All articles from Reasons to be Cheerful
What We’re Reading: One of America’s Greatest Drops in Gun Violence — Ever
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at [email protected] and we just might feature it here. People po
‘In Goats We Trust’
When Mount Etna in Sicily rumbled this spring, news outlets around the world flashed dramatic photos of lava and ash. But Martin Wikelski was skeptical. The biologist, who directs the Department of Mi
The Small City That Became the Composting Capital of a Nation
On a blue-skied summer morning, Place Pasteur in the historic center of Besançon is abuzz with colorful market stalls selling trinkets and antiques. But it’s also here that residents bring a different
The Spark: How Kids Are Making Meaningful Change in Their Communities
Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The Spark is generously supported by Laura Rice. Sign up to
How Lithuania More Than Halved Its Suicide Rate
Taking phone calls from a 90-year-old woman you’ve never met is not typically in a co-founder’s job description. But for Marius Čiuželis, it’s all in a day’s work. In 2016, he and his wife Kristina st
What We’re Reading: How Zohran Mamdani’s Election Could Shape Other U.S. Cities
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at [email protected] and we just might feature it here. The New Y
The Rustic Farms Where French Prisoners Wrap Up Their Sentences
After a decade behind bars, it wasn’t the fields that stretched for kilometers around him that struck Nicolas when he first set foot on the farm. It was the smell. “I’ve been through six different jai
Chicago Cyclists Buy Out Tamale Vendors to Keep Them Safe from ICE
This article was originally published by Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Chicago’s neighborhoods. Sign up for their newsletters here. As ICE patrols swarm Chicago, the t