The stories in the first half of this book felt vague with nothing for me to latch on to, if that makes sense. The stories in the second half get better.
Continue readingEverything That’s Underneath by Kristi DeMeester
Month: April 2026
Good News Friday
- The global suicide rate has fallen 40% since the 1990s. Our World in Data.
- In a first, renewables beat natural gas on US grid last month. Canary Media.
- Five “missing” bird species rediscovered in 2025. Mongabay.
- Researchers have found that even a short break from your phone yields substantial benefits: improved attention equivalent to erasing a decade’s worth of age-related cognitive decline and a more significant effect on depression than that produced by antidepressants. The Washington Post.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
The Simpsons Season 11
“Beyond Blunderdome” (S11, E1) features Mel Gibson who was presented as beloved at the time with Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Grant presented as degenerates. Just goes to show how easy it is for actors to go from being loved to despised to loved again. Since I’m keeping track of presidential references, I’ll mention an unnamed monocle-wearing president is decapitated in the movie Mel Gibson and Homer make together.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Argentina’s poverty rate dropped to just 28% at the end of 2025, down from 53% in early 2024. Semafor.
- Pedestrian deaths in the United States fell 10.9% in the first half of 2025, the biggest recorded drop since national tracking began 15 years ago. GHSA.
- Uruguay built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. Forbes.
- Battery costs have declined by 99% in the last three decades, making electrified transport a reality. Our World in Data.
- The ampurta, a blond or brown guinea pig-sized marsupial, once endangered, has made a big comeback. Mongabay.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider
Children of the Savage City is the sequel to May the Wolf Die, but it reminds you of what happened before, so you can jump right in here if you haven’t read the first book or don’t remember everything that happened last time.
Continue readingI Am the Monster Under the Bed by Emily Zinnikas
As a child, Willa was friends with the monster under her bed. In the present, she’s a famous artist and she has a feud with a television psychic, which is a fun set up.
Continue readingThe X Files Season 2
At the end of Season 1, the X Files had been discontinued and Mulder and Scully have been assigned to other duties. Season 2 kicks off with “Little Green Men” (S2, E1) in which Mulder investigates an alien signal picked up by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This episode feels very cinematic. There’s a lot of location shooting, a car chase, and Mulder and Scully are separate for much of the episode each doing their own thing. We also get a flashback to Mulder’s sister being abducted. It’s like a mini movie. I had forgotten about how much Mulder likes sunflower seeds until the opening scene depicts him with his feet buried in shells.
Continue readingGood News Friday
- Since 1990, global under-five deaths have fallen from 13 million to 4.9 million a year thanks to vaccines, oral rehydration, bed nets and safer births. Unicef.
- The youth literacy rate in South Asia has risen from 53% in 1985 to 93% in 2023. Our World in Data.
- Child labor drops 38.5 percent in the Philippines over last two years. Philstar.
- Virginia has passed 25 gun reform laws, including a ban on assault weapons. The Trace.
- After 1,400 years, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury is enthroned. The New York Times.
- Mexico’s monarch butterfly population jumps 64% year-over-year. The Guardian.
- Waymo self-driving cars were involved in 92% fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries than human drivers, meaning they’re 13 times safer. Waypoint.
- Battery costs have declined by 99% in the last three decades, making electrified transport a reality. Our World in Data.
- China approves brain chip to treat paralysis — a world first. Nature.
For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.
Mania Delight 