Volcanoes are erupting in The Philippines, but on-fire Australia received some welcome rain. The Iran war cries have been called off and The Donald’s military powers are about to be hamstrung by the Senate. Meanwhile, his impeachment trial is starting, and we’re all on Twitter for a front-row seat.
What Could Go Right? The Benevolence Bump and More
Covid-era levels of generosity persist, it's a landmark year for the study of ancient Egypt, and other stories of progress
Emma Varvaloucas
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The Benevolence Bump and More
Dear WCGR? readers: This week, we’re skipping some newsletter sections, including the main article, as a member of our small team recovers from surgery. We will be back to our full newsletter format next week. You can find the latest WCGR? podcast episode below as well as our usual collection of progress links from around the internet.
What Could Go Right? S7 E4: DOGE, Democracy, and Everything Between with Matthew Yglesias
Is Trump’s massive government reform necessary? Can the US build better after DOGE? How efficient are government programs like food stamps and Medicaid? Zachary speaks with Vox co-founder and author of the Slow Boring Substack Matthew Yglesias. They discuss current Republican strategies, ideas for a Democratic response, American and Canadian relations, and the many changes that the federal government has seen in Trump’s second term. With an eye on both challenges and opportunities, they examine how political turmoil can spark meaningful reform, the complexities of policy continuity, and the need for fresh strategies and coalitions to navigate an evolving political climate. | Listen now
Quick Hits
Generous acts like donating, volunteering, and helping strangers spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic in all generations and nearly all global regions. Five years later, this “benevolence bump” has been sustained, according to the 2024 World Happiness Report, with generous acts up more than 10 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
Due to conservation efforts, wolves have made a rapid recovery in Europe, with populations increasing nearly 60 percent within a decade.
The Canadian government has just inked a deal to build the world’s first full-scale carbon-neutral cement plant in Alberta. Ammonia-based carbon scrubbing technology will capture around 95 percent of the plant’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is speeding up the process of drug repurposing to treat rare diseases. Since most rare diseases have no approved treatments, drug repurposing finds options among already existing medications—AI-based systems, for instance, have found ADHD medications that work to relieve paralysis in children with a rare genetic disorder.
Scientific discoveries: No one predicted it, but it’s true just the same: 2025 is turning out to be a landmark year for the study of ancient Egypt. Last month, archaeologists found the tomb of Thutmose II. This month, another team has uncovered the tomb of an unknown king, likely from the Abydos dynasty, about which little is known.
Research from China suggests that solar panels are in a symbiotic relationship with the desert they are installed in. Their shade creates a more hospitable environment for plant life, revitalizing the ecosystem.
New evidence from a group of international astronomers raises the question of whether something is off in the standard cosmological model, which says that dark energy is pushing our universe to expand at a faster and faster rate. Dark energy is instead growing weaker, which may eventually leave our universe in a stable state or even contract it.
Progress in the United States: Massachusetts is the only US state to significantly reduce food waste, by about 13 percent. The Christian Science Monitor explores how they do it.
The Economist examines the impact of Obamacare, including a lower uninsured rate, tens of thousands of lives saved through expanded access to Medicaid, and fewer evictions and bankruptcies. National healthcare spending has risen, however.
Red flag laws—which allow certain members of a community to petition a court to temporarily take a person’s weapon if they pose a danger to themselves or others—have ticked up in recent years with support from both sides of the aisle. Twenty-one states now have them, and they are being used more frequently.
Editor’s pick: Living through a historic juncture does not feel particularly fun, but there is at least one tech expert who thinks that, while an old world is being torn down, a new, better one is going to be built in its place.
TPN Member Originals
(Who are our Members? Get to know them.)
- How many lives does US foreign aid save? | Center for Global Development | Charles Kenny
- How development finance institutions can help in a time of aid austerity | Center for Global Development | Charles Kenny
- DOGE needs a different playbook for science | NY Times ($) | Caleb Watney
- Trump, El Salvador, and the Alien Enemies Act | Tangle | Isaac Saul
- Doubt | The Edgy Optimist | Zachary Karabell
- Trump’s impossible promise of manufacturing jobs | WaPo ($) | Fareed Zakaria
- To make someone happy, ask for help | The Atlantic ($) | Arthur C. Brooks
- Democrats can’t hide from immigration forever | Slow Boring | Matthew Yglesias
- Four ways to think about Trump-Musk: Plunder operation, engineered incompetence, etc. | Lucid | Ruth Ben-Ghiat
- What is a trans woman, really? | WaPo ($) | Jennifer Finney Boylan
- Our nuclear problem | Faster, Please! | James Pethokoukis
- What I’m hearing this week in China about our shared future | NY Times ($) | Thomas L. Friedman