
For decades, the U.S. treated child care as a private responsibility instead of a public good. States are now testing a different future.
Read the full piece from Elliot Haspel here.
America’s Public Health System Was Too Easy to Break
Replacing Trump’s health officials won’t be enough. Rebuilding America’s public-health system means restoring scientific expertise—and creating safeguards that can survive the next administration willing to ignore it.
Read the rest from Kavin Senapathy here.