JULY 18, 2025
Art is the healing force
“The country is so wounded, bleeding, and hurt right now. The country needs to be healed—it’s not going to be healed from the top, politically. How are we going to heal? Art is the healing force.”
- Robert Redford, 2012
Learning
"Art is about letting yourself be changed. If you aren’t growing, what’s the point?"
Poet and essayist, Maggie Smith, has distilled two decades of teaching and creative practice into a book of reflections on both the craft and mindset of making art. Last week, writer and educator, Anna Brones, interviewed Smith for her newsletter, Creative Fuel.
BOOK: Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life
Teaching
Many Gen Z students are thinking that since no career is guaranteed, they should pursue what matters most to them.
Economic uncertainty usually pushes students toward “safer” pre-professional tracks. But in these strange times, more Gen Z students are heading to art school.Applications at New York City art schools are hitting record highs, despite steep tuition and the common belief that creative careers are risky. The surge spans both public and private institutions.
ARTICLE: NYC Art Schools See Record-High Application Numbers As Gen Zers Clamber To Enroll
Learning
How to build a creative business as an artist and a leader
Katerina Popova is a Philadelphia-based painter who helps fellow artists build their businesses and advocate for themselves. Through books, coaching, and self-made platforms, she offers practical resources and inspiration.
POST: What I'd Do if I Had to Start My Creative Business From Scratch in 2025
Communication
"Tiny Desk was always a passion project."
In 2008, Bob Boilen (host of All Songs Considered) and NPR music critic Stephen Thompson went to a Laura Gibson concert. The venue was noisy, and Thompson jokingly suggested that she come to the NPR offices to perform where they could actually hear her. She said yes. They taped it—and a tradition was born.
VIDEO: Inside NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Set | Set Tour
Communication
Flipping the script as a company and brand strategy
Mathieu Flamini and Pasquale Granata created GF Biochemicals with a clear mission: to tackle climate change and chemical pollution by creating chemicals that replace harmful petrochemical ingredients found in everyday products such as detergents, paints, and personal care items.
ARTICLE:Not Wieden+Kennedy: Ex-Arsenal Star’s Planet-Saving Company Flips Chemistry Into Greenness
Teaching
Zines can help us reshape what we teach for.
Abby Schleifer is the First Year Outreach Services Librarian at Pace University’s Birnbaum Library. In May, she shared a short reflection in her newsletter:“Hey, I work with college students often. Do you know what brings their attention back to the surface after years of Zoom classes, Generative AI cheating, and smartphone overload?"
ARTICLE: Paper Cuts Over Cut-and-Paste
Civics
Sometimes the easiest way to start a very large endeavor is with a small one first.
I saw a bumper sticker recently that said, “The good thing about things being so fucked up is that there’s plenty to do.” But how? When the national government is actively working against intelligent learning and cooperation, where do you even start?
ARTICLE: Wheeling in the Trojan Mice
One-liners
ARTICLE: To promote sustainable mobility in its historic center, the city of Albi in southern France has attached a pedestrian and bike bridge to a 19th-century railway viaduct.
Playlist
Solomon Burke was born in 1940 into a Philadelphia family that ran their own church, Solomon’s Temple. Today he is recognized as one of the pioneers who first fused gospel, country, the blues, and R&B into a new musical genre we now call soul.He began preaching and singing as a child. By age seven he had given his first sermon, and by twelve was a minister known as the "Wonder Boy Preacher." As a teenager he hosted a gospel radio show and at fourteen he recorded his first single, “Christmas Presents from Heaven,” a song he co-wrote with his grandmother. It sold over a million copies.In 1960, Burke signed with Atlantic Records. Over the next nine years, he released more than 30 singles with Atlantic—many charting on both pop and R&B charts—and became one of the first artists labeled a “soul singer.”Though he never had as many pop-chart hits as some of his peers, his influence was enormous. His songs have been covered by The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Wilson Pickett, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Gloria Gaynor, and Joe Cocker. Burke continued touring and recording right up to the time of his death—on the way to gig—in 2010. Such tenacity earned him titles like “King of Rock ’n’ Soul” and “Bishop of Soul.”The song “None of Us Are Free,” written in 1993 and first recorded by Ray Charles, was reinterpreted by Burke in 2002 on his Grammy-winning comeback album Don’t Give Up on Me. Backed by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Burke drew deeply from his gospel roots to transform the song into an anthem of unity and liberation. The song resonates anew today. When even one person is oppressed, none of us can be truly free.
VIDEO: Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free
Weekly Mixtape
Mix gospel, country, the blues, and R&B. Gently stir.Quiet songs inspired by Paul Simon's Seven Psalms
PLAYLIST: None of Us Are Free
JULY 11, 2025
Imagining that things can be different
“The most tragic form of loss isn't the loss of security; it's the loss of the capacity to imagine that things could be different.”
― Ernst Bloch
Learning
"Art is about letting yourself be changed. If you aren’t growing, what’s the point?"
Poet and essayist, Maggie Smith, has distilled two decades of teaching and creative practice into a book of reflections on both the craft and mindset of making art. Last week, writer and educator, Anna Brones, interviewed Smith for her newsletter, Creative Fuel.
BOOK: Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life
Teaching
Many Gen Z students are thinking that since no career is guaranteed, they should pursue what matters most to them.
Economic uncertainty usually pushes students toward “safer” pre-professional tracks. But in these strange times, more Gen Z students are heading to art school.Applications at New York City art schools are hitting record highs, despite steep tuition and the common belief that creative careers are risky. The surge spans both public and private institutions.
ARTICLE: NYC Art Schools See Record-High Application Numbers As Gen Zers Clamber To Enroll
Learning
How to build a creative business as an artist and a leader
Katerina Popova is a Philadelphia-based painter who helps fellow artists build their businesses and advocate for themselves. Through books, coaching, and self-made platforms, she offers practical resources and inspiration.
POST: What I'd Do if I Had to Start My Creative Business From Scratch in 2025
Communication
"Tiny Desk was always a passion project."
In 2008, Bob Boilen (host of All Songs Considered) and NPR music critic Stephen Thompson went to a Laura Gibson concert. The venue was noisy, and Thompson jokingly suggested that she come to the NPR offices to perform where they could actually hear her. She said yes. They taped it—and a tradition was born.
VIDEO: Inside NPR's Tiny Desk Concert Set | Set Tour
Communication
Flipping the script as a company and brand strategy
Mathieu Flamini and Pasquale Granata created GF Biochemicals with a clear mission: to tackle climate change and chemical pollution by creating chemicals that replace harmful petrochemical ingredients found in everyday products such as detergents, paints, and personal care items.
ARTICLE:Not Wieden+Kennedy: Ex-Arsenal Star’s Planet-Saving Company Flips Chemistry Into Greenness
Teaching
Zines can help us reshape what we teach for.
Abby Schleifer is the First Year Outreach Services Librarian at Pace University’s Birnbaum Library. In May, she shared a short reflection in her newsletter:“Hey, I work with college students often. Do you know what brings their attention back to the surface after years of Zoom classes, Generative AI cheating, and smartphone overload?"
ARTICLE: Paper Cuts Over Cut-and-Paste
Civics
Sometimes the easiest way to start a very large endeavor is with a small one first.
I saw a bumper sticker recently that said, “The good thing about things being so fucked up is that there’s plenty to do.” But how? When the national government is actively working against intelligent learning and cooperation, where do you even start?
ARTICLE: Wheeling in the Trojan Mice
One-liners
ARTICLE: To promote sustainable mobility in its historic center, the city of Albi in southern France has attached a pedestrian and bike bridge to a 19th-century railway viaduct.
JULY 4, 2025
A vocation rooted in hopefulness
"My hope emerges from those places of struggle where I witness individuals positively transforming their lives and the world around them. Educating is a vocation rooted in hopefulness. As teachers we believe that learning is possible, that nothing can keep an open mind from seeking after knowledge and finding a way to know."
- bell hooks
Learning
Learning to cultivate the the hidden strengths of people and societies
Ernst Bloch was a pioneering thinker on utopia, hope, and the role of human aspiration in shaping history and society. Born in 1885, he studied philosophy, German literature, experimental psychology, physics, and music, drawing influence from Jewish mysticism and the Kabbalah.
ARTICLE: Ernst Bloch and the Philosophy of Hope
Civics
"This is also a time of extraordinary possibility."
This week, Heather Cox Richardson posted a video in which she acknowledges that Americans have good reasons to be feeling freaked out by presidential and Supreme Court overreach. But importantly, she urges people not to feel powerless.
VIDEO: It's Our Job to Make Sure People Know the Truth
Civics
That sensation that everything seems broken but feels strangely normal? It has a name.
Ernst Bloch warned that the most profound loss under fascism is not material or even psychological security, but the erosion of imaginative hope—the ability to envision a different, better reality.
ARTICLE: Systems Are Crumbling – But Daily Life Continues. The Dissonance Is Real
Company
A unifying, principles-based framework for embedding sustainability into core marketing strategies
Yes, it’s easy to question the sincerity and effectiveness of the CMO Blueprint for Sustainable Growth. The primary concerns are familiar: it’s voluntary, lacks external enforcement, and risks enabling greenwashing. While the Blueprint offers useful perspective and industry benchmarks, many argue that only legally binding standards and strict accountability can drive true, large-scale progress.
REPORT: United Nation Global Impact CMO Blueprint for Sustainable Growth
Learning
A jazz master shows how to contribute when your footing isn't what you thought it was
Chris Corrigan is a facilitator, consultant, and teacher with deep expertise in participatory processes, large-group facilitation, and dialogic approaches to organizational change and complexity.
ARTICLE: Tackling Giant Steps
Teaching
Education as a force for societal and ecological transformation
Ida Rose Florez has a longing: she wants everyone to have access to community-connected, ecologically aware, and joy-filled learning. And she is critical of what most people experience instead—educational systems rooted in complicated, reductionist, machine-based thinking.
BOOK: The End of Education as We Know It: Regenerative Learning for Complex Times
Company
Yes, self-management can scale.
This natural kids food company is proving that not only can self-management scale, it might be the best way to grow.In 2010, Natacha Neumann co-founded erdbär Freche Freunde with her husband, Alexander Neumann, after becoming parents and realizing how limited the healthy food options were for young children in Germany. Their mission was clear: to make healthy eating fun, accessible, and easy for kids from an early age.
ARTICLE: From Soul Searching to Self-Management: A Journey that Redefine’s Leadership
Playlist
My friend and client Eugene Friesen is on tour with Paul Simon this year. (That’s him on the right with his cello.) So I’ve been paying close attention to the album they’re performing, Seven Psalms, and to the remarkable group of musicians in this ensemble.I was especially glad to see them play at the Ed Sullivan Theater on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Not only did they perform on a stage made famous by the Beatles and the Stones, but the Colbert crew knows how to shoot and produce a live performance.This one is stunning. Paul’s singular talent, supported by masterful musicianship and Edie Brickell’s luminous vocals, results in a sublime musical experience.
VIDEO: "The Sacred Harp" - Paul Simon (LIVE on The Late Show)
Weekly Mixtape
Quiet songs inspired by Paul Simon's Seven Psalms
PLAYLIST: The Sacred Harp
One-liners
JUNE 27, 2025
We need the stars. We need purpose.
"We need the stars... We need purpose! We need the image the Destiny to take root among the stars gives us of ourselves as a purposeful, growing species. We need to become the adult species that the Destiny can help us become! If we're to be anything other than smooth dinosaurs who evolve, specialize and die, we need the stars.... When we have no difficult, long-term purpose to strive toward, we fight each other. We destroy ourselves. We have these chaotic, apocalyptic periods of murderous craziness." - Octavia Butler
Learning
Apocalypses destroy old worlds, but they also create new ones.
Science journalist Lizzie Wade challenges the idea that apocalypses are solely about destruction. Instead, she argues they can be moments of transformation—times when societies collapse but also rebuild, sometimes in better ways.
ARTICLE: The Ancient Role of Catastrophe in Forging Better Futures
Teaching
Teaching the science and responsibilities of caring for life
Skills like cooking, growing food, repairing things, caring for others, managing money, resolving conflict, and understanding one’s place in the natural world were once woven into daily life and passed down by example.
ARTICLE: Why Every Student Needs Human Ecology Education Now
Teaching
How a transformative learning approach helped the Nordic countries find peace and prosperity
Research shows that Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland consistently rank among the top countries in terms of happiness, democratic strength, economic performance, business climate, trust in institutions, and contributions to global well-being.
WEBSITE: The Nordic Secret
Company
How one company is supporting forest regeneration and biodiversity by incentivizing forest conservation.
Reimagining the role of corporations in climate action, Natura—a sustainable cosmetics company based in Brazil—has launched the Greenventory campaign (short for Green Inventory).
VIDEO: Natura - The Amazon Greenventory (case study)
Learning
"I truly think that autodidacts are responsible for all that is good and great about alternative culture."
Celine Nguyen is a designer and writer from California. She publishes a great newsletter that explores "literature, design, fashion, technology, phenomenology, perfume, and Proust"—a list that only skims its depth and breadth.
ARTICLE: Research as Leisure Activity
Habitat
How to turn an abandoned industrial site into an urban oasis, a community and cultural center, and a business incubator.
The Evergreen Brick Works is an inspiring abandoned industrial brownfield meets social enterprise meets ecological restoration story.
CASE STUDY: Transformation: The Story Of Creating Evergreen Brick Works
One-liners
ARTICLE: As nations lag on climate action, their cities are stepping up.
ARTICLE: Breakthrough tech promises to revolutionize how we recycle lithium batteries without waste or toxic byproducts.
ARTICLE: A new study shows hope may be even more essential to well-being than happiness or gratitude.
ARTICLE: Biomaterials are increasingly being used in construction.
ARTICLE: Norway is proving that homelessness is a solvable problem.
JUNE 20, 2025
We are lonesome animals.
“We are lonesome animals. We spend all of our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say—and to feel—‘yes, that is the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought." —John Steinbeck
Civics
A civic institution where everything is free and the doors are open to all
And speaking of defending libraries, Free For All: The Public Library is a feature-length documentary from PBS’s Independent Lens series that explores the history, significance, and current challenges facing America’s public libraries.
