Thought Leader Series: A letter to the class of 2020
You have graduated from college, now what? This question looms large for the class of 2020 as they face a global pandemic, few jobs, and a shaky political climate. In this week’s Thought Leader Series, The Optimist Daily founding impact investor Rinaldo Brutoco pens a letter of support to the Read More...
Drone delivery service will soon start dropping books to kids in Virginia
For many school librarians, getting kids to read over the summer can be a challenge, but a librarian in Christiansburg, Virginia, has found an ingenious way to get kids to read more: drones. In a hope that watching a drone deliver books to their house will entice kids to read more, middle-school Read More...
“Black Lives Matter” is popping up along more streets across the country
Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser made headlines last week after she renamed the intersection at H and 16th streets “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and commissioned artists to paint the words in big, yellow letters on the pavement. Although some criticized the move as a symbolic gesture lacking Read More...
Ethiopia sets out to plant 5 billion trees in 2020
Ethiopia has set out to plant 5 billion trees this year as part of its ambitious plan to plant 20 billion seedlings by 2025 in order to help combat environmental degradation, build resilience, and transition into a green society. Called the Green Legacy, the broader reforestation plan made Read More...
Eliminating this federal program is key to demilitarizing the police
In 2014, the ACLU reported that police departments in Arizona had collectively amassed a military arsenal that included: 712 rifles, 64 armored vehicles, 42 forced-entry tools, 32 bomb suits, 704 night-vision items, 830 units of surveillance equipment, and, in at least one department, “a .50 Read More...
Wow: Scientists created a 3D heart model that shows the heart’s neurons
Everyone knows that the heart’s critical role is circulating oxygen and blood throughout the body — a role that is maintained in the brain through a network of nerves between the brain and the heart. Damage to those nerves could cause a heart attack, heart disease, or even death. But what Read More...
Try these mental tricks to stop worrying so much
Why do we worry? Often times, it comes from our desire to control our environment or the outcome of a situation. The problem, however, is that the more you try to control everything around you, the more anxious you’ll feel. It’s a vicious cycle to break — worry, try to gain control, fail, Read More...
One of the oldest grizzlies outside a zoo emerges from yet another winter
Nothing warms the heart like a conservation story about bears—and today we have a really good one for you. A few weeks ago, a nature photographer who lives near Yellowstone national park sent a four-word text message to Dr. Jane Goodall, the British primatologist. “Miraculously, she still Read More...
June 11, 2020
The Optimist Daily Update with Summers McKay & Kristy Jansen - Your weekday commute update from The Optimist Daily featuring discussions of our top positive news solutions from independent, reader-funded, journalists. Mermaids and astronauts is our theme on the Optimist Daily Update today including Read More...
June 11, 2020
The Optimist Daily Update with Summers McKay & Kristy Jansen - Your weekday commute update from The Optimist Daily featuring discussions of our top positive news solutions from independent, reader-funded, journalists. Mermaids and astronauts is our theme on the Optimist Daily Update today including Read More...