The Optimist Times — Issue #2
June 26th — July 2nd
The Optimist Times is a new kind of front page news. Instead of showing stories that exploit our fears, the stories found here inspire, amaze, and awe. We live in the most spectacular time in history and The Optimist Times intends to highlight this. If you would like to get every issue in your inbox each week you can sign up here. Thanks for reading!
Happy Monday and Happy July 4th to all US readers! What better way to celebrate a holiday then reading about all the amazing things going on in the world today? Let’s get to it!
Good News, Despite What You’ve Heard
The New York Times — 4 min read
Well, it’s only Issue #2 but this Nick Kristof article echos the entire point of The Optimist Times. In it, he gives more examples of why we should be optimistic about the world as it stands. The last paragraph is spot on, but I won’t spoil it for you here. Do give it a read.
Read it here
Put Down the IPhone and Appreciate Its Genius
Bloomberg — 4 min read
This story is an ode to the iPhone, which recently had its 10th year anniversary. It’s amazing how much this little device has changed our lives.
Read it here
U.S. Malaria Donations Saved Almost 2 Million African Children
The New York Times — 3 min read
It was found that over the last decade, the President’s Malaria Initiative, a program started by President George W. Bush in 2005 to fight malaria in Africa, has saved almost two million children.
Read it here
Instagram Unleashes a Smart Algorithm to Blast Away Nasty Comments
Wired — 6 min read
Internet comment sections can be the most awful places in the world but Instagram is trying to make it a better place by utilizing Facebook’s latest AI tool. I thought the part about how they are going to prevent users from gaming the system was quite smart.
Read it here
Ump John Tumpane kept woman from jumping off Roberto Clemente Bridge
ESPN — 3 min read
A major league baseball umpire saved a woman’s life by coaxing her off the edge of the Roberto Clemente bridge in Pittsburgh on the way to the ballpark. Umpires may not always be able to see balls and strikes spot on but in this particular instance, this ump was flawless.
Read it here
The Future of Coal Country
The New Yorker — 29 min read
Long read on a woman’s push to help a community that has relied on coal mining for jobs transition to a new economy.
Read it here
How a ‘Hamilton’ Super Fan Got Cast in the Broadway Show
The New York Times — 4 min read
Great story about a guy who was a fan of the hit Broadway show ‘Hamilton’ and worked his way into the cast.
Read it here
Greetings, E.T. (Please Don’t Murder Us.)
Times Magazine — 34 min read
Mark this story as one where we’ll find out whether or not it contains positive news in another thousand years. But it’s an interesting article that explores the various projects getting started around sending messages out into space in hopes of finding other intelligent life forms. The optimistic take of this story is that it’s really hard to get people to work on projects that have long time horizons and this one has a really, really long time horizon.
Read it here
This Cambridge man wielded a mop while getting his master’s
The Boston Globe — 4 min read
A story about a guy who worked as a custodian while getting his master’s degree at Lesley. Perseverance is powerful.
Read it here
Can’t Find a Public Bathroom in NYC? Hail This Toilet Van
NBC — 1 min read/watch
This is a fun one. Uber for going to the bathroom. I can think of a number of times this would have been quite handy.
Read it here
Come across any inspiring stories this week? Please pass them along to me and I will try including them in next week’s issue.
Thanks for reading!
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