Most Recent Articles - YES!

YES! has a positive solution-oriented focus. We reframe issues, reflect diverse human-scale stories, and offer tools for people to use and to pass along. Here are our most recent articles and blogs.

Walking: The Secret Ingredient for Health, Wealth, and More Exciting Neighborhoods
by Jay Walljasper
Dec 25, 2014
It's been called "America's untrendiest trend." The evidence that millions of people are finally walking again is as solid as the ground beneath our feet.
Creeped Out by "Baby, It's Cold Outside"? Try This Feminist Version
Dec 24, 2014
In the original song, she wants to go home, he says no, and then he spikes her drink. Blogger Dara Laine replaces the uncomfortable Christmas refrain with the female-friendly "Baby, It's Consent Inside."
Tiny House Living: How Two Families Made It Work—Teenagers, Sleepovers, Alone Time, and All
by Liz Pleasant
Dec 24, 2014
How do you fit a full-sized family into a tiny house? The Morrisons and Kasls found that the benefits of life in 200 square feet outweigh the difficulties.
Book Review: After Landing Herself in ICU, This Woman Changed Her Lifestyle, and Built a Tiny House
by Abby Quillen
Dec 24, 2014
In building her tiny house, the author built a simpler and happier life.
A Radical Homemaker on How to De-Stress, Have Fun, and Stay Healthy This Christmas
by Shannon Hayes
Dec 23, 2014
Tired of the spending that goes along with the holidays? The gifting frenzy? The stress? Maybe this is the year to blend a few new ideas into your holiday routine.
What the Classics Can Teach Us About Cherishing Holiday Foods, From A Christmas Carol to Moby Dick
by Nina Bunker Ruiz
Dec 22, 2014
Can we find our way back to treasuring what comes from far away while reveling in local, abun­dant foods, whose proximity makes them affordable and sustainable?
When Christmas Dinner Gets Uncomfortably Political, These Cues From “House of Cards” and Other Shows Can Help You Out
by Kate Aronoff
Dec 22, 2014
This year’s most popular movies and TV series can be a tool to work your way out of a particularly bad conversation.
Black Lives Matter Protest Shuts Down Mall of America on December’s Biggest Shopping Day
by Christopher Zumski Finke
Dec 21, 2014
This weekend, thousands converged on one of the world's biggest malls, chanting "Black people cannot breathe while you have a shopping spree." Check out our play-by-play.
Winter 2015 National Student Writing Competition: Letting Go of Worry
by Jing Fong
Dec 20, 2014
Want a motivator to take your students’ writing to a higher level? Here’s an opportunity for them to write for a real audience, and the chance to get published by an award-winning magazine.
12 Hashtags That Changed the World in 2014
by Lindsey Weedston
Dec 19, 2014
Slacktivism? Not so much. From #BlackLivesMatter to #BringBackOurGirls, this year's best hashtags around issues of social justice brought fresh voices into some of our most important conversations.
“Wild” Could Have Been a Standard Hollywood Weeper. Here’s How Reese Witherspoon Saved It
by Christopher Zumski Finke
Dec 19, 2014
To call “Wild” a redemption film is to minimize the wide range of emotions it works with—not to mention the subtlety of Reese Witherspoon’s performance.
Video: This Philly Beauty Salon and Rehab Clinic Helps People Heal—With a Little Magical Realism
by YES! Editors
Dec 19, 2014
A new documentary, "Hollywood Beauty Salon," lets people who struggle with mental illness and addiction tell their own stories in unexpected ways.
Kids on Chicago’s West Side Break the School-to-Prison Pipeline with Restorative Circles
by Maya Schenwar
Dec 19, 2014
For these Chicago students, restorative justice isn’t just about causing less harm to those around us. It’s also about actively creating safety, on their own terms.
Neighbors Helped This Immigrant-Owned Dry Cleaner in Boston Go Nontoxic—and Stay in Business
by Chuck Collins, Polly Hoppin
Dec 19, 2014
Organizations that aim to reduce the use of toxic chemicals have long focused on shutting down offending businesses. But this story from Boston shows another way.
We Don't Need Santa's Magic When We Already Have Our Own
by Shannon Hayes
Dec 16, 2014
Magic is about stepping into our power, about uniting our intentions with the natural world to create something better, something deeper.