Yellowjackets is a TV show I should like. The theme song and opening credits are pretty cool. It features a lot of 90s songs and actors who were popular in the 90s, triggering my nostalgia. The image they use to advertise the show of someone wearing antlers and a veil is pretty cool and makes you think the show will be pretty wild. However, by the end of the first season, I wasn’t planning on continuing to watch it.
Continue readingMonth: August 2025
Good News Friday
- Indonesia’s poverty rate falls to 20-year low in March 2025. Antara.
- There’s been a nearly 50% reduction in the national multidimensional poverty rate in Iraq since 2011. UNDP.
- Extreme poverty in Argentina fell to 7.4%, down from 18.2% a year ago. The Rio Times.
- Botswana was once ‘at risk of extinction’ from HIV. Now it is a world leader in eliminating the virus in children. The Guardian.
- In the US in the 1950s, over 500 out of every 100,000 people died of cardiovascular disease each year. Today, that figure is below 150 — a decline of around three-quarters. Our World in Data.
- A man who has returned to work a year after being registered blind says new AI glasses have been “life-changing”. BBC.
- Scientists reversed memory loss in mice by boosting mitochondrial activity. Science Daily.
- NASA’s new AI model can predict when a solar storm may strike. MIT Technology Review.
- 12-year-old girl designed solar-powered sleeping bags for her homeless neighbors. Good Good Good.
- Houston is building 80 3D-printed homes start at just $200K. Good Good Good.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Herculine by Grace Byron
To the unnamed narrator of Herculine, seeing demons is a normal occurrence. She uses her childhood Christianity to ward off the demons even though she’s no longer a practicing Christian. We’re told demons lay claim to those who’ve been traumatized. A lot of the narrator’s complicated past is given rapid-fire in asides, giving the novel a fast-paced feel.
Continue readingExiles by Ashley and Leslie Saunders
Damon Yates is a tech billionaire who created hyperloops for fast travel between cities and is also involved in space travel. He runs an academy to train children to become tech millionaires like him. He’s also made it possible for a paralyzed student to walk again and has cured mental illness in another student. He’s referred to as the Savior for all the good he’s done, however there are some who think he’s up to no good and use his nickname as a curse word.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Kenya achieves elimination of sleeping sickness. WHO.
- Mexico’s welfare policies helped 13.4 million people out of poverty. The Guardian.
- Brazil sees lowest level of homicides since 2012. Le Monde.
- Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death. YLE.
- Australia wipes $10 billion off student loans. Reuters.
- Four-day work week benefits workers and employers, new study shows. Popular Science
- Oil spills from tankers have fallen to less than one-thirtieth of the levels seen in the 1970s. Our World in Data.
- Renewables have taken the lead in Dutch electricity production. Our World in Data.
- New manta ray species discovered. Oceanographic.
- Scientists confirm two new species of pika in the Himalayas. Good Good Good.
- Student invents 3d-printed cast that’s lightweight, breathable, water-resistant, and more comfortable than traditional fiberglass casts. Good Good Good.
- Pancreatic cancer vaccine showed promise in early trial. NBC News.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Good News Friday
- Timor-Leste certified malaria-free. WHO.
- COVID vaccines saved 2.5 million lives globally. Science Daily.
- The first 100% effective HIV prevention drug is approved and going global. New Atlas.
- Murder in the US dropped by 14.9% in 2024. Jeff-alytics.
- Gates Foundation pledges $2.5 billion to women’s health initiatives. STAT News.
- Illinois public schools will offer 3rd through 12th-grade students a free, optional mental health screening once a year. Chicago Tribune.
- Solar power now is 41% cheaper and wind power is 53% cheaper globally than the lowest-cost fossil fuel. AP.
- Scientists just found a coral species they thought had gone extinct 24 years ago. Smithsonian Magazine.
- In 2014, over 140 million animals around the world were farmed and killed for their fur. By 2024, that number plummeted to just 20.5 million. Vox.
- ‘Big-butt starfish,’ ‘little sweet potato’ and dozens of never-before-seen species recorded during deep-sea expedition off Argentina. Live Science.
- How Android phones became an earthquake warning system. Ars Technica.
- Australian researchers used AI to design a new protein that kills drug-resistant E. coli. Science News Today.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
The Peacekeeper by B.L. Blanchard
“Love can justify just about any action, no matter how horrible.”
This novel takes place in an alternate universe in which America was never colonized by Europeans. (However, the native tribes did assimilate each other.) The world is similar to ours in terms of technological level, but society is organized differently. Different cultures from around the world get along with each other better than in our world. Skyscrapers are designed to incorporate plant growth making for carbon negative cities. There’s nationalized health care and universal basic income, however there are still beggars so the system isn’t perfect.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Emergency vaccinations cut outbreak deaths by nearly 60% preventing millions of infections and saving billions of dollars in economic losses. Gavi.
- Senegal joins growing list of countries that have eliminated trachoma. WHO.
- New Orleans recorded fewer murders through June 2025 than any year since 1970. New York City has only recorded fewer murders once through June since 1960. Philadelphia recorded the fewest murders since 1969, Los Angeles since 1966, Baltimore since 1965, Detroit since 1964, and San Francisco had the fewest ever recorded. Jeff-alytics.
- Ozzy Osbourne’s final show was the highest-grossing charity concert of all time, raising more than $190 million for three charities. Billboard.
- Divorce in decline: only about 40% of today’s marriages will end in divorce. Institute for Family Studies.
- Since 2010, there has been a 65% decline in the amount of coal used by the power sector in the United States and there’s been six times more coal power plants retired than constructed this century. Reuters.
- How persistence and dedication brought a rare bat species back from the brink. Conservation Optimism.
- Baltic ringed seal numbers increase five fold since the toxic ’70s. Oceanographic.
- Electric cars are so fast that a Ferrari can’t catch a Kia now. Inside EVs.
- AI helps prevent medical errors in real-world clinics. Time.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Mania Delight 