Fried Onions, Feather Beds, and Intro to Chinese
Here's a typical day at Brooklyn Free School.
Health & Happiness
For the Bullied and Beautiful
In this sometimes humorous and painfully true TEDTalk, Shane Koyczan's spoken-word poem, "To This Day," shares the anguish of being bullied and the will to survive.
Free to Be Me
Gia Rae Winsryg-Ulmer knew she found her place to teach when she walked through the doors of Brooklyn Free School three years ago. See how Gia and BFS honor children's rights to be themselves and become the happy, healthy, and independent thinking people they are meant to be.
What If Your Kids Want to Get Political?
Using young children as political props is problematic, to say the least. But when they do form their own opinion, it’s important to let them express it.
Why Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu Leaders Have High Hopes for Pope Francis
Leaders from many faiths are expecting better relations with the Vatican under Pope Francis. Here YES! speaks to some of them about why that is.
Me Too: A Letter to Steubenville’s Jane Doe
After her essay on raising boys to respect women went viral, an incredible outpouring of support gave author Kim Simon the courage to tell the story she really wanted to share: how her own healing from rape came from knowing she wasn’t alone.
Why Lent Makes People Happy (and Netflix Doesn’t)
Many of us believe getting more of the things we value will make us happier, but new research suggests that cutting back on life’s pleasures helps us enjoy them significantly more.
For Thriving Public Spaces, Just Add Seating
Could it be as simple as that? Author Jonathan Rowe thought so, and tried it out in his own hometown.
Don’t Like Your Health Insurance? Make Your Own
The Affordable Care Act hopes to drive expansion of health care co-ops.
Sustainable Happiness? 6 Ways to Get There
Discover natural highs, map your interdependence, and other ways to discover joy within your reach.
Don’t Laugh: The UN’s First International Happiness Day is Serious Business
Frances Moore Lappé on how countries and cities around the world, from Bhutan to Boston, are measuring well-being beyond GDP.
How To Raise Boys to be Kind Men
What can we do to help young men respect women, recognize consent, and have healthy sexual relationships? Teach them kindness to others—and the courage to go against the crowd.
What Our Kids Can Teach Us About Trying Over
Children’s future happiness is not tied to how well they behave or whether they will be able to hold a job. It is tied to their ability to create with their minds and their hands.
Teaching Emotions: A Different Approach to Ending School Violence
A growing network of programs is teaching kids how to understand and express their emotions. Among their results: decreased aggression and violence.
Dancing the World into Being: A Conversation with Idle No More’s Leanne Simpson
Naomi Klein speaks with writer, spoken-word artist, and indigenous academic Leanne Betasamosake Simpson about “extractivism,” why it’s important to talk about memories of the land, and what’s next for Idle No More.
Instead of Trying to Feed the World, Let’s Help It Feed Itself
We know about the ecological problems that follow when farmers are asked to “feed the world.” What would happen if they just tried to feed their neighbors instead?
Global Day of Dance Connects Women around the Globe
Eve Ensler’s One Billion Rising brought women into the streets in every country registered with the United Nations, plus a few places that aren’t. At the Seattle event, a dancing little girl seemed to represent the movement’s hopes for women’s lives.
Today, One Billion Rise
Rise, strike, dance: The worldwide walkout for the end of violence against women and girls.
The Power of Outrospection
Video: Roman Krznaric on the concept of “outrospection” and how it could shape the 21st century—all illustrated with animated cartoons!
From the Culture of Aloha, a Path Out of Gun Violence
Beneath mainstream culture runs a current of domination, individualism, and exclusion that is harming our children. We assume this is normal—but is it really?
4 Lessons for Growing a Family Farm across Generations
Breaking our families into nuclear units has an ecological and emotional cost. Could the multigenerational farm remind us where to turn for a viable future?
How to Get Your Books Back in Perfect Shape
DIY bookbinding can put your pages back in order (and it's cheaper than buying a new book).
Sex in the Wild (a First-Hand Account)
What I learned about love from a hermaphrodite, a cannibal, and a dizzyingly diverse array of sea creatures.
You Are Where You Live
How the sky, rain, geography, and cultures of our place shape us.
Video: Bringing Diversity to America’s National Parks
Take a journey to Yosemite National Park with the Amazing Grace 50+ Club, a Los Angeles-based church group that strives to bring more people of color to our national parks.
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