From badass educators to solving homelessness, we cover the people and ideas changing the world in Culture and Society. We believe that together, we can push the human race forward, one remarkable story at a time.
Culture & Society
Frontier Exploration
What Lies Beneath: An Interview With Underground Author Will Hunt
Frontier Exploration
What Lies Beneath: An Interview With Underground Author Will Hunt
In Will Hunt’s book Underground, the journalist and "urban explorer" details his expeditions through caves, mines, tunnels, catacombs, and sewer systems around the world and the depths of the information he's found.
In Will Hunt’s book Underground, the journalist and "urban explorer" details his expeditions through caves, mines, tunnels, catacombs, and sewer systems around the world and the depths of the information he's found.
Catalysts
The Mental Health Movement for Chicago’s Inner City Youth
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Catalysts
The Mental Health Movement for Chicago’s Inner City Youth
A remarkable transformation is taking place in several inner-city Chicago schools, and it's resulting in fewer gangs, drugs, and homicides. Could this new model of group therapy be the cause, and is it scalable?
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A remarkable transformation is taking place in several inner-city Chicago schools, and it's resulting in fewer gangs, drugs, and homicides. Could this new model of group therapy be the cause, and is it scalable?
Veteran's Day Special
Wilderness Experience Helps Army Vet Adjust to Life After War
Veteran's Day Special
Wilderness Experience Helps Army Vet Adjust to Life After War
Meet Thomas Weinheimer, an army veteran whose 53-day wilderness experience on a North Carolina trail helped ease his transition back to civilian life.
Meet Thomas Weinheimer, an army veteran whose 53-day wilderness experience on a North Carolina trail helped ease his transition back to civilian life.
Veteran's Day Special
Wilderness Therapy: A Path to Healing for Veterans
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Veteran's Day Special
Wilderness Therapy: A Path to Healing for Veterans
These long-distance treks use the power of nature over three to six months of exploration to help heal the invisible wounds of war, and the results are incredible.
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These long-distance treks use the power of nature over three to six months of exploration to help heal the invisible wounds of war, and the results are incredible.
Global Health
The Next Pandemic Is Out There. Is the Private Sector Ready?
Global Health
The Next Pandemic Is Out There. Is the Private Sector Ready?
Johns Hopkins' simulated, international catastrophe is helping business, government, and public health leaders improve global pandemic preparedness.
Johns Hopkins' simulated, international catastrophe is helping business, government, and public health leaders improve global pandemic preparedness.
Art That Heals
This Artist Heals Wounds of Violence With Tattoos
Art That Heals
This Artist Heals Wounds of Violence With Tattoos
Brian Finn tattoos over scars from self-harm, violence, or human trafficking for free or at a discounted rate in order to help people heal.
Brian Finn tattoos over scars from self-harm, violence, or human trafficking for free or at a discounted rate in order to help people heal.
Redefining Success
Generalist vs. Specialist: Which Is the Best Path to Success?
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Redefining Success
Generalist vs. Specialist: Which Is the Best Path to Success?
How many Mozarts and Tiger Woods are there in any given generation? A generalist himself, bestselling author David Epstein says you have to give yourself permission to choose the wrong pursuit or work in a job that’s not your ultimate dream career. These small “failures” are actually major learning experiences that help you inch closer to greatness.
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How many Mozarts and Tiger Woods are there in any given generation? A generalist himself, bestselling author David Epstein says you have to give yourself permission to choose the wrong pursuit or work in a job that’s not your ultimate dream career. These small “failures” are actually major learning experiences that help you inch closer to greatness.
Birdwatch
The Dark Toll of Light Pollution
Birdwatch
The Dark Toll of Light Pollution
Bird populations are paying the price for our electric lights. These volunteers are working to change that.
Bird populations are paying the price for our electric lights. These volunteers are working to change that.
Catalysts
Women Supporting Women to Overcome the Trauma of Abuse
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Catalysts
Women Supporting Women to Overcome the Trauma of Abuse
When domestic violence survivors share their stories, they feel empowered and find their voice. At Leap to Success, women have the opportunity to do both, forming a clear path to healing from the trauma of abuse.
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When domestic violence survivors share their stories, they feel empowered and find their voice. At Leap to Success, women have the opportunity to do both, forming a clear path to healing from the trauma of abuse.
Favorites in Culture & Society
Relentless
How Hamish Brewer is Changing the Game
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Relentless
How Hamish Brewer is Changing the Game
The Tattooed, Skater Principal Making Education Fun Again
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To hear Hamish Brewer speak is to be inspired. About education. About life. About the possibilities of it all. And for disadvantaged youths that come from poverty and broken homes, the New Zealander with an infectious energy works hard to encourage them to excel, not only in school, but in life. About Hamish Brewer With a shaved head, tattoos, and one of those loud, larger-than-life personalities, Hamish Brewer is hard to...
Wrong
Did the Food Pyramid Make Us Fat?
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Wrong
Did the Food Pyramid Make Us Fat?
To address rising health problems in the 1980s, scientists and policymakers developed the US Food Pyramid to...
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To address rising health problems in the 1980s, scientists and policymakers developed the US Food Pyramid to encourage healthy eating. But despite a massive public education campaign, obesity and diabetes continued to rise. What happened? How did we get it so… wrong?
Steven Pinker Makes the Case for Optimism
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Steven Pinker Makes the Case for Optimism
Are things really worse than ever, or are we missing the bigger picture?
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Author and Harvard professor Steven Pinker lays out what he see as a basic paradox. The news today seems worse than ever - but based on a number of key metrics, Pinker argues the world is better than it’s ever been. Pinker explores the data and makes the case for how can we tackle the world’s problems while not drowning in negativity. That’s the focus of his latest book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science,...
Future of Cities
Urban Sustainability is at the Heart of Copenhagen Culture
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Future of Cities
Urban Sustainability is at the Heart of Copenhagen Culture
By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas (up from 50% now). With the climate crisis worsening, how can we support this urban trend in a sustainable way?
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By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas (up from 50% now). With the climate crisis worsening, how can we support this urban trend in a sustainable way?
What It Takes
The Snake Milk King
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What It Takes
The Snake Milk King
Enter the Kentucky Reptile Zoo—one of the largest collections of venomous reptiles in the world—and meet Jim Harrison, the man that spent his 42-year career milking King Cobras for anti-venom and saving lives across the globe. What drives a man like this to risk his life each and every day?
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Enter the Kentucky Reptile Zoo—one of the largest collections of venomous reptiles in the world—and meet Jim Harrison, the man that spent his 42-year career milking King Cobras for anti-venom and saving lives across the globe. He’s a former cop, bounty hunter, and professional kickboxer - but for decades now his main focus has been extracting venom from snakes, or “snake milking.” He and his wife, Kristen Wiley, run the...
Culture of Change
Drone Racers Are A Thing and They’re Amazing
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Culture of Change
Drone Racers Are A Thing and They’re Amazing
Blistering speed. Big money. 11-year-old world champions. Is drone racing the next big sport?
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Yes, drone racers are a thing and they’re amazing. The Drone Racing League has gone from a dream to ESPN in a few short years. We met world champion Paul Nurkalla, aka Nurk FPV, and got an inside look at how the DRL is striving to be the next big sports league. Somewhere between esports, NASCAR and Star Wars sits drone racing, also known as FPV racing. It’s a breathtakingly fast spectacle where drone pilots fly quadcopters...
Thinking Differently
The Joy of Being Wrong
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Thinking Differently
The Joy of Being Wrong
Can practicing intellectual humility make us smarter and happier? Science says yes.
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Arguments on social media are notorious. People often naturally form an echo chamber of people with similar beliefs, and when people outside it start arguments, the discussion often becomes antagonistic. Is there a better way? Science suggests that a good starting point is by practicing intellectual humility. By admitting the possibility that we ourselves could be wrong, we’re able to better evaluate arguments and construct...
#fixingjustice - Re-entry
24 Years For a Crime He Didn’t Commit
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#fixingjustice - Re-entry
24 Years For a Crime He Didn’t Commit
When a prisoner serving a life sentence is suddenly found to be innocent, it often makes national news. But what happens after the cameras go away?
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There are around 2,200 exonerees in the U.S.—people who were convicted of a crime and then later proven innocent by their own doggedness or new evidence in a case. When they are freed from prison, their lives are often saddled by the same issues that hold back people who actually committed a crime—lack of education, no job skills or employment history, and the stigma of having spent years in prison. While their release is...
#fixingjustice - Policing
Why the 6th Most Dangerous City is Turning to Community Policing
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#fixingjustice - Policing
Why the 6th Most Dangerous City is Turning to Community Policing
Police departments around the country are increasingly looking at community policing programs as a tool to help reestablish trust in the communities they serve.
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While community policing programs are nothing new, they fell out of popularity after a big push in the early 90s due to shifting priorities and budget crunches of the Great Recession. But with growing scrutiny of police and their often strained relationships with minority communities, police departments are increasingly looking to community policing programs to bridge the gap and rebuild trust. The Rockford Police...
Cafe Momentum
This Restaurant Gives At-Risk Youth a Second Chance
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Cafe Momentum
This Restaurant Gives At-Risk Youth a Second Chance
Cafe Momentum offers an alternative to the revolving doors at Texas jails.
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Chef Chad Houser was a rising star in the Dallas restaurant scene, but after volunteering with kids in the criminal justice system, he felt a calling to do more. He gave up his job to start Cafe Momentum, a restaurant staffed by kids from the criminal justice system. They’re given year-long paid internships where they are taught the skills to succeed in restaurants and society. It’s his way of trying to fix the problems...
The Dad Changing How We Investigate Police Shootings
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The Dad Changing How We Investigate Police Shootings
After his son was killed by police, Michael Bell fought for over a decade to change how we investigate police shootings.
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For over a decade, ever since police killed his son, Michael Bell has been trying to get an independent investigation into the shooting — and he's fighting to make sure that every family is entitled to one, whenever police use lethal force. In November 2004, his son, Michael Bell, Jr., was pulled over in front of his home in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for an alleged traffic violation. Although a dashcam video captures the initial...
Crossing The Divide
LGBT Rights: The Power of a Single Conversation
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Crossing The Divide
LGBT Rights: The Power of a Single Conversation
Why a gay rights activist started a movement to talk to thousands who voted against gay marriage.
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After Californians voted against gay marriage in 2008, Dave Fleischer, head of the Leadership LAB at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, knew he had to do something different to reach people. Dave and his team embarked on an ambitious task to talk to as many people who who disagreed with them as they could. They used a technique called “deep canvassing” where activists connect with people using personal stories to a make deeper...