Recording the Sounds of Extinction
Musician and naturalist Bernie Krause is one of the world's leading experts in natural sound. Krause has been recording "soundscapes" - the wind in the trees, the chirping of birds, the songs of humpback whales - for over forty years and has amassed the largest archive in the world. In doing so, Krause can chart how wildlife sounds have changed over the course of climate change. Listen for yoursel... posted on Mar 05 2017, 3,060 reads

Let Them Be: Reclaiming Childhood for Our Children
"Play used to be the way we discovered ourselves and explored the world around us. Perhaps it was at a sandlot, where -- glove in hand --we argued with friends, drew lots, and fanned out to immerse ourselves in a pickup baseball game. Or maybe it was flashlight tag: we chased each other at dusk, laughing and tumbling, bumping and bumbling around. But we connected with each other: with parents, sib... posted on Mar 04 2017, 20,767 reads

This Woman's Novel Approach to Poverty Is A Game Changer
"Compass Working Capital's mission is to help struggling families build the savings and the skills they need to climb out of poverty. Compasss programs combine financial education and coaching, with incentives for saving. The asset-based approach works: 60 percent of families in the flagship program have increased their incomes by an average of $11,000 a year, and 81 percent have seen their saving... posted on Mar 02 2017, 13,191 reads

Where Dance, Design & Inner Transformation Meet
At the end of her first day at her first job at a prestigious design firm in Mumbai, 20-year-old Miti Desai came home and wept for five hours straight. Questioned by her concerned parents, the explanation that instinctively rose to her lips was this: "Every aspect of what happens there ultimately comes down to a financial transaction. I can't live my life that way." Twelve days later she quit. A f... posted on Mar 01 2017, 9,158 reads

The Human Library: Talking to Books
Instead of borrowing a book at this library, you can borrow a person! The intention behind the Human Library is to connect people to members of communities who are not well understood by the general public. In this video, Rachel Bergen shares, "Before today, I had never even met a medium, a transgender person, or someone with EB, but here I had the chance to even ask them personal questions and re... posted on Feb 28 2017, 3,600 reads

Getting Unstuck: The Art of Possibility
We begin with grand plans for accomplishing a task, and too often end in frustration with having nothing done. What if we changed our view and looked at a rut as an opportunity instead of a problem? Rosamund Stone Zander, the author of "Getting Unstuck," helps us see the inner wisdom we all have. On her journey as a writer, slowing down is the key that opened a surge in creativity. She suggest... posted on Feb 27 2017, 14,488 reads

How to Listen with Compassion in the Classroom
In classroom environments where the need to belong is thwarted, young people may grasp for power and prestige rather than learn how to form authentic connections. Students may try to fit in in negative ways like bullying, buying in to peer pressure, or conforming to negative stereotype, because, often they lack the necessary social-emotional skills to form healthy, supportive relationships -- whic... posted on Feb 26 2017, 21,657 reads

Say Your Truths & Seek Them In Others
In a lyrical, unexpectedly funny talk about heavy topics such as frayed relationships and the death of a loved one, Elizabeth Lesser describes the healing process of putting aside pride and defensiveness to make way for soul-baring and truth-telling. "You don't have to wait for a life-or-death situation to clean up the relationships that matter to you," she says. "Be like a new kind of first respo... posted on Feb 25 2017, 24,780 reads

A Champion for Every Foster Child
"Research into foster children shows a clear correlation between their educational struggles and their chaotic home life - and how this gravely affects their future. Enter FosterEd. It is the brainchild of Jesse Hahnel, an attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, who believes that if foster children had someone advocating for their education, at least some of those dire statistics might be a... posted on Feb 24 2017, 9,544 reads

For the Traveler: By John O'Donohue
We think we travel to find adventure and a change of scenery, but there are other tiny gems that come to us along the way of the road that are not from travel brochures. It is "the compass of our soul" that is the secret guide for finding our way in this world. When we are lost in faraway lands, or "in that part of the heart that lies low at home," there is a silence within that can show us how ... posted on Feb 23 2017, 52,543 reads