Summer 2022

Table of Contents

Pleasure

From the Editors

The Pleasure Issue

This issue is dedicated to exploring pleasure as it connects to our efforts to change the world, and, hopefully, get free in the process.

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The Power in Pleasure

Despite what capitalism has taught us, pleasure is neither a commodity nor a reward. It’s a foundational human need.
adrienne maree brown

Discovering Accessible Delight

Everyone has the right to pleasure. But without disability justice, pleasure is a privilege.
Luticha André Doucette

Black Joy in Pursuit of Racial Justice

What does it mean to give ourselves permission to experience joy even when grief and rage are present?
Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

Growing From Labor to Leisure

How mindfulness can help balance the toil of farm life.
Quincy Gray McMichael

These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things

The pursuit of pleasure in our modern capitalist society is inextricably linked to money.
YES! Editors

Platonic Matchmaking for Intentional Friendships

Matchmakers aren’t just for romantic relationships. Here’s how you can formally arrange your friendships.
Ari Honarvar

Can Better Policy Help Reduce Overdoses?

A sensible drug policy would address the reasons many of us use drugs in the first place: We enjoy them.
Jay Shifman

Finding Freedom in Black BDSM

Black kink is about pleasure first and foremost. But it’s also bound up with freedom and empowerment.
Goddess Honey B & Kharyshi Wiginton

How to Build Resilience to Shame

Today’s hustle culture claims “unearned” pleasure is shameful. But there are ways to resist this cultural response.
Joaquín Andrés Selva

Solutions We Love

Explore Section
Indigenous Foodways

Medicine of the Tree People

In our modern world, conifers and evergreens are used for a spectrum of staples ranging from homesteads to holiday decor, though we rarely stop to recognize the Tree People who provide us these essentials.
Valerie Segrest

To Burn and Still Grow

On the resilience of forests.
Sarah Gilman
People We Love

Seeking Just Trials

Meet three people working to re-balance the scales of justice.
Chris Winters

Culture Shift

Explore Section
Books+Film+Music

For American Labor, the Past Isn’t Past

Can learning labor history give us hope for the future of unions?
Alex Gallo-Brown
Books+Film+Music

Climate Debt and American Dreams

In Bill McKibben‘s new memoir, “The Flag, The Cross and the Station Wagon,” he connects the climate crisis to his suburban American boyhood and wonders “What the hell happened?”
Larry Parks Daloz
Books+Film+Music

Why Not Pass?

“The Vanishing Half” deals with the theme of racial “passing” in the 1950s. Passing is different today, but still presents a choice between safety and authenticity.
Gila K. Berryman
Crossword

The YES! Crossword: Find Your 62-Down

Play the puzzle from our “Pleasure” issue.
Patrick Blindauer