The Optimist Daily's Weekly Roundup

Today's wildly positive news: Summers highlights how Australian whale watchers are being treated to an earlier-than-usual whale watching season thanks to successful conservation! Then, Kristy talks about a new study that details how animal adaptations could inform better women's health. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the News!

Today's optimistic news: A new smart pillow can track the sleep of a user and provide essential data, and Uber is aiding Ukrainians by partnering with the UN World Food Programme. That and more on The Optimist Daily today!  Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the News!

Today's solutions news: Italy's special police force, the Carabinieri, teams up with bees to fight climate change, and here are four policy changes we can make to reduce the environmental cost of the meat industry. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Ma...

Today's good news: Summers talks about how students at the University of Illinois, Chicago have built a fully functional solar charging station for an on-campus food truck and other EVs. Then, Kristy discusses how the Biden administration is trying to drastically scale up solar production. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimi...

Today's good news: California levels up its composting game by making composting a statewide practice. Plus, North Carolina State University has developed an Attentional Failure during Driving Questionnaire (AFDQ) to help determine which drivers are most at risk of having an accident.  If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimistda...

Today's good news: Summers and Kristy start the week by talking about how new research from the University of California, Fullerton reveals a correlation between youth who participate in team sports and better mental health. Then, they discuss the VEST hackathon is helping make the professional field of construction more equitable for all. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing goo...

Today's positive news: Firefighting goats are helping prevent wildfires in California's Ojai Valley (shout out to Emissary Warren Petersen for submitting this story for our Optimist Change-Makers nominations!)! Plus, the world's largest plant (think 20,000 football fields big) has just been discovered off the coast of Australia. All that and more on The Optimist Daily today!  Listen to The Optimis...

Today's good news: Kristy shares exciting news about Barbie's first trans doll, modeled after amazing actress and trans woman Laverne Cox. Then, Summers discusses how Germany is coming to terms with its colonial history and, as a part of that journey, has decided to return ancient stolen artifacts to Namibia. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email...

Today's good news: Summers talks about how the Wildlife Conservation Society is building an enormous photo database of Amazonian wildlife with the help of an international team of scientists. Then, Kristy discusses how authorities around the world are working to regulate greenwashing. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimistdai...

Today's positive parenting news: Arielle talks about a Colorado law that gives LGBTQ+ parents rightful custody over their own children and Kristy shares advice on how to talk to students who are afraid or anxious about going back to school in the wake of the tragic Uvalde shooting. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily....

Happy Friday! We have some wheel-y good solutions on The Optimist Daily Update today. Summers and Kristy are chatting about good transportation news ahead of a big travel weekend for Memorial Day in the United States. Germany just reduced public transportation fees to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and old recycled rubber tires are improving the lifespan of our roads.  Listen to The Optimist Dai...

Summers and Kristy begin today's episode by sharing their shock and sadness about yet another mass shooting at yet another school.  Then, they turn their discussion to the uplifting news that we all need, especially when the world feels like a dark place. Summers speaks about the benefits of summer employment for young people and Kristy gets into why we should try to limit our daily TV time to an...

Today, Kristy and Arielle address a hot topic: heatstroke. As the temperatures continue to climb, experts are predicting an incredibly hot summer this year, especially across the western and central areas in the US and Canada. Heatstroke is a serious condition that can even lead to death, so this episode is all about how to identify heatstroke, what to do about it, and how it can be prevented. If...

Today's inspirational nature news: Arielle and Summers talk about the remarkable Redwoods and how they're adapting to climate change, and also an exciting conservation project around the Belize Barrier Reef led by non-profit Fragments of Hope. If you'd like to nominate someone you know who's doing good in this world, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Upda...

Today's good news: Arielle and Kristy discuss the exciting med-tech advancement involving contact lenses that release glaucoma treatments, then they celebrate how US Soccer and both the men's and women's national teams have come to a historic collective bargaining agreement to  finally  close the gender pay gap. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: edito...

Today we're chatting about some positive labor news! US trucking shortages might be at an end, and architects are redesigning their industry labor model.    Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers and Kristy -- Making Solutions the News!

Today's good news: Here's a positive reality check about how the job market is actually doing much better than we think it is! Then, Arielle and Summers talk about the MET gala and what we can do to drown out toxic messaging about diet culture. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Sum...

Today's mental health news: Today Karissa gives helpful tips for supporting a loved one with bipolar disorder, and Summers shares advice on what to do when faced with a personal or a professional fork in the road. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solution...

Today's good news: Summers and Arielle dive into alternative energy stories with a new method that rescues lithium from wastewater and a basic computer that's been powered by algae for over half a year! If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the News!

Happy Monday! Summers and Kristy start the week off with spacey solutions: Summers talks about the Orbex rocket prototype and how it could make space travel greener. Kristy then highlights a robot that's smashed records to become the highest jumper to date, engineered or biological.  If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . List...

Woohoo! It's Friday! We've got some great forward-thinking stories on The Optimist Daily today. Karissa is talking about how medicinal tattoos are tracking a patient's oxygen levels and more, and Summers is telling us how Europe's largest solar park will open this summer in Portugal (and how she gets to see her puppy today!).  Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers and Kristy -- Making S...

Today's good news: Prestigious Stanford University opens the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, a school dedicated solely to studying the climate crisis. Plus, backgammon offers surprising health benefits.  If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions...

Today's tech-savvy solutions: Summers and Kristy talk about a new ultra-thin material that might be a gamechanger for batteries, storage, and other electronics. They also dive into the potential of a microwave network that could make the internet not just more climate-resilient, but faster and cheaper. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optim...

Today's good news: Tasmania joins Suriname and Bhutan as one of the world's only carbon-negative places. Plus, Germany makes renewable energy cheaper for households and businesses. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the News!

Happy Monday! In today's episode, Summers and Karissa discuss uplifting stories in person for the first time ever. Together, they talk about pandemic lessons and a particularly inspiring woman who completed 104 marathons in 104 days. If you'd like to lend your voice to the Optimist Daily Update, send an email to: editorial@optimistdaily.com . Listen to the Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kris...