Arizona abolishes peremptory challenges to improve juror diversity
Arizona’s state Supreme Court has announced a policy change to improve juror diversity and reduce racial bias in the legal system. The state will eliminate peremptory challenges, the practice that allows lawyers to remove jurors from a case without justification. In both criminal and civil Read More...
September 1, 2021
It's pumpkin spice and back-to-school season, so we're talking kids' mental health and how movement helps us learn. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
September 1, 2021
It's pumpkin spice and back-to-school season, so we're talking kids' mental health and how movement helps us learn. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Donate and volunteer: Where to support Hurricane Ida victims
Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm. This is the largest hurricane to hit Louisiana since Katrina and the storm is causing widespread damage across Mississippi as well. Although it has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves northeast, it left one million Read More...
The Optimist View: The back-to-school edition
"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Tomorrow is Labor Day, which means it’s time to say goodbye to summer camp-outs and long beach days and head back to school and work for the fall. The days are getting shorter and the weather a Read More...
How movement can make students better learners
You probably remember being told to “sit still” in class as a child, but human development professor Katie Headrick Taylor explains in The Conversation that perhaps we should encourage children to incorporate movement into learning. Here’s why. Learning and the body Research indicates Read More...
Versatility of elephant trunks is inspiring the next generation of robotics
Elephant trunks are truly remarkable. They can grasp a single blade of grass and also carry nearly 600 pounds. This versatility is what prompted robotics researchers to take a deeper look at how elephant trunks work and how their natural design could be mimicked to create the next generation of Read More...
August 31, 2021
Summers talks cemeteries and biodiversity, while Kristy explores a new initiative capturing energy from nightclub dancers in Glasgow. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
August 31, 2021
Summers talks cemeteries and biodiversity, while Kristy explores a new initiative capturing energy from nightclub dancers in Glasgow. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
How tiny wasps could solve the US’ invasive beetle problem
You may have never heard of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), but this little green beetle is the most invasive wood-boring insect in US history. The insects are native to Russia and Asia and were first discovered in Michigan in 2002. Today, they are wreaking havoc on ash trees across Read More...