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 Benjy Sarlin, senior editor for politics, policy, and ideas.

It’s peak primary season and that means passions are running high and grievances are being aired. Vox’s Andrew Prokop has been following Michigan’s Senate race between Democrats Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens, and wrote this week about how it’s bringing up longstanding tensions between left and center that date back to the 2016 presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. And definitely check out America, Actually host Astead Herndon’s interview with El-Sayed himself.

There’s plenty more conflict where that came from. Maine Democrats are hoping to rally behind a unity candidate in Troy Jackson after Graham Platner drove months of arguments inside and outside the state before departing the race. And in Wisconsin’s governor race, Democratic candidates are dropping out (and un-dropping out) almost too fast to track as Francesca Hong’s quest to become the first socialist governor gains momentum.

But of course there’s more to life than just politics! Our top stories this week cover elections, the ways we manage our tech, and other topics.

—Benjy Sarlin, senior editor for politics, policy, and ideas

TOP PICKS THIS WEEK

Who counts as “working class”?

Is there a more loaded, ambiguous, and ubiquitous term in politics than “working class?” Depending who you ask and the context, it can be about income, or education, or family connections, or physical labor, or cultural familiarity, or some combination. Vox’s Eric Levitz looks at the definition favored by some on the socialist left: Anyone who needs to work for a living, period. While it’s helpful in its simplicity, it ends up creating a lot of problems in practice, especially when it comes time to decide what a “working class” policy agenda actually means.

The surprisingly undisciplined trick to escaping social media

It’s newsletters! Just kidding, but Constance Grady has some good advice for those of us trying to manage our daily consumption of tweets, skeets, reels, and TikToks. The key is not to come up with a rigid schedule of approved and non-approved activity time, but cultivate a sense of curiosity that will motivate you to seek answers to big questions outside the infinite scroll. You’ll want to read her full piece.

Trump is stocking the government with his personal lawyers

Trump’s personal lawyers are increasingly America’s lawyers. Ian Milhiser looks at the trend of Trump appointing his own defense attorneys to key government positions, including nominating them for attorney general (Todd Blanche) and as federal judges (Emil Bove, Justin Smith, and Matthew Schwartz). What does their rise mean for an independent legal system?

Why some Dems are standing by Israel

The Democratic Party is rapidly moving left on Israel, with more and more members of Congress voting to block military aid and arm sales. Today, Explained host Sean Rameswaram talked to Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), who voted against the latest proposed cuts to aid, about why he’s bucked the trend — even as he has plenty of criticism himself. “My frustration with the current Israeli government has grown and continues to grow,” Schneider said.

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