Documenting in public
Inherent in the knowledge-making work we do at Unbreaking is tracking developments across a wide range of issues, including the ones we’re publicly tracking and the dozen or so we’re working on internally but haven’t written about yet. We do this in part by compiling reporting and analysis we find on our own, but we also rely on the work of other people and groups tracking specific issues in detail.
We’ve been keeping a list of trackers — more than 70 and counting — for our own use, and we’ve now shared it publicly as a Google Sheet. We may further organize it in the future, but we see value in sharing it even in its current informal state.
What’s in the Unbreaking tracker tracker
We’ve included:
- The name of and a link to each tracker;
- A description of the issue(s) covered;
- When we last checked that the tracker is still operational; and
- Whether the tracker is still being updated, to the best of our judgment.
The format of the trackers varies. Some are downloadable as CSV files; some are searchable; some are available as email newsletters.
Their specificity is invaluable. There are trackers devoted to food policy, executive orders affecting Black communities, changes in graduate student admissions policies in biomedical sciences, and developments within NASA and aerospace, to highlight just a few. And the impacts of the changes they track are far from small. Did you know that, since the beginning of the year, there have been 77 assaults on journalists who were engaging in activity protected by the First Amendment? Nearly all of them were reporting on protests against the Trump administration’s inhumane actions against people in the immigration system. Now you know — and so do we — thanks to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker.
This is the level of detail that’s impossible for any one group to keep track of across so many issues and areas. It’s only with our powers combined that we’re able to maintain a fuller view of how the administration is undermining a free and fair government.
Why we made this
The necessity of relying on others demonstrates two foundational philosophies behind Unbreaking:
- The scale of change and harm is too extensive for a single entity to keep track of, and
- Doing this documentation work together and in public builds understanding, resilience, and connection in communities, all of which are crucial for maintaining political agency.
We are extremely grateful to the people behind the trackers we’ve included in our spreadsheet. These trackers have helped us untangle developments in every issue we’re tracking, like transgender healthcare, Medicaid, the decimation of the federal workforce, and food safety. We could not do this work without them.
How you can help
Tell us about other trackers. If you know of one that’s not on the list, let us know by sending an email to community@unbreaking.org.
Apply to join our volunteers. If you’re interested in contributing to Unbreaking, apply to join us. We’re looking for people to help with research, writing and editing, and community and operations, like recruiting and onboarding new volunteers.