Episode Description:

Arielle and Karissa are back this week, and the stories span everything from marble sculptures in Naples to coyote dens in American cities. A museum in Naples opened its barriers so blind visitors could touch the Veiled Christ, led by blind guides who know that experience firsthand.

Urban coyotes are raising pups closer to you than you think, and on purpose. If your spring allergies have been brutal lately, new research explains why the season itself has changed. Those three stories alone are worth pulling up a chair for, but there are seven more waiting!

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Transcript:

Arielle 

Hello, and welcome to the Optimist Daily’s weekly roundup. I’m Arielle. 

Karissa 

And I’m Karissa, and we’re glad to be back to share the solutions from The Optimist Daily this week. 

Arielle 

Yes, how are you doing, Karissa? 

Karissa 

Still a little sore from my weekend adventures of walking 19 miles in the city of San Francisco and enjoying the spring weather that was showing up over there.  

Arielle 

That’s quite the hike! 

Karissa 

It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.  

Arielle 

Okay, so you’re not going back (laughs).  

Karissa 

I don’t think I really want to hike 19 miles again in one day. But it was quite the feat. 

Arielle 

Good to get your body moving! 

Karissa 

How about you? 

Arielle 

I feel fine, I think. I have a bit of a cough coming on. So yeah, my voice has been coming in and out all day. Luckily, it’s back for the podcast recording, but if I start sounding raspy, then that’s why. Anyway, Karissa, what’s going on with the podcast? Because I know we have some exciting updates for everyone. 

Karissa 

Yeah, something exciting that’s happening today is, I mean, we’ve been mentioning this already, but we are offering a perk to the Emissaries of The Optimist Daily, who are our financial supporters. And that perk is the ability to give a shout-out to your favorite changemakers in your life. Who is making you optimistic? Whether that’s a friendly neighbor, your favorite nonprofit or charity, we want to recognize them here on the pod. And by being an Emissary, you get that really cool perk.  

So, we’re sending out an e-mail today with instructions on how to do that. And you’ll be able to talk about that changemaker either in a little voice recording. So, there’s instructions on how to do that and leave us a voicemail as we like to call it. And we’ll play that here on The Optimist Daily. Or you can just send us a written message and we’ll read it out loud here on The Optimist Daily for you. 

Arielle 

And it doesn’t have to be like, super serious either. It could just be a friend who always lets you vent about, I don’t know, work drama or things like that. Just people that you appreciate. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. I’m super excited for this and super excited to be adding this voicemail feature in because we’ll definitely be using that in the future for more listener engagement. So, keep an eye or ear out for all of that. 

Arielle 

And there are so many new things happening with us. So, if you have any feedback, comments, or just want to say hi, you can either engage with us on social media. So, we are @OptimistDaily on everything except for X. There we are @OdeToOptimism. And we also have a specific e-mail for the podcast where you can reach us, and that is podcast@optimistdaily.com. 

Karissa 

And once again, we want to remind you, if you want these solutions straight to your inbox every day, you can sign up for our free daily newsletter, and that link is in the show notes. 

Arielle 

Everything is a little bit chaotic right now. It’s even more negative than usual in the media stratosphere! So, all of these little positive solutions will be good for you. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. And I mentioned… I guess, spoiler alert! I create the daily newsletter here at The Optimist Daily. And I wrote a little message just to… because there were two solutions that… not that they didn’t feel optimistic, but they were just addressing issues that are going on, and that has to do with the worsening allergy crisis, I guess you could call it. And I’m a victim (laughs).  

And the oil crisis that we are all feeling right now. And so, I just wrote a little note to once again thank all of you guys for trying to find solutions in these times and looking towards what is going right and what we can do. So, thank you guys. 

Arielle 

And speaking of what we are able to do… we have a lot of cool solutions that we featured on The Optimist Daily this week. So, shall we get into them? 

Karissa 

Yes, this week was so good in my opinion! There was a lot of diversity in the solutions. So, let’s dive in. 

Arielle 

Okay, so today we are starting with Naples lets blind visitors feel the Veiled Christ. Last Tuesday in Naples, roughly 80 blind visitors were led into the San Severo Chapel Museum, and all the protective barriers were removed from the marble sculptures, and people were handed latex gloves. What happened next is one of those stories that makes you think differently about what it means to experience art. Also, the sculpture itself, this Veiled Christ, is objectively one of the most mind-bending objects humans have ever created. And this article goes more into why. 

Karissa 

Yeah, this is such a cool story. I want to touch the Veiled Christ! 

Arielle 

I just love inclusivity solutions anyway, because art should be accessible to everyone. It’s part of the human experience. And even if you don’t have a sense available to you, we have so many other senses, like smell, touch, hearing… I feel like we’re so focused on what we can see that some of our other senses just don’t get as much credit. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. This is such a cool concept of being able to translate visual art, which is usually off limits, of course, to touch. And not all kinds of art are really… like a painting, you wouldn’t really be able to… you could feel the texture maybe, but a sculpture is really one of those magnificent things that, yeah, you could touch it and feel the shape. 

Arielle 

And I thought it was really cool that blind guides were leading the tour.  

Karissa 

Yeah.  

Arielle 

It really shows that the museum isn’t just opening its doors, but it’s putting people with the same lived experience of blindness in charge of leading that story. 

Karissa 

And Arielle, I really loved this quote from the article from Giuseppe Ambrosino of the Italian Union of the Blind. And he said, “Art must not be a privilege reserved for sight. Beauty itself will be able to flow through the hands and reach straight to the heart.” 

Arielle 

Yeah, powerful words.  

All right, so moving on to the next article. It’s titled: Urban coyotes are denning next door. Here’s what to know.  

Right now, somewhere in your city, if you’re in the Americas anyway, a coyote is nursing a litter of pups in a den she chose specifically because it was close enough to humans to be useful but hidden just well enough that you’d never find it.  

New research tracked dozens of urban coyotes in Atlanta, and what they found is genuinely surprising, and it’s pretty beautiful as well, just to see how all of this urban wildlife is figuring out how to live amongst humans. 

Karissa 

Something surprising from this article that I found out is how coyotes live in every US state except Hawaii and in every major city too. So, they’re not rare at all, but they’re just invisible by design. 

Arielle 

Yeah, it’s really, really cool that they can just sneak around. 

Karissa 

Yes. 

Arielle 

Especially because I feel like they’re pretty big. Other urban wildlife like raccoons or pigeons, they’re smaller and they’re still more visible. 

Karissa 

This article goes into how you can help protect your coyote neighbors and also protect yourself and your small pets. And one important thing that was in this article is that if a coyote seems unusually visible near a park or trail, it could be because they’re performing a distraction behavior to lead you away from a den. And it’s not a sign that something is wrong with the coyote. So that’s such an interesting, you know, deviation tactic that they display. 

Arielle 

So clever. So, the next one I think is a reprint, but still very applicable. And it’s called Navigating digital dating and modern relationships.  

If you, like many, many other people, have ever been ghosted or breadcrumbed or orbited by someone you are seeing, then you know that really uncomfortable confusion that only online dating can produce. This piece names what’s happening, explains why it messes with your head, and offers some grounding strategies for dealing with it. So, it’s just one of those articles that makes you feel seen by just reading the headline, really, because, yeah… 

Karissa 

And yeah, this is a reprint story. And I think we actually talked about it on the podcast before, maybe like two years ago. But every bad dating experience is still data, and it’s still growth, and it’s still a step towards knowing what you actually want. 

Arielle 

The next article is titled More movement, more energy burned: new study challenges metabolism myth.  

I didn’t really know about this, but there is a theory in fitness science that says your body has a fixed energy budget, and if you exercise more, it compensates by shutting things down elsewhere. So yeah, I did not know that was a thing, but a new study from Virginia Tech just ran the most rigorous test of that idea yet, and the results are genuinely good news for anyone who moves their body. It goes deep into it. I’m not going to do a deep dive right now, but yeah, really interesting, especially if you avidly work out.  

All right, the last one that I’m going to share with you is Your allergies aren’t getting worse with age. The pollen season is.  

I am fortunate… I don’t really experience seasonal allergies, but my dad and my sister have them really bad. And 60 million other Americans deal with spring allergies every year. And if yours have felt worse lately, like you, Karissa, you are not imagining it.  

A 2021 study found that pollen season now starts 20 days earlier than it did in 1990 and produces 21% more pollen. Experts say it’s only going in one direction and there are specific things you can do right now to get ahead of that. 

Karissa 

Yeah, I mean, of course, love that turn on the story that we can do things to manage these allergies. And yes, I am suffering from these allergies really bad. But the driver of this extended allergy season and more pollen is climate change. So of course, that’s the bigger issue at hand that we are working towards solutions and trying to fight. In the meantime, when it comes to allergies, there are things we can do. And I will say my trusty Zyrtec allergy medication is my best friend right now. 

Arielle 

Yeah, I mean, climate change is such a classic culprit. But framing climate change as the actual reason behind this makes allergies feel different to talk about. It’s just more than an annual annoyance, and it’s a symptom of something much bigger. All right, Karissa, what do you have to share with me today? 

Karissa 

So, this article was called What governments and households are being asked to do in the oil crisis. We all know with the war going on right now in Iran, oil supply is being affected, and it’s triggered the most significant oil supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.  

So, the IEA ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history last week to stabilize the supply, but it warned markets will take time to recover. And rather than only releasing the reserves, the IEA also published a 10-point demand reduction plan for governments, businesses, and households. And it was surprising because, well, maybe not surprising, but the top recommendation was to work from home where possible. It’s an immediate thing you can do. There’s no cost to you, and there’s measurable fuel impact from not having to commute. 

Arielle 

Yeah, it’s kind of ironic because there’s been a little bit of a movement to get people back into the office. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. If gas prices are going to go really high up, then there might have to be a return to work from home. There’s other recommendations in this article to for governments and businesses, including recommendations for commercial transport measures, and then households in general. Use electric cooking where possible, avoiding air travel. Lots of things you can check out in the article.  

And another solution we had this week was Giant sequoia clones from 3,000 year old trees are taking root in Detroit. Someone is cloning 3,000 year old trees, taking genetic material from specific named ancient sequoias in California and creating living copies and then planting them in Detroit. 

Arielle 

These are the redwoods, right?  

Karissa 

Yeah.  

Arielle 

Yeah, okay. I remember being in California, in Northern California, and driving through all of the redwoods there, and it’s just such a magical experience because these… you just can feel how old and strong these trees are. And of course they’re… they tend to burn down because of the wildfires. So, if we can save some of them and transplant them over far away in Detroit, then I’m all for it. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. That’s the reason why there’s this urgency to transplant them, because of the severe wildfires that have killed thousands of mature sequoias in California’s historic groves. And some populations are genuinely threatened because of this, and they’re… They want to keep the genetic material alive. Detroit is actually the pilot city. So, this could give more opportunities for other cities to do something similar with sequoias or other plants and trees as well. 

Arielle 

Cloning is always kind of weird, though. I always feel a little bit like this is science fiction-y. I wonder how it’s going to go. 

Karissa 

Exactly. 

Arielle 

I mean, we have the technology, so we might as well… see if it can help! 

Karissa 

But it’s a good thing we’ll have that genetic backup! 

All right, so moving on to another solution. Brazil’s new law blames platform design for harming kids, not parents.  

Most online safety laws go after bad content. They just take it down, flag it, and block it. But Brazil just passed a law that goes after something different entirely. The design features that make it impossible to stop scrolling in the first place, which is called “infinite scroll.” And infinite scroll and autoplay are now illegal for minors, and the rest of the world is paying close attention. 

Arielle 

Yeah, I mean, Infinite Scroll gets me too, so… 

Karissa 

And it was so interesting too, because this article mentioned how the designer of Infinite Scroll actually regrets it now and says it was a bad development. So. That’s always great to hear. But I really like that this law is targeting that feature because we’ve talked about this on The Optimist Daily before too about who is responsible for navigating online safety, especially for children. 

Arielle 

Yeah, and it’s great that this seems like it’s part of a movement. There’s been a lot of attention on trying to restrict harmful access to social media and to the internet. Like, we talked about Australia before and its full social media ban for people under 16. And in Indonesia, there was a similar ban. So, it just… it’s part of this growing global movement, and it deserves to be talked about and at least discussed. Maybe not all of these policy changes are going to work, but at least we’re working towards an actual solution. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. And speaking of work from home, there was another article this week called What nobody mentions in the return to office debate: babies. Governments have been spending billions trying to fix falling birth rates for decades and mostly failing. But a new study across nearly 40 countries found a surprisingly effective lever that is already in use, costs almost nothing, and is quietly being rolled back by major employers right now.  

And the connection between remote work and fertility is bigger than most people realize.  

I mean, it makes sense, and it’s been part of the discussion too. Working from home gives you so much more flexibility, especially being a parent, because the cost of combining a career with raising children can be high if you have to be in office all the time. But if you work from home, the commutes are gone. There are flexible hours available for school, pickups, sick days, going to your kids’ game, and just the unpredictability of family life. Because, I mean, there has, of course, been this large pushback to go back to the office, but it kind of raises the question too, like, should work from home just be for families, or should it be for everyone? Because I think there’s been so much discussion about how work from home allows this flexibility and allows you to kind of integrate work with your life and live your life more so. It’s an interesting debate on that too, whether we should just be focusing on that for families or just for everybody in general. 

Arielle 

It’s a multifaceted problem, and I’m sure there are pros and cons to both, because also just having more interactions with people throughout your day helps with people’s mental health. I think we talked about this before as well, Karissa, like the weak ties that we have socially. But I don’t know… Also, if you want to have a family and you don’t have one yet, then life can get so busy that if both partners are working from home, then maybe they can get that ball rolling a little bit easier, if you know what I mean (laughs). 

Karissa 

Yeah (laughs). 

Arielle 

I think it’s good for everyone. 

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. So yeah, that article goes into more on that, but it’s a really interesting discussion. So, I highly encourage you to check out the rest of the article if you want to know more. 

Arielle 

And the last one that we have today… 

Karissa 

Why the kiwi berry might be the most nutritious fruit you’ve never tried. Arielle, first, have you tried a kiwiberry? 

Arielle 

No, but I’ve seen a photo of one, and it looks really delicious. 

Karissa 

Yeah, I didn’t know it existed until this article, actually, but it’s been growing quietly on Earth for 25 million years, and it spent most of human history being appreciated mainly for its pretty flowers, and it’s now only getting taken seriously as a nutritional powerhouse fruit. And of course, it’s called the kiwiberry, and it looks like a small green grape, and you don’t peel it, which turns out to be the whole point.  

The big nutritional discovery here is that the skin, which you eat, contains 10 times more phenolics, 13 times more flavonoids, and 10 times more vitamin C than the fruit’s own flesh. And most people never get these benefits from regular kiwi because they peel it. 

Arielle 

Yeah, I remember reading… maybe it was on The Optimist Daily! But I remember reading that the fuzzy skin of the kiwi is actually the most nutritious, and I’ve like forced myself to just eat it with the whole… with the flesh of the fruit. But actually, if you like cut it up and put it in your smoothie bowl or something, you don’t even notice it. 

Karissa 

Exactly. Take a look if you can find it in your markets. It is a seasonal fruit, and it’s mostly available in the fall. So, if you’re in the northern hemisphere like us, then it might not be readily available, but it might be something worth adding to your snack routine.  

Well, I think that’s all we have this week. But of course, we have all of these and more from the archive on the website if you want to check it out. 

Arielle 

And as usual, we are going to leave you with a quote. 

Karissa 

And that quote is, “No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere.” And Sheryl Crow said that. 

Arielle 

Wildflowers are beautiful. They will remind you that the world is a good place, but they might also… aggravate your allergies (laughs). So that’s just another nudge to check out that article. Okay.  

Karissa 

Yeah, exactly. Check that one out (laughs). 

Arielle 

We will be back next week with more solutions. In the meantime, we wish everyone, all of our Optimists, all of our Emissaries, all the listeners, a very happy weekend. 

Karissa 

Bye! 

Arielle 

Bye.