team names the most provocative and influential findings published during this past year. In 2020, the study of well-being took on new meaning. The COVID-19 pandemic created a mental health crisis that is affecting people in all corners of the globe. In the United States, Americans have faced intense political polarization and a reckoning around racial justice. Many of us are left wondering how we can move forward toward a better future. As the year rolled on, some well-being researchers were quick to turn their lens on the pandemic itself, tracking how people were doing and testing ways to help us cope better. Others continued to study ... posted on Dec 24 2020 (9,210 reads)

Hilma af Klint, The Secret Paintings. Art Gallery of New South Wales. In 1986, those art historians who see art as some form of linear progression “improving” with time received a rude shock. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s exhibition The Spiritual in Art — Abstract Paintings 1890 – 1985 introduced a hitherto unknown woman artist. The issue was not just that this art was so exquisitely beautiful — but that the paintings had been painted in the early 20th century. Hilma af Klint was once known as a minor academic Swedish artist. Born in 1862, she had been one of the first women to graduate from the Royal Academy of Fine Art... posted on Aug 17 2021 (6,769 reads)

women of history: Maria Sibylla Merian, 17th-century entomologist and scientific adventurer A colour portrait of Maria Sibylla Merian by Dutch artist Jacobus Houbraken, circa 1700. Wikimedia Commons Tanya Latty, University of Sydney In this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages. Most school kids can describe in detail the life cycle of butterflies: eggs hatch into caterpillars, caterpillars turn into cocoons and cocoons hatch. This seemingly basic bit of biology was once hotly debated. It was a pioneering naturalist, Maria Sibylla Merian, whose meticulous observations conclusively linked caterpillars to butterflies, laying the groundwork for the ... posted on Jun 13 2021 (7,148 reads)

do we do it quickly and easily while transcending the limits of language? It was important that a person in the US could get a similar meaning to someone in Morocco, Russia, Estonia, or South America. In other words, how do we make this more of a universal human dynamic and not something constraineded by language? I looked at a lot of wonderful organizations that promote kindness to figure out how we could add to or compliment their work. We decided that our focus was going to be images. We would gather and disseminate diverse images of acts of kindness and let people interpret them, assimilate them, and go on their way for the day. The “dosing” had to be regular t... posted on Feb 27 2018 (15,172 reads)

You Imagine? Just before aliens finally visit planet Earth, they decide to watch the Earthling’s mainstream news and try and suss us out. If they did, perhaps they would get the impression that we are…less than friendly beings? Even for us Earthlings, watching the constant stream of negativity pumped out in the ‘news’, we can be left feeling despondent, anxious and with less hope for the future. However, the media’s version of events is heavily skewed in favor of those types of negative story. Why is that? Well, that’s a subject for another post. In reality, deep down inside, most of us know that the good outweighs the bad by some distance. Simp... posted on Dec 9 2014 (214,963 reads)

the question that won me the Ig Nobel prize: Are cats liquid? Under the right circumstances, cats’ bodies can behave like liquids. John Benson/Flickr, CC BY A liquid is traditionally defined as a material that adapts its shape to fit a container. Yet under certain conditions, cats seem to fit this definition. Here a cat, whose body fits perfectly within a sink, behaves like a liquid. William McCamment, CC BY-SA This somewhat paradoxical observation emerged on the web a few years ago and joined the long list of internet memes involving our feline friends. When I first saw this question it made me laugh, and then think. I decided to ... posted on Jan 11 2022 (5,427 reads)

people we most love do become a physical part of us, ingrained in our synapses, in the pathways where memories are created.” John Updike wrote in his memoir, “Each day, we wake slightly altered, and the person we were yesterday is dead. So why, one could say, be afraid of death, when death comes all the time?” And yet even if we were to somehow make peace withour own mortality, a primal and soul-shattering fear rips through whenever we think about losing those we love most dearly — a fear that metastasizes into all-consuming grief when loss does come. In The Long Goodbye(public library), her magnificent memoir of grieving her mother’s death, Meghan... posted on Aug 18 2014 (47,609 reads)

early April and shafts of warming sunlight have finally broken through the cold, grey clouds. Alex Chak emerges from a doorway, squints into the light to let his eyes adjust and then bends down to fill a bushel basket with bright red peppers. A man in a long overcoat, walking quickly, stops in his tracks. "What is this?" he asks. "It's a market, new to the neighbourhood," replies Mr. Chak, smiling. "A produce market? That's amazing, that's exactly what we need," he says. "I'll be back!" Inside the double-width shipping container a few minutes later, Mr. Chak is busily chatting up a hijab-clad wom... posted on Jun 11 2017 (6,572 reads)

essay: is this the end of translation? In 399 CE, Faxian — a monk in China’s Jin Dynasty — went on a pilgrimage to the Indian subcontinent to collect Buddhist scriptures. Returning after 13 years, he spent the rest of his life translating those texts, profoundly altering Chinese worldviews and changing the face of Asian and world history. Faxian illustrated as visiting the Palace of Asoka in 407 CE, in modern-day Patna, India, in the 19th century English book series, Story of the Nations. archive.org After Faxian, hundreds of Chinese monks made similar journeys, leading not only to the spread of Buddhism along the Nirvana Route, but also opening up ... posted on Nov 23 2021 (3,635 reads)

the creative process with master artists and craftspeople in the San Francisco Bay Area. "I want my pots to express timelessness and spontaneity." - Sandy Simon   Simon works at her pottery wheel.   Potter Sandy Simon in her Berkeley studio.   Simon has been a specialist in handmade studio pottery for over 30 years.   Pomo basket weaver Edward Willie sharpens his knife in his Petaluma studio.   Willie first studied basket weaving so he could teach his daughters the dying craft and soon realized that it was a whole lifestyle. He h... posted on Feb 20 2015 (15,776 reads)

Desmond Tutu. Epa/Ian Langsdon Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died at the age of 90. Archbishop Tutu earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world. He carved out a permanent place in their hearts and minds, becoming known affectionately as “The Arch”. When South Africans woke up on the morning of 7 April, 2017 to protest against then President Jacob Zuma’s removal of the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Archbishop Tutu left his Hermanus retirement home to join the protests. He was 86 years old at the time, and his health was frail. But protest was in his blood. In his view, no government was legitimate... posted on Jan 7 2022 (3,345 reads)

this year, Gothenburg — the second biggest city in Sweden — was voted as the world's "most sociable city." This reflects the typical culture of our city. We love to hang out in parks, cafés, bars, and other spaces. But Gothenburg, with it's almost 600,000 residents, also has some serious challenges. The city is one of the most segregated in Europe and is dependent on the fossil industry. At the same time, we're seeing initiatives that promote sharing and collaboration growing stronger and stronger. We had planned to write this piece at our co-writer Robin Olsson's cafe Llama Lloyd, where he promote... posted on Sep 16 2017 (10,613 reads)

year will certainly go down in history—world history and personal history. We each have a story to tell about how the pandemic has affected us and those we know. One of good fortune is about staying safe and healthy; one of misfortune is about getting sick and dying. I am grateful that other aspects are not so dire, not so black and white. In some recent discussions with friends who are also creatives, I have heard a variety of responses to the question, “How has Covid-19 affected your creativity?” Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (1882-1885), by Paul Cézanne. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/... posted on Jan 18 2021 (6,281 reads)

public health guidelines help stop loneliness? 7 tips that show how crucial social connection is to well-being United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently called loneliness an epidemic and issued a public health advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. The report warned of the considerable adverse effects of loneliness and social isolation — comparing it to other leading risk factors for premature death such as smoking, obesity, elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol. Loneliness and social isolation can be harmful In my work as a social and behavioural epidemiologist, I have studied how social and community connectedness s... posted on Jun 29 2023 (4,915 reads)

collaboration that emerged from Anne’s growing interest in mindfulness and meditation and her daughter Ellie’s belief that art is a powerful tool for change. The project began when Anne developed a list of words to help with mindfulness during sleepless nights. Starting with “Allow” on the in-breath, the list grew over time to include all of the letters of the alphabet. She shared the idea with her daughter Ellie, whose mind instantly swirled with accompanying images. They decided to combine their passions to create a coloring book of postcards, in which each word is elaborated by Anne with a phrase and a unique illustration created by Ellie. This collab... posted on Jun 1 2016 (17,550 reads)

teens’ voices from the middle of war: ‘You begin to appreciate what was common and boring for you’ A residential building destroyed by Russian army shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv province. Hennadii Minchenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images Alexander Motyl, Rutgers University - Newark A colleague from Kyiv, Ukraine, whom I’ll call N.M., sent me brief essays her students wrote on what they would do when the war ends. As both a scholar and a novelist, I knew that these voices, which expressed a beautifully straightforward and pure yearning for the simplest things that are lost in war, needed to be heard by the world. The essays were writte... posted on Apr 11 2022 (4,842 reads)

male green-tailed sunbird in West Bengal. Watching a sunbird in action elicits a dazzling kind of joy. These tiny, jewel-toned birds are members of the Nectariniidae family and are often spotted with their slender, curved beaks deep inside the base of flowers. Some species hover above blooms while they drink nectar, others perch on a convenient branch as they forage, while some cheeky birds will puncture the base of the flower to gain access to the sugars, especially if they are imbedded deep within. Observing them is an uplifting experience that drives home just how beautiful nature can be. There are over 150 species of sunbirds in the world, “found in ... posted on Oct 22 2021 (5,966 reads)

winter, to discuss her work and many things grandmother-related. The topic of her most recent book, Grandmother Power, had struck a particular chord for me; in it she showcases 17 groups of Grandmother activists in 15 countries on 5 continents. Below you’ll find a transcript of an interview I did with her, as well as some of the Grandmother Power photographs that she generously agreed to share with the Cooking with Grandmothers readers. The interview shows images from the book in general; following the interview are photographs and descriptions that are specifically food-related. You can learn more about Gianturco’s work on her&n... posted on Oct 23 2017 (15,999 reads)

of beauty and the enjoyment of life which they have expressed.” While the shows discussed by Read and Huxley differed in many ways, both men emphasized the form and composition of children’s artwork as much as their pictorial contents. Both also expressed the view that the creators of these drawings would play a critical role in the rebuilding of their war-torn communities. A political tool As with the children’s war art made during Huxley and Read’s time, the images coming out of Ukraine express a mix of horror, fear, hope and beauty. While planes, rockets and explosions appear in many of the pictures uploaded by UA Kids Today, so do flowers, angels... posted on May 28 2022 (3,813 reads)

a hummingbird be able to be a plaintiff in court? According to philosopher Martha Nussbaum, the answer is yes. In her new book, Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility, the distinguished professor of law and philosophy at the University of Chicago offers a new theory of animal justice that is meant to inform our law and policy. Her theory is based on the “capabilities approach,” which looks not only at the harm done to animals, but whether we’re infringing on their freedom to live full lives. Granting animals the rights, under the law, that they deserve has never been so urgent, Nussbaum contends. Animals are being threatened as a direct ... posted on Jan 18 2023 (2,714 reads)