The Falvey Memorial Library is happy to announce the start of a new weekly blog series: Weekend Recs, a blog dedicated to filling you in on what to read, listen, and watch over the weekend. We’re scouring the internet to find new, relevant, and thought-provoking content that will challenge you and prepare you with knowledge for the upcoming week. Have a busy weekend? No problem. We’ve sorted our recommendations by length of time. That way, whether you have four minutes on the train or an entire day to tackle a novel, Falvey has something for you.

Each year, the U.S. President delivers a State of the Union address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) in order to offer their view of the nation, as well as their plans, hopes and goals for future legislation. Initially, the State of the Union address was delivered by way of a written report, but starting with Woodrow Wilson, the address was delivered in person since 1913, and has ever since.

Between a 35-day government shutdown and a handful of disagreements with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the SOTU “almost didn’t happen,” as USA Today put it.

However, this past Tuesday night (Feb. 5, 2019), Presidnet Trump delivered The State of the Union Address to a joint session of a divided United States Congress. If you haven’t done your research already, here’s a rundown of what to read, watch, and listen this weekend to know about the 2019 SOTU.

If you have 2 minutes:

The Guardian made a super short video that notes what they consider the highlights of Trump’s address.

If you have 10 minutes:

CNN condensed the entire address into 5 key takeaways.

If you have 25 minutes:

Listen to The Daily‘s Wednesday morning podcast. While discussing Trump’s SOTU address, they analyze the last three addresses delivered by presidents who lost their midterm elections: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

If you have 45 minutes:

The New York Times annotated a transcript of Trump’s State of the Union address.

If you have 90 minutes:

Did you miss the State of the Union? No worries. The Washington Post published the entire address on Youtube: