Why that feeling you get when you see iconic American natural wonders is actually patriotic
In the far northeast corner of Alaska, with no roads going in or out, lay nearly 20 million acres of wildlife refuge. It’s the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest national wildlife refuge in the country. Its goals are very specific: to conserve animals and plants in their natural diversity, to ensure a place for…
In the far northeast corner of Alaska, with no roads going in or out, lay nearly 20 million acres of wildlife refuge.
It’s the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the largest national wildlife refuge in the country.
Its goals are very specific: to conserve animals and plants in their natural diversity, to ensure a place for hunting and gathering activities, to protect water quality and quantity, and to fulfill international wildlife treaty obligations.
It’s a beautiful place. And recently, Michael Brune of the Sierra Club was lucky enough to visit it.
During his trip up to the Arctic, he realized some important things.
All images via Sierra Club.
Contemplating the refuge, Michael says:
“One of the things that defines our country is the vast areas of magnificent wilderness that we have.”
“These are part of what the American experience is.”
“Protecting the Arctic is really about protecting and enhancing what it is that makes our country what it is.”
America is made up of so many beautiful natural landscapes like this one.
The Grand Canyon. Niagara Falls. The redwood forests. These are just a few of the attractions that are not only cherished by us, but are admired by people all around the world.
Protecting them isn’t just a noble cause, it’s downright patriotic.
Why? Because these are a huge part of what makes America, well, American.
If this “America is our wilderness” theme sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve probably heard it before. Henry David Thoreau spoke in 1862 of the importance of wild spaces left to decay and flourish.
When Michael Brune talks about wilderness, it’s as if he is channelling some of America’s great naturalists and most passionate environmentalists — like John Muir or Teddy Roosevelt, two founders of the Sierra Club.
Wilderness has been important to Americans for a long time. Hear Michael’s voice in this video, tying our American identities to the wild places we protect:
In a small village in Pwani, a district on Tanzania’s coast, a massive dance party is coming to a close. For the past two hours, locals have paraded through the village streets, singing and beating ngombe drums; now, in a large clearing, a woman named Sheilla motions for everyone to sit facing a large projector screen. A film premiere is about to begin.
It’s an unusual way to kick off a film about gender bias, inequality, early marriage, and other barriers that prevent girls from accessing education in Tanzania. But in Pwani and beyond, local organizations supported by Malala Fund and funded by Pura are finding creative, culturally relevant ways like this one to capture people’s interest.
The film ends and Sheilla, the Communications and Partnership Lead for Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), stands in front of the crowd once again, asking the audience to reflect: What did you think about the film? How did it relate to your own experience? What can we learn?
Sheilla explains that, once the community sees the film, “It brings out conversations within themselves, reflective conversations.” The resonance and immediate action create a ripple effect of change.
MEDEA Screening Audience in Tanzania. Captured by James Roh for Pura
Across Tanzania, gender-based violence often forces adolescent girls out of the classroom. This and other barriers — including child marriage, poverty, conflict, and discrimination — prevent girls from completing their education around the world.
Sheilla and her team are using film and radio programs to address the challenges girls face in their communities. MEDEA’s ultimate goal is to affirm education as a fundamental right for everyone, and to ensure that every member of a community understands how girls’ education contributes to a stronger whole and how to be an ally for their sisters, daughters, granddaughters, friends, nieces, and girlfriends.
Sheilla’s story is one of many that inspired Heart on Fire, a new fragrance from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection that blends the warm, earthy spices of Tanzania with a playful, joyful twist. Here’s how Pura is using scent as a tool to connect the world and inspire action.
A partnership focused on local impact, on a global mission
Pura, a fragrance company that recognizes education as both freedom and a human right, has partnered with Malala Fund since 2022. In order to defend every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, Malala Fund partners with local organizations in countries where the educational barriers are the greatest. They invest in locally-led solutions because they know that those who are closest to the problems are best equipped to solve and build durable solutions, like MEDEA, which works with communities to challenge discrimination against girls and change beliefs about their education.
But local initiatives can thrive and scale more powerfully with global support, which is why Pura is using their own superpower, the power of scent, to connect people around the world with the women and girls in these local communities.
The Pura x Malala Fund Collection incorporates ingredients naturally found in Tanzania, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil: countries where Malala Fund operates to address systemic education barriers. Eight percent of net revenue from the Pura x Malala Fund Collection will be donated to Malala Fund directly, but beyond financial support, the Collection is also a love letter to each unique community, blending notes like lemon, jasmine, cedarwood, and clove to transport people, ignite their senses, and help them draw inspiration and hope from the global movement for girls’ education. Through scent, people can connect to the courage, joy, and tenacity of girls and local leaders, all while uniting in a shared commitment to education: the belief that supporting girls’ rights in one community benefits all of us, everywhere.
You’ve already met Sheilla. Now see how Naiara and Mama Habiba are building unique solutions to ensure every girl can learn freely and dare to dream.
Naiara Leite is reimagining what’s possible in Brazil
Julia with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
In Brazil, where pear trees and coconut plantations cover the Northeastern Coast, girls like ten-year-old Julia experience a different kind of educational barrier than girls in Tanzania. Too often, racial discrimination contributes to high dropout rates among Black, quilombola and Indigenous girls in the country.
“In the logic of Brazilian society, Black people don’t need to study,” says Naiara Leite, Executive Coordinator of Odara, a women-led organization and Malala Fund partner. Bahia, the state where Odara is based, was once one of the largest slave-receiving territories in the Americas, and because of that history, deeply-ingrained, anti-Black prejudice is still widespread. “Our role and the image constructed around us is one of manual labor,” Naiara says.
But education can change that. In 2020, with assistance from a Malala Fund grant, Odara launched its first initiative for improving school completion rates among Black, quilombola, and Indigenous girls: “Ayomidê Odara”. The young girls mentored under the program, including Julia, are known as the Ayomidês. And like the Pura x Malala Fund Collection’s Brazil: Breath of Courage scent, the Ayomidês are fierce, determined, and bursting with energy.
Ayomidês with Odara in Brazil. Captured by Luisa Dorr for Pura
Ayomidês take part in weekly educational sessions where they explore subjects like education and ethnic-racial relations. The girls are encouraged to find their own voices by producing Instagram lives, social media videos, and by participating in public panels. Already, the Ayomidês are rewriting the narrative on what’s possible for Afro-Brazilian girls to achieve. One of the earliest Ayomidês, a young woman named Debora, is now a communications intern. Another former Ayomidê, Francine, works at UNICEF, helping train the next generation of adolescent leaders. And Julia has already set her sights on becoming a math teacher or a model.
“These are generations of Black women who did not have access to a school,” Naiara says. “These are generations of Black women robbed daily of their dreams. And we’re telling them that they could be the generation in their family to write a new story.”
Mama Habiba is reframing the conversation in Nigeria
Centre for Girls' Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
In Mama Habiba’s home country of Nigeria, the scents of starfruit, ylang ylang and pineapple, all incorporated into the Pura x Malala Collection’s “Nigeria: Hope for Tomorrow,” can be found throughout the vibrant markets. Like these native scents, Mama Habiba says that the Nigerian girls are also bright and passionate, but too often they are forced to leave school long before their potential fully blooms.
“Some of these schools are very far, and there is an issue of quality, too,” Mama Habiba says. “Most parents find out when their children are in school, the girls are not learning. So why allow them to continue?”
When girls drop out of secondary school, marriage is often the alternative. In Nigeria, one in three girls is married before the age of 18. When this happens, girls are unable to fulfill their potential, and their families and communities lose out on the social, health and economic benefits.
Completing secondary school delays marriage, and according to UNESCO, educated girls become women who raise healthier children, lift their families out of poverty and contribute to more peaceful, resilient communities.
Centre for Girls’ Education, Nigeria. Captured by James Roh for Pura
To encourage young girls to stay in school, the Centre for Girls’ Education, a nonprofit in Nigeria founded by Mama Habiba and supported by Malala Fund and Pura, has pioneered an initiative that’s similar to the Ayomidê workshops in Brazil: safe spaces. Here, girls meet regularly to learn literacy, numeracy, and other issues like reproductive health. These safe spaces also provide an opportunity for the girls to role-play and learn to advocate for themselves, develop their self-image, and practice conversations with others about their values, education being one of them. In safe spaces, Mama Habiba says, girls start to understand “who she is, and that she is a girl who has value. She has the right to negotiate with her parents on what she really feels or wants.”
“When girls are educated, they can unlock so many opportunities,” Mama Habiba says. “It will help the economy of the country. It will boost so many opportunities for the country. If they are given the opportunity, I think the sky is not the limit. It is the starting point for every girl.”
From parades, film screenings to safe spaces and educational programs, girls and local leaders are working hard to strengthen the quality, safety and accessibility of education and overcome systemic challenges. They are encouraging courageous behavior and reminding us all that education is freedom.
Experience the Pura x Malala Fund Collection here, and connect with the stories of real girls leading change across the globe.
Parents of newborns know they are in the middle of a joyous and stressful era. But far too often, the people they run into choose to frame things negatively when talking to them about their young child. They’ll say things like, “Don’t worry, it gets better” or “Boy, do you have your hands full.”
That’s why Steph Morrison’s video on TikTok touched so many hearts. It’s about the fantastic things that can happen when people choose to see things in a positive light instead of a negative one.
Mom pushes two children in a stroller. Photo credit: Canva
“The sweetest thing just happened,” Morrison begins in her video. “I was just finishing my walk and we were just pulling down our street and this old man, he stopped so we could walk by because we’ve got the double-wide stroller that takes up the whole space, and he goes ‘Wow! You’re going to have a lot of fun.’”
The comment blindsided Morrison because it reframed how she looks at being a parent.
“I don’t know why I’m getting emotional telling you now. But most people say, ‘You’ve got your hands full’ and it’s my biggest pet peeve, but he was so sweet and I could, like, see the memories flash through his eyeballs as he said that to me: ‘You’re going to have a lot of fun.’”
“Like, dang! That’s the type of vibe and energy I’m going to bring to motherhood,” she continued. “I was having a really great time with the kids already, so I don’t know why I’m crying while telling you this. But if you’re a mother out there, I hope you’re having a lot of fun, too, because why not?”
Everyone knows that parenting can be hard. But it’s also filled with joy, laughter, hope, possibilities and new experiences. The elderly man’s comments were a great reminder to Morrison and her followers to focus on the joy and possibilities of being a parent instead of the challenges and hard work.
The video struck a chord with mothers in the comments who shared similar experiences.
“An older man in the grocery store stopped me when my son was 8 months old and said, ‘Young enough to still talk to the angels, put in a good word for me!’” Rachel wrote.
“My only son is 7 months old. I can’t have any more kids due to life-threatening complications at birth. The other day, a man said to me, ‘He gets to have you all to himself. Isn’t that so special?’” Happy_Gilmoree added.
A grocery shopping with a young toddler. Photo credit: Canva
CaitlinPrice25 hit the nail on the head. “Society makes us feel like kids are a burden,” she wrote. “Just a little change of perspective can make all the difference.”
A positive mindset can make life much easier for parents, but it’s also great for their children. Children look to their parents and model their behavior; those with a positive attitude are likely to raise happy, optimistic children.
“A mother’s ability to model positivity becomes a powerful tool in shaping a child’s character, fostering qualities such as kindness, compassion, and a positive outlook on life,” The Motherhood Center in Houston, Texas, writes.
The story also reminds everyone, whether they are parents or not, of the importance of leading with positivity when dealing with others. The man could have said something cliché such as “I hope you’re getting enough sleep,” but instead, he reminded Morrison of the joy of parenting, and she made his remark her north star. That’s the power of positivity.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
Louis, who lives in Redruth, Cornwall, was born with a condition that left him with half a functioning heart. Since birth, he has undergone three open-heart surgeries, starting when he was just nine days old. As he approached his fourth birthday, Louis needed another operation to insert a stent into his pulmonary artery, a procedure that brought the family to Bristol Children’s Hospital.
“We call him our mountain-mover as he loves to defy the odds.”
— Jodie Hood
Jodie, overwhelmed with emotion, explained the impact of Louis’ spontaneous song. “He started singing from the movie Sing on his iPad—it was incredibly moving,” she said.
A dream trip to Disneyland Paris
With Louis’ condition demanding continuous medical care, his family lives with the daily uncertainty of what the future holds. But amid the challenges, they are hoping to create joyful memories. Louis dreams of a magical trip to Disneyland Paris, and with his love for all things Disney, his family is dedicated to making this happen.
To fund this dream, Louis’ grandmother, Sharon Van Beusekom, started a JustGiving fundraiser to help cover the expenses for Louis and his family. The goal of £8,000 would not only pay for the trip but also account for the costs associated with Louis’ special medical needs during travel.
“Louis has one big dream: to visit Disneyland Paris… memories that will bring comfort and happiness no matter what the future holds.”
— Sharon Van Beusekom
“Whether we have a few months or a few precious years, we’re living with the constant fear of losing him,” Sharon shared. “Louis is such an amazing little boy with a zest for life and a smile that lights up every room. He deserves this chance to make happy memories with his family.”
The Hood family has been through incredible challenges, especially with the recent loss of a young friend, Faith, who had the same condition as Louis but sadly passed away at just 22 months old. This heartbreaking reminder of the fragility of life has further motivated them to fulfill Louis’ wish, despite the challenges ahead.
Support began pouring in, with friends, family, and well-wishers rallying around Louis. The family’s story gained traction online as well, with more than 2,000 Reddit users expressing their admiration and support. One commenter, @u/Hayes4prez, noted, “Pretty tough kid, I hope he’s up playing again soon.” Another user, @u/masteremrald, commented, “Four open heart surgeries at such a young age is crazy. Amazing to see how he is able to stay positive after all that!”
Jodie even participated in sponsored runs to help boost the fund. “This is our way of giving him something to look forward to,” she said, “and we are so grateful to everyone who has helped make this possible.”
In a wonderful update, Louis and his family were able to make their Disneyland dream come true on December 16, 2024, a date that serendipitously marked four years since his second heart surgery at just three weeks old. “Today 4 years on you got to realise your dream of being at Disney,” his mother wrote in an Instagram caption. “Thank you for making this happen everyone. Dreams do come true. For us our little miracle started to weave his magic each time he survived against the odds and this is just a magical way for us to celebrate his heartaversary ❤️❤️❤️❤️”
According to Jodie’s Instagram, Louis turned four and a half on May 25, 2025. “I am so grateful we were brave enough to fight against their 5% chances of survival,” she wrote in a caption. “4 and a half years of magic and it’s a real honour to be your mummy. Big few months coming up.”
In November 2025, Louis successfully underwent the Fontan Procedure, his fourth open-heart surgery and the one his family had feared most. The recovery wasn’t without complications — Louis developed pneumonia — but four weeks later, his cardiologist gave him a clean bill of heart health and cleared him for a phased return to school. He’s back to his pre-surgery weight, his chest is clear, and in classic Louis fashion, he announced to his cardiologist that he wants to be a doctor when he grows up.
Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.
But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pit bull-Lab mix does around the house.
The mom says Rhubarb has chores because “we didn’t raise a freeloader.”
It’s hard to believe it’s been over 10 years since the great Robin Williams left our world. The man left a fantastic legacy of laughs, from his time on TV’s Mork and Mindy to his performances in comedy hits such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Disney’s Aladdin.
Williams was also an incredible dramatic actor, giving memorable performances in films such as Dead Poets Society and Good Morning, Vietnam.
But the Comic Relief star always shined brightest when he improvised on stage, whether on talk shows or in stand-up comedy. One appearance on Martha Stewart Living from 2004 resurfaced last year because of how quickly he improvised jokes while cooking with Stewart. It’s also great because Stewart plays the perfect straight woman to Williams, although she has a tough time holding it together.
Their chemistry was spicy
Whenever Stewart mentions an ingredient, whether cumin or brown sugar, Williams turns it into a comedic riff. He also jokes in Spanish and does a few accents that feel off-color over 20 years later, but they’re delivered with the best intentions. Williams also walks a bit of a tightrope during the segment while he tries to keep his humor appropriate for daytime TV while reacting to Stewart, who is “rubbing the meat.”
“I feel incredibly honored to have grown up in an era where we had this wonderful man,” the most popular commenter on the YouTube video wrote. “His ability to change characters on the fly is remarkable,” another added. “His spontaneous humor is unmatched! He was an incredibly smart, kind and funny man. He is sorely missed!” another commenter said.
Who were Martha Stewart’s favorite guests on her show?
Years later, Stewart would admit that Williams was one of her favorite guests on the show. “We had so much fun because he was the fastest wit and the fastest mind and his mind was like a computer,” Stewart told AOL in 2022. “No matter what I said, he had a retort and he was so quick. I was marinating meat and he loved that—can you imagine what he did with ‘marinating meat’ and ‘rubbing the meat’ and ‘ooh la la?’ Watch the segment; it’s really good.”
Martha Stewart relationship advice hits different.
MARTHA, the definitive documentary on the life of the self-made icon, is now playing. pic.twitter.com/wJ55XHZiZU
What’s The Many Lives of Martha Stewart film about?
Although Martha Stewart has rarely been out of the spotlight over the past five decades, she was in the news after releasing the 2023 Netflix documentary about her life, The Many Lives of Martha Stewart.
The film follows Stewart’s journey from teen model to Wall Street stockbroker to the queen of entertaining and good taste. Eventually, she would become America’s first self-made female billionaire. The documentary also discusses the insider trading scandal that sent her to prison in 2004.
The film also reveals Stewart’s guiding philosophy. “I have two mottos. One is: Learn something new every day. And the second one is: When you’re through changing, you’re through,” Stewart says in the film. “Change that garden if you don’t like it. Rip it out and you start all over again.”
If you want to relive the hilarious moments between Stewart and Williams in your kitchen, here’s a recipe for the Chili Espresso Steak Rub.
This article originally appeared two years ago. It has been updated.
An X user from Japan shared a photo of a glass with peanuts floating atop what appears to be cola, writing (auto-translated from Japanese):
“About 30 years ago, I read in a Haruki Murakami essay that in America, it’s popular to drink cola with peanuts in it. I was like, ‘Huh,’ and a long time has passed since then, but I finally tried it. What the hell is this? It’s ridiculously delicious, damn it. It’s on a level where I won’t want to drink cola any other way anymore.”
Peanuts in Coke is one of the most accidentally perfect food pairings in history, and the chemistry explains why this guy can't go back.
Coca-Cola sits at pH 2.5, roughly the same acidity as stomach acid. When you drop roasted peanuts into that, the phosphoric acid partially… https://t.co/viykRGEwaJ
Are peanuts and Coke really an American tradition?
Apparently, this “American” tradition has been gaining traction in Japan, with people sharing their experiences on social media. But many Americans may be surprised to see Coke with peanuts described as a “popular” combo. It’s not really a common or widespread snack choice. For some, however, it’s a flash from the past.
“Southern kids did this all the time,” wrote one commenter. “Our folks would buy us an ice cold Coke in a bottle and a bag of peanuts, we’d drink some Coke, then funnel in some peanuts. Delicious and fun.”
“I learned this from my father, but it was Dr Pepper. He was stationed in Texas when he was in the Army. That’s where he learned about it.”
“My very southern high school AP US History teacher swore by peanuts and Coke but was adamant that the only way to do it was in the little glass bottles that you only really now see at weddings and other functions. Not sure if there’s science to back that up.”
According to a few commenters, the combo also became popular in parts of Norway after people emigrated to the U.S. and then brought the idea back to Norway with them.
Where did peanuts and Coke come from?
How did it get started? According to The Local Palette, which explores the food culture of the South, the combo was known as “farmer’s Coke” and was a workingman’s beverage:
“Its fizzy refreshment bore sweet and salty satisfactions that could be savored during a work break. Some trace it back to the early decades of the twentieth century when ‘dope wagons’ roamed the grounds of textile mills before the advent of the vending machine. These food and beverage carts sold bottles of ‘dope,’ a nickname for Coca-Cola that was perhaps a reference to the days when the popular soda contained trace amounts of cocaine.“
Have you ever heard of salted peanuts in Coke? This Japanese guy just introduced me to this Southern tradition. I’m in Southern Florida and I’ve never heard of it. I looked it up and it’s a real thing from the 1920s among Southern farmers and workers for a quick sweet-salty… https://t.co/tAPt2DvtgSpic.twitter.com/gcXYuFCf1d
For farmers, pouring the peanuts into the soda bottle made sense. For one, it kept them from touching the nuts with dirty hands. It also meant they could eat and drink with just one hand.
There are multiple variations on the theme. Many people insist on taking a few sips from a bottle of Coke and then dumping the nuts straight into the bottle. Some say it has to be Mexican Coke, since it uses sugar instead of corn syrup. Others swear by RC Cola or Dr. Pepper instead of Coke. People disagree on whether the peanuts should be roasted or boiled.
Why peanuts and Coke make such a delicious combination
Sweet and salty is generally known to be an irresistible combination of flavors, so there’s that. But according to X user’s Aakash Gupta’s analysis, the chemistry that happens when you drop the nuts into the soda provides another layer of flavor:
“Coca-Cola sits at pH 2.5, roughly the same acidity as stomach acid. When you drop roasted peanuts into that, the phosphoric acid partially denatures the surface proteins on the nut, releasing free glutamate. You’re generating umami in real time inside the glass.
The salt on the peanuts suppresses bitter taste receptors on your tongue, which amplifies your perception of sweetness without adding a single gram of sugar. Coca-Cola already has 39g of sugar per can. Your brain registers it as even sweeter because the salt is clearing the noise from competing flavor signals.
Then carbonation does two things. CO2 dissolved in liquid forms carbonic acid, which triggers pain receptors (TRPA1), not taste receptors. That mild irritation resets your palate between sips so you never get flavor fatigue. Every sip hits like the first. Second, the bubbles physically agitate the peanut surface, accelerating the protein breakdown and glutamate release. The longer the peanuts sit, the more umami you extract.
The fat content seals it. Peanuts are 49% fat by weight. Fat is the only macronutrient that activates CD36 receptors, which your brain interprets as richness and satisfaction. Mix that with sugar, salt, acid, umami, and carbonation and you’ve accidentally triggered every major reward pathway in the human taste system simultaneously.“
Sounds fancy. Perhaps it’s worth a try. If nothing else, the trend is creating some fun intercultural exchanges with our fellow humans on the other side of the world.
There are bad bosses, good bosses, and sometimes, there are even great bosses. LinkedIn, infamously, is home to all three, and when scrolling through the randomly curated feed, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get.
That’s why Stephanie Barney, CEO of Girls on the Go, raised some serious eyebrows with one of her recent posts.
CEO “doesn’t allow” mental health days
Barney spends her days running Girls on the Go, a health and wellness community for women that focuses on in-person, girl-only events that help members “combat loneliness, stay active, socialise and make new friends.“
As CEO, Barney is in charge of a small but growing team. And she recently took to LinkedIn to share one key element of her management style.
“I don’t allow my employees to take mental health days,” she wrote in the post. That provocative opening line is what the kids would call textbook “rage-bait.”
People were ready to go off on Barney in the comments. That is, of course, until they kept reading.
“I don’t care if you need a break. I don’t care if you can’t get out of bed. I don’t care if you have a doctors appointment,” the post continued.
And then came the punchline: “Because I TRUST my employees.”
The Gen Z CEO went on to explain that her wording was very intentional and not purely there to grab eyeballs. “I don’t ‘allow them’ to do anything. I trust that they know when they feel most productive and when they work the best.”
Read the whole post here:
Approach has yielded great results in a short amount of time
Barney is only in her early twenties and doesn’t have the management experience of a lot of her peers on LinkedIn, but her bona-fides are already beginning to speak for themselves.
The founder of the award noted at the time, “What Stephanie has built in such a short time and at such a young age is nothing short of remarkable. Not only has she built a safe, inclusive and diverse community of women and girls that is actively tackling the issue of loneliness and isolation, she has made it financially sustainable [while], delivering social impact.”
There’s more going on here than just the Gen Z passion for better work-life balance. Turns out, trusting your employees is a strong management style.
Thousands of people Liked Barney’s post, with hundreds more chiming in in the comments section:
“Congrats on being a fabulous boss and striving to create work environments and experiences empowering your team”
“Most bosses throughout my 35 year career haven’t gotten it. No latitude. “
“When people feel safe to manage their own time and energy, they don’t just survive at work, they thrive.”
“Reminds me of high school vs college where the professors were like you’re all adults don’t ask to use the restroom just go. Be a post-college workplace, not a high school workplace”
The stigma of mental health days
Barney’s post taps into an unspoken stigma about “mental health days.” Sometimes, we all need one to be at our best. But asking for one feels weak and vulnerable, even though one in five Americans receive treatment for their mental health, according to MIT’s Sloan School of Management. It’s not uncommon, weird, or unnecessary. And yet, the stigma persists.
“In reality, talking about mental illness or asking for a mental health day at many offices is risky,” writes Talkspace. “Only the most progressive companies provide mental health days or create an environment where it is safe to ask for one.”
An incredibly innovative solution: Don’t make anyone ask, or worse, lie.
Research is conclusive that vacation, or even just a rest day at home, makes us better and more productive employees. Barney is right: CEOs shouldn’t “allow” this time off. They should trust their colleagues to know when it’s needed and act accordingly.
Remember the time shortly before the internet, when “scrolling” looked like flipping channels on the TV to see what was on? After passing up news, reruns, game shows, an old movie, and the public access station, you’d land on The Weather Channel. Suddenly, you’d find yourself checking the forecast and zoning out to whatever smooth jazz tunes accompanied the text on screen.
If that description triggered some cozy, comfy nostalgia for you, you’re in for a treat. The Weather Channel has launched a “retro forecast” option on its website that lets you see your local forecast as it looked way back when.
Go to weather.com/retro and click on the “START RETROCAST” button. This is what it looks (and sounds) like, customized to your local area:
It almost feels like time travel, doesn’t it? People who remember this simpler time are expressing how much they love the RetroCast:
“That scream you just heard was millions of millennial hearts reawakening to sounds we haven’t heard but missed.”
“Ohh… that makes me miss my grandpa. He had that channel on 24/7 when it first came out. It was the theme song to ‘Staying with Grandpa and Grandma.’”
“I used to like during Christmas time, they would play the entire album of A Charlie Brown Christmas by The Vince Guaraldi Trio. They’d also play classic Christmas Tunes as well but I will always remember them play Charlie Brown Christmas.”
“The only way my 1999 baby would sleep. Now we are getting ready to welcome her baby.”
No this is not a joke…Retro Weather Channel is officially back! 🎶 Head to https://t.co/sJgpOSHVgR enjoy RetroCast Now for your forecasts in the way you know and love. 💙🎷☀️
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) April 2, 2026
“World needs more of this. I love seeing history being respected and represented this way.”
“That was a nostalgic feel-good ride if I do say so myself!! Thank you for that whoever found this!!! Weather channel needs to make this an app lol.”
“This is also a time-traveling machine. It instantly took me back to my junior year in high school in South Bend, IN, a place where keeping track of the weather matters more (out here it’s just hot, slightly cold, and maybe a few drops fall now and then). All sorts of good time memories came ‘flooding’ in. Peak nostalgia!”
“If you brought this back as a TV channel, you’d have the highest-rated channel with Gen X and Millennials.”
Today, The Weather Channel is…different. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it’s definitely busier. Weather forecasting has come a long way in the last 30 years, but so have television production, graphics, visual effects, and even fonts. Sometimes, that can be great. But it can also be a lot.
There’s something to be said for simple utility, and that’s what this retro forecast provides. No fancy graphics and multiple chyrons. No commentary. Just some cheesy music and dropshadowed fonts informing us about current conditions, sunrise and sunset times, and the local forecast.
The enthusiastic response to the retro forecast echoes the growing movement toward slower, more analog experiences. The digital age has its benefits, no doubt. But digital fatigue is real, our attention spans have taken a beating, and there’s a sense that something has to change. For many, that change looks like revisiting the habits of a simpler time, which this retro weather forecast offering represents.
Obviously, watching a retro Weather Channel forecast isn’t going to solve anyone’s issues with technology overwhelm. But the desire for it is a signal that deserves our attention. Nostalgia isn’t just a sweet feeling of remembrance in the modern era, after all. It’s also a yearning for simplicity in an increasingly complex world.
And perhaps zoning out to smooth jazz for a bit gives us a much-needed respite from the digital storm we’re living in.
When the Apollo 11 space shuttle launched in 1969, millions of people gathered around their TVs to watch it live. The idea that humans could land on the moon a mere 66 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight here on Earth inspired awe around the world.
Since then, we’ve seen countless rocket launches. But that doesn’t make a historic mission any less awe-inspiring to witness in person, as evidenced by BBC Science Editor Rebecca Morelle’s giddy reaction to watching the Artemis II shuttle launch in person.
Morelle reported on the launch as it happened with refreshing, childlike joy. Journalists are trained to be dispassionate, and Morelle is a seasoned professional. But her spontaneous “Oh my goodness, that is spectacular!” and the tears in her eyes as she described what she was seeing revealed the emotion of the moment.
Morelle’s awe and wonder were palpable. They were also understandable. The historic Artemis II mission will take astronauts around the moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone before. And as Morelle said, Artemis is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built. That’s worth getting excited about, especially if you love science as much as she does.
However, some can’t help but question the authenticity of moments like this. Some have become cynical from the chaos in the world. Younger generations may see such emotional expression as “cringe.” Some may be skeptical of taking this science reporter’s emotions at face value.
But the tears in her eyes and her gasps of wonder tell a story of genuine joy. And many of the comments demonstrate people’s need for positivity:
“They sent the right reporter! 👍👍 Love her excitement.”
“I’m glad they sent someone as excited as her to be there.”
“Her excitement is literally so amazing during these dark dark times.”
“She is the sweetest. Life needs more joy.”
“Adorable. Protect her at all costs.”
“Agreed. I like watching people who enjoy their job. Makes me enjoy it more!”
“Yeah, it is important to always align work with people’s passions. She loves being there. Good work, BBC.”
I’m so glad the BBC sent her to be the reporter on this! She appreciated every moment of the #Artemis launch so much!! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Rbh6rXcn91
“Having watched a rocket launch in person from the Saturn V center (which is where they’re at) it’s honestly impossible to NOT get excited. The feeling is electrifying and you really feel the force of your rocket through your bones.”
“Watching any launch is insane, being there is an event. She’s 1000% justified and I love her not being modest for performance sake.”
“Dear world. It’s okay to celebrate and be happy.”
“Sadly, it’s a sign of the times we live in. People have lost their joy and view everything through a lens of negativity. Unfortunately, we’re bombarded with assaults against humanity on a daily basis and people have become desensitized to their natural emotions and have become guarded. It is what it is unfortunately.”
Oh I love reaction it’s infectious!! That’s how excited you should be!!
It’s also so nice to see someone speaking and acting in a positive way on the news ❤️🙏👏
So many people are weary of negativity and thirsty for genuine joy. Seeing Morelle’s pure, wholesome display of emotion feels like a balm for our battered spirits. Indeed, joy is good for both our physical and mental health, so indulging it makes good sense. If cynicism is a poison, this video is the antidote.
Thank you, Rebecca Morelle, for letting this moment take you for an emotional ride, and for bringing us all along with you. So many of us needed that.
