diff --git a/liiweb/views/general.py b/liiweb/views/general.py
index 0b49118f3..dfcccc0d2 100644
--- a/liiweb/views/general.py
+++ b/liiweb/views/general.py
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@ def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
         context["recent_legislation"] = Legislation.objects.filter(
             metadata_json__stub=False
         ).order_by("-date")[:10]
-        context["taxonomies"] = Taxonomy.get_tree()
+        context["taxonomies"] = Taxonomy.get_root_nodes()
         context["recent_articles"] = (
-            Article.objects.prefetch_related("topics")
+            Article.objects.prefetch_related("topics", "author")
             .filter(published=True)
-            .select_related("author")
             .order_by("-date")[:5]
         )
         return context
diff --git a/peachjam/templates/peachjam/_taxonomy_list.html b/peachjam/templates/peachjam/_taxonomy_list.html
index 470979b1e..a3bcf8d41 100644
--- a/peachjam/templates/peachjam/_taxonomy_list.html
+++ b/peachjam/templates/peachjam/_taxonomy_list.html
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   {% if taxonomies|length > 0 %}
     <div class="row">
       {% for taxonomy in taxonomies %}
-        {% if taxonomy.is_root and taxonomy.get_children|length > 0 %}
+        {% if taxonomy.is_root and taxonomy.get_children_count > 0 %}
           <div class="col-12 col-lg-6 mb-4">
             <div class="card">
               <div class="card-header">{{ taxonomy }}</div>
diff --git a/peachjam/views/article.py b/peachjam/views/article.py
index 3a408319b..cced40e07 100644
--- a/peachjam/views/article.py
+++ b/peachjam/views/article.py
@@ -9,7 +9,12 @@
 
 class ArticleListView(ListView):
     model = Article
-    queryset = Article.objects.filter(published=True).order_by("-date")
+    queryset = (
+        Article.objects.filter(published=True)
+        .select_related("author")
+        .prefetch_related("topics")
+        .order_by("-date")
+    )
     template_name = "peachjam/article_list.html"
     context_object_name = "articles"
     navbar_link = "articles"
@@ -17,14 +22,11 @@ class ArticleListView(ListView):
 
     def get_context_data(self, *args, **kwargs):
         context = super().get_context_data(*args, **kwargs)
-        years = sorted(
-            list(
-                self.model.objects.filter(published=True)
-                .order_by()
-                .values_list("date__year", flat=True)
-                .distinct()
-            ),
-            reverse=True,
+        years = (
+            self.model.objects.filter(published=True)
+            .dates("date", "year", order="DESC")
+            .values_list("date__year", flat=True)
+            .distinct()
         )
 
         context["years"] = [
@@ -69,6 +71,8 @@ def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
         )
         context["more_articles"] = (
             Article.objects.filter(author=self.object.author, published=True)
+            .select_related("author")
+            .prefetch_related("topics")
             .exclude(pk=self.object.pk)
             .order_by("-date")[:5]
         )
@@ -92,7 +96,12 @@ def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
 
 
 class ArticleYearArchiveView(YearArchiveView):
-    queryset = Article.objects.filter(published=True).order_by("-date")
+    queryset = (
+        Article.objects.select_related("author")
+        .prefetch_related("topics")
+        .filter(published=True)
+        .order_by("-date")
+    )
     date_field = "date"
     make_object_list = True
     allow_future = True
@@ -109,15 +118,15 @@ def get_queryset(self):
 
     def get_context_data(self, *, object_list=None, **kwargs):
         context = super().get_context_data(**kwargs)
-
         years = (
             self.queryset.order_by("-date__year")
+            .dates("date", "year", order="DESC")
             .values_list("date__year", flat=True)
             .distinct()
         )
+
         context["years"] = [
-            {"url": reverse("article_year_archive", args=[year]), "year": year}
-            for year in years
+            {"url": reverse("article_year_archive", args=[y]), "year": y} for y in years
         ]
 
         context["all_years_url"] = reverse("article_list")