Local Food With a Big Twist: Oregon Super-Cooperative Takes Aim at the Corporate Food System
This co-op south of Portland wants to strengthen the local food system by helping local farmers cooperate instead of compete with one another.
YES! Article archive
Is the Maker Movement About Hacking Society—Or Just Hardware?
At feminist hackerspaces, members are less interested in digital trespassing than in developing a safe community for experimenting, creating, and collaborating.
Portugal Cut Addiction Rates in Half by Connecting Drug Users With Communities Instead of Jailing Them
Fifteen years ago, the Portuguese had one of the worst drug problems in Europe. So they decriminalized drugs, took money out of prisons, put it into holistic rehabilitation, and found that human connection is the antidote to addiction.
Musicians From Egypt to Rwanda Are Blending Musical Traditions and Building Unity to Protect the Nile River Basin
The Nile Project is made up of musicians from different countries, musical genres, and traditions. Their purpose? To promote cooperation and cultural understanding as the diverse peoples of the Nile face threats from water scarcity and climate change.
What a Real-Life Rosie the Riveter Taught This Feminist Geek
Before meeting Geraldine, I’d assumed that most of the women from the 1940s were unaware of how capable they were. I was wrong.
Sharing Music Builds Trust, Empathy, and Cooperation—Here Are Four Ways Science Proves It
There is something about listening to music, or playing it with other people, that makes you feel connected to those around you. Even science says so.
Young Adults Love Walking, Biking, and Buses—11 Reasons That’s Good For Everyone
Buses, trains, bikes, and walking represent more than an efficient means of getting from one place to another. They move us toward a brighter future because of the many social and economic benefits they foster.
Community-Owned Energy: How Nebraska Became the Only State to Bring Everyone Power From a Public Grid
In this red state, publicly owned utilities provide electricity to all 1.8 million people. Here's how Nebraska took its energy out of corporate hands and made it affordable for everyday residents.
Forget Venture Capitalists—This Scrappy Composting Co-Op Found Another Way to Get Startup Money
The banking system makes it tough for local businesses to get their hands on startup money. But creative entrepreneurs are finding solutions.
Anti-Austerity Party Sweeps Greek Elections—What US Progressives Can Learn
There are plenty of lessons to be taken from Syriza’s victory and the rise to power of Spain's Podemos party, but striving to speak to people rather than politics might be chief among them.
Six Ways the US Is Building a People-Powered Economy
Alternative business models such as worker-owned cooperatives are gaining ground, proving that a more just and sustainable future is possible.
What White People Can Do for Food Justice
Creator of Master Cooks Corps train-the-trainer program Chef Nadine Nelson says White people in the food movement should ask themselves: What are you doing to hold yourself accountable to people of color?
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“Selma”: A Beautifully Shot Film Shows How Change Really Happens
Neither a “great man” history of Martin Luther King Jr., nor a tale of forgotten underdogs, Selma is about skilled activists building a movement.
400,000 Harry Potter Fans—and J.K. Rowling—Just Won a Deal to Get Child Labor Out of Chocolate
Harry Potter stood up for his world's most vulnerable people. Now, legions of real-world kids are too—by demanding Fair Trade certification for products sold in their hero's name.
This Rust-Belt Town’s Survival Strategy Is All About Giving Workers Control
Reading is one of Pennsylvania’s poorest cities. Can its residents turn things around by building a more democratic economy?
How #FergusonSyllabus Helps Teachers Discuss Police, Racism, and History
“Teachers are better prepared because #FergusonSyllabus created a space for exchange among educators about best practices and materials for illustrating the best and worst of our democracy.”
Can Empathy for Birds Make Us Happier? Ten Breakthroughs in the Science of a Meaningful Life
Last year, scientists found that gratitude makes us financially smarter, mindfulness reduces racism, a little sadness makes for healthier people, and compassion for birds could help tackle climate change.
Vermonters Lobby for Public Bank—And Win Millions for Local Investment Instead
Advocates didn’t get the public bank they wanted. But the compromise they reached in the end was still a rare and significant win over Wall Street banks.
Laid-Off Baltimore Workers Beat Disney in Court—And Ask All the Right Questions About Urban Development
By some estimates, the city of Baltimore has sunk more than $1.5 billion into its Inner Harbor. Workers and residents want their share too.
How “Granny Flats” and Suburban Downtowns Are Creating a Different (and Better) Kind of Density
Density has become a dirty word in some circles because people associate it with big, ugly buildings. Luckily, there are other ways to get people living close together.
Owning Together Is the New Sharing
Companies and startups are aspiring toward an economy, and an Internet, that is more fully ours with the use of cooperatives, "commons-based peer production," and cryptocurrencies.
How a Low-Tech Seed Bank in Greece Preserves Thousands of Heritage Crops
Members of the Greek seed bank Peliti say that keeping their wares in production—instead of in refrigerators—improves the health of the plants they’re working to save.
10 Ways Human Rights and Democracy Won in 2014 (Yeah, You Heard That Right)
Let’s be honest: It was a brutal year for human rights. But we still have victories worth celebrating.
Restorative Justice at Work: How This Indigenous Wood Carver Is Finding Peace After a Seattle Officer Killed His Brother
Rick Williams asked for calm when protesters demanded justice for his brother, who was shot and killed by a Seattle police officer. But he realizes that "the only way you can help change the system is show them you are a human being."
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