All Perspectives
Points of ProgressSeeking silver linings: Points of Progress in a pandemicThis聽special installment of Points of Progress highlights moments from this past year of pandemic where聽people turned adversity into an advantage.
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: Foldable solar cell breakthrough, and moreIn good news this week: Researchers have developed foldable solar cells, paving the way for new solar-powered tech 鈥� plus more positive headlines.
Difference MakerIndia鈥檚 blind readers had no lifestyle mag. So this woman made one.White Print, a Braille lifestyle magazine, was founded by Upasana Makati. She has also printed children鈥檚 books in Braille, including 鈥淭actabet.鈥�
Finding humanity behind the headlinesMonitor correspondent聽Scott Peterson covers conflict zones in Afghanistan. But he's learned to look past bombings and see the human element instead.
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: Atlanta tackles gentrification, and moreIn good news this week: A new community-owned real estate model is working against gentrification in southwest Atlanta聽鈥� plus more positive headlines.
Finding the universal human storyWhy does the effort to rebuild a tiny Japanese fishing village, 10 years after a tsunami, matter to someone living in Australia or Canada or the U.S.?
From Russia with loveRussia should be too big and too diverse to exist as a聽single country. But its post-Soviet saga contains聽lessons for any nation in search of cohesion.
Difference MakerBe like Fauci? Pandemic inspires surge in med school applications.Inspired by the selflessness of medical personnel during the pandemic, young people are applying to medical school in droves.
Readers RespondReaders write: Copacetic colloquialisms, and profit over livesLetters to the editor for the Feb. 22, 2021 weekly magazine. Readers discuss flapper slang and the cost of mismanaged healthcare systems.
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: New Zealand recognizes M膩ori new year, and moreIn good news this week: Matariki celebrations have long been organized locally, but now they're official nationwide聽鈥� plus more positive headlines.
Difference MakerHow Ojok Okello is rebuilding the hometown he never knewOjok Okello returned to his father鈥檚 hometown in northern Uganda planning to build just a small house. But it turned into much more: 鈥淥kere City.鈥�
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: Mexico City cuts out plastic, and moreIn good news this week: The city now prohibits the distribution of plastic products like straws, cups, and balloons聽鈥� plus more positive headlines.
Difference MakerWhy do some child soldiers heal and not others? What one scholar found.Sierra Leone鈥檚 civil war spawned a generation of former child soldiers. Connection and community may explain why some have been able to recover.
Difference MakerAs Canary Islands face migration crisis, former migrants step up to helpSpain鈥檚 Canary Islands saw a spike in new arrivals last year, causing a local crisis. Those who were migrants in 2006 are helping to manage it.
When doors closed, communities openedThrough this past year of pandemic-driven isolation, one thing has become clear: It鈥檚 not the locale that makes the community; it鈥檚 the people.
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: India鈥檚 Karnataka state outlaws bonded labor, and moreIn good news: Bitti chakri,聽in which Dalit caste members work in upper-caste homes for little pay, is now banned聽鈥� plus more positive headlines.
Difference MakerHe grew up wanting for nothing. Now he gives other students a leg up.Helping the Homeless Colorado and EEqual aimed to support people experiencing homelessness, especially students. Matine聽Khalighi helped found both.
Readers RespondReaders write: Grateful for a Thanksgiving filled with graceLetters to the editor for the Feb. 1, 2021 weekly magazine. Readers discuss the importance of gratitude in everyday life.
Points of ProgressPoints of Progress: Seabirds take off in Namibia, and moreIn good news this week: Fishermen and conservationists have saved thousands of seabirds over the past decade聽鈥� plus more positive headlines.
The real mile markers on the journey to adulthoodOver the years, I realized that growth and maturity aren鈥檛 door prizes waiting at any particular birthday. They are learned and earned over time.
