BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every fall, tens of millions of monarch butterflies travel nearly 3,000 miles from Canada, through the United States, and into the forests of western Mexico. They arrive like a living orange blanket, covering entire trees. This winter, there were noticeably more of them. New figures released by WWF Mexico…
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…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Governments have spent decades and billions trying to reverse falling birth rates. Cash bonuses for new parents in South Korea. Generous parental leave in Scandinavia. Subsidized childcare across the EU. And yet fertility rates in most high-income countries keep sliding. A major new study suggests one of the most…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For most of human history, the kiwiberry was valued for its flowers while the fruit was just an afterthought. These days, that seems almost hard to believe, given what scientists are finding. But the kiwiberry spent centuries being grown as an ornamental vine, appreciated for its looks rather than…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In California’s Sierra Nevada, giant sequoias have stood for millennia. The largest trees top 300 feet, live past 3,000 years, and are among the biggest living things on Earth by mass. Now, clones of specific ancient trees are being planted in Detroit. Volunteers with Archangel Ancient Tree Archive and…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you have ever lost an hour to a video feed you never meant to open, you understand what Brazil just decided to make illegal for children. The Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents took effect in Brazil last week, and what makes it different from most online safety…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The International Energy Agency has already done something it has never done before: ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history. Now it is turning to the demand side… and asking a lot of people to make some small changes quickly. Why the Iran disruption is…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If your spring allergies feel worse than they did five years ago, there is a reason for that, and it is not you getting older or more sensitive. A study published in 2021 found that pollen season now starts 20 days earlier than it did in 1990 and produces…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Digital dating has changed the way we connect, creating a new vocabulary of phrases such as ghosting, orbiting, and breadcrumbing. While these activities may appear fairly innocent on the surface, they can have serious consequences for our mental health and well-being. Psychotherapist Danielle Sukenik speaks to the emotional cost of…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The idea that your body works against you when you exercise has circulated in fitness and science communities for years. Work out more, the theory goes, and your metabolism quietly dials back somewhere else (suppressing immune function, trimming reproductive hormones, slowing the thyroid) to keep your total daily calorie…
