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Where are they now?: How Disney Dreamers are achieving their goals since 2023

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Friday, April 12, 2024

Not all heroes wear capes. Oftentimes, they are in our schools thinking about ways to improve our world.Every year, 100 high schoolers are selected from thousands of applicants to attend Disney Dreamers Academy, which is designed to empower and inspire the brightest young minds of our nation. These teens are called “Dreamers” for a reason. They have so much hope and confidence in their voice as they talk about their visions for the future. During the five-day program, a village of actors, illustrators, filmmakers, producers and other experts mentor the Dreamers so they can one-day become experts in their fields. Last year, DREAMbassador Halle Bailey spoke affirmations over the teens and challenged them to pursue their goals despite negativity from others. Singer and songwriter H.E.R. surprised a group of future musicians with autographed guitars.So when the trip is over and teens are flown back home, how do the Dreamers use their experience at the academy throughout their lives? To answer that question, the Black Joy fam reached back out to the Dreamers we interviewed in 2023 to get an update on what they have been up to and how they’ve incorporated what they gained during their once-in-a-lifetime experience:Award-winning public speaker Bradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross JacksonBloomington-Normal, Ill.Founder of the nonprofit B.E. Kind Campaign and youngest recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Youth Activist of the Year“The Disney Dreamers Academy was priceless, and I was able to utilize many of the educational and practical nuggets while spending several days at the Academy. Additionally, I built meaningful relationships and I am still very good friends with several of my 2023 Dreamers. We continue to maintain an active “chat group” on Instagram, so that we may empower and encourage each other.Since graduating from the Disney Dreamers’ Academy, I am honored to have received over $1 million in scholarship dollars. I was accepted by many dynamic colleges and universities, including: Howard University, Harvard, Morehouse College, Bradley University, Xavier, Southern, Jackson State University, Augustana College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lindenwood University, and so many other wonderful schools. I proudly included the Disney Dreamers’ Academy on my resume and college application. When I interviewed with Harvard, they inquired about my Disney Dreamers’ experience and they were very impressed when I shared my experiences. Additionally, I was selected for the coveted 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the 2024 NAACP Mr. Harry Hightower Award and the 2024 High School Senior of the Week Award.”Future sports journalist Elle ChavisElle ChavisElle ChavisDallasTheater-lover and future sports journalistElle Chavis is a freshman at Duke University. She is a Robertson Scholar and as a result she has enhanced her leadership skills and increased her knowledge of community development. She entered Duke majoring in Cinematic Arts, but it did not take her long to find a love for journalism. Elle has always loved sports, and that love for sports sparked her interest in sports journalism. She’s now a beat writer in the sports department for The Duke Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper. She covers two of Duke’s many explosive sports: softball and women’s basketball. This newfound passion inspired Elle to change her major to English with a minor in journalism and media. Elle’s favorite part of covering sports is interviewing coaches and players and sharing the stories of the people behind the uniforms.Her love for the theater has only grown in college. In the Fall, Elle was cast as Erika Johnson in “School Girls,” presented by Duke Players. She is currently working as the stage manager for Duke’s upcoming performance of “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”“Disney Dreamers Academy was a phenomenal program that opened up my eyes to realize that your dreams and interests can change and evolve into other things. Writing has always been a passion of mine but I had no idea that I would enjoy journalism as much as I do.”Award-winning athlete and nonprofit owner Jordan AdeyemiJordan AdeyemiJordan AdeyemiAtlantaJordan takes his love of soccer to a whole new level with his nonprofit the Shoeless Ones, which helps alleviate the cost of soccer cleats by donating them to underserved communities.“I’ve had a really busy year since that incredible and inspiring week at Dreamers Academy. In July, I spent a few weeks in Spain where I attended a seminar on youth entrepreneurship at Mondragon University where I learned about the link between traditional culture, economics and commerce, then flew straight to Los Angeles to accept an ESPY Billie Jean Youth Leadership Award. I started senior year as the co-captain of the varsity soccer team, co-head of the Black Student of Excellence and a student listener. At the end of my soccer season, I was invited to the region’s all-star game and received a few college offers to play soccer.Shoeless Ones has now donated over 650 shoes and is working on collaborations with a few programs that I’m excited about. Last week, I was one of 21 youth leaders to be awarded a Georgia Youth Leadership award. The last months have been busy with college and scholarship applications and I’m happy that part is over. For now, I am waiting on college decisions so that I can commit to a school. Overall, I’ve had a great year and I am looking forward to great things in the future.”Teen philanthropist Logan WilliamsDanyelle RashidLogan WilliamsClevelandA teen philanthropist who wants to build the largest homeless shelter in the world and started her own nonprofit, Blanket Blessings.Logan has continued to use her voice, resources, and networks to be a steady vessel to the community. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday is reserved for a day of service and Logan’s grassroots organization “Blanket Blessings” was able to donate 50 blessing bags to a local women’s shelter. The blessing bags are stuffed with toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, small face towel, lotion, and much more. They were also able to hand out five birthday gifts for the month of January to the unhoused women. Logan has decided to donate small gift items to the shelter every month, to make sure the women feel special on their birthdays. She was also contacted by Spectrum news for the national Giving Tuesday special segment, about young Ohioans who are making a difference in their community.Logan’s experience at Disney Dreamers Academy was a life changing experience and set her life on a more upward cycle. The tools that were instilled in the Dreamers allowed Logan to dream bigger, think bigger, and to not give up on life. Logan inspires many of her friends to do good things in the world, and to know that no matter your age your voice matters. Logan will be attending the Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit coming up later in April. This is an event where young people will tackle big environmental challenges. Workshops, learning sessions, student panels, and a green career fair will be a few of the offerings there. Logan was able to share this with other students in her age range and of course she did just that. She has been nominated for an 2024 award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for her dedication to Cleveland and her community.

A million dollars in scholarship money and national athletic awards are just some of goals these teens have accomplished since joining Disney Dreamers Academy in last year.

Not all heroes wear capes. Oftentimes, they are in our schools thinking about ways to improve our world.

Every year, 100 high schoolers are selected from thousands of applicants to attend Disney Dreamers Academy, which is designed to empower and inspire the brightest young minds of our nation. These teens are called “Dreamers” for a reason. They have so much hope and confidence in their voice as they talk about their visions for the future. During the five-day program, a village of actors, illustrators, filmmakers, producers and other experts mentor the Dreamers so they can one-day become experts in their fields. Last year, DREAMbassador Halle Bailey spoke affirmations over the teens and challenged them to pursue their goals despite negativity from others. Singer and songwriter H.E.R. surprised a group of future musicians with autographed guitars.

So when the trip is over and teens are flown back home, how do the Dreamers use their experience at the academy throughout their lives? To answer that question, the Black Joy fam reached back out to the Dreamers we interviewed in 2023 to get an update on what they have been up to and how they’ve incorporated what they gained during their once-in-a-lifetime experience:

Disney Dreamer Bradley

Award-winning public speaker Bradley Ross JacksonBradley Ross Jackson

Bradley Ross Jackson

Bloomington-Normal, Ill.

Founder of the nonprofit B.E. Kind Campaign and youngest recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Youth Activist of the Year

“The Disney Dreamers Academy was priceless, and I was able to utilize many of the educational and practical nuggets while spending several days at the Academy. Additionally, I built meaningful relationships and I am still very good friends with several of my 2023 Dreamers. We continue to maintain an active “chat group” on Instagram, so that we may empower and encourage each other.

Since graduating from the Disney Dreamers’ Academy, I am honored to have received over $1 million in scholarship dollars. I was accepted by many dynamic colleges and universities, including: Howard University, Harvard, Morehouse College, Bradley University, Xavier, Southern, Jackson State University, Augustana College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Lindenwood University, and so many other wonderful schools. I proudly included the Disney Dreamers’ Academy on my resume and college application. When I interviewed with Harvard, they inquired about my Disney Dreamers’ experience and they were very impressed when I shared my experiences. Additionally, I was selected for the coveted 2024 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award, the 2024 NAACP Mr. Harry Hightower Award and the 2024 High School Senior of the Week Award.”

Disney Dreamer Elle Chavis

Future sports journalist Elle ChavisElle Chavis

Elle Chavis

Dallas

Theater-lover and future sports journalist

Elle Chavis is a freshman at Duke University. She is a Robertson Scholar and as a result she has enhanced her leadership skills and increased her knowledge of community development. She entered Duke majoring in Cinematic Arts, but it did not take her long to find a love for journalism. Elle has always loved sports, and that love for sports sparked her interest in sports journalism. She’s now a beat writer in the sports department for The Duke Chronicle, the school’s student newspaper. She covers two of Duke’s many explosive sports: softball and women’s basketball. This newfound passion inspired Elle to change her major to English with a minor in journalism and media. Elle’s favorite part of covering sports is interviewing coaches and players and sharing the stories of the people behind the uniforms.

Her love for the theater has only grown in college. In the Fall, Elle was cast as Erika Johnson in “School Girls,” presented by Duke Players. She is currently working as the stage manager for Duke’s upcoming performance of “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812.”

“Disney Dreamers Academy was a phenomenal program that opened up my eyes to realize that your dreams and interests can change and evolve into other things. Writing has always been a passion of mine but I had no idea that I would enjoy journalism as much as I do.”

Disney Dreamer Jordan Adeyemi

Award-winning athlete and nonprofit owner Jordan AdeyemiJordan Adeyemi

Jordan Adeyemi

Atlanta

Jordan takes his love of soccer to a whole new level with his nonprofit the Shoeless Ones, which helps alleviate the cost of soccer cleats by donating them to underserved communities.

“I’ve had a really busy year since that incredible and inspiring week at Dreamers Academy. In July, I spent a few weeks in Spain where I attended a seminar on youth entrepreneurship at Mondragon University where I learned about the link between traditional culture, economics and commerce, then flew straight to Los Angeles to accept an ESPY Billie Jean Youth Leadership Award. I started senior year as the co-captain of the varsity soccer team, co-head of the Black Student of Excellence and a student listener. At the end of my soccer season, I was invited to the region’s all-star game and received a few college offers to play soccer.

Shoeless Ones has now donated over 650 shoes and is working on collaborations with a few programs that I’m excited about. Last week, I was one of 21 youth leaders to be awarded a Georgia Youth Leadership award. The last months have been busy with college and scholarship applications and I’m happy that part is over. For now, I am waiting on college decisions so that I can commit to a school. Overall, I’ve had a great year and I am looking forward to great things in the future.”

Disney Dreamer Logan Williams

Teen philanthropist Logan WilliamsDanyelle Rashid

Logan Williams

Cleveland

A teen philanthropist who wants to build the largest homeless shelter in the world and started her own nonprofit, Blanket Blessings.

Logan has continued to use her voice, resources, and networks to be a steady vessel to the community. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday is reserved for a day of service and Logan’s grassroots organization “Blanket Blessings” was able to donate 50 blessing bags to a local women’s shelter. The blessing bags are stuffed with toiletry items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, small face towel, lotion, and much more. They were also able to hand out five birthday gifts for the month of January to the unhoused women. Logan has decided to donate small gift items to the shelter every month, to make sure the women feel special on their birthdays. She was also contacted by Spectrum news for the national Giving Tuesday special segment, about young Ohioans who are making a difference in their community.

Logan’s experience at Disney Dreamers Academy was a life changing experience and set her life on a more upward cycle. The tools that were instilled in the Dreamers allowed Logan to dream bigger, think bigger, and to not give up on life. Logan inspires many of her friends to do good things in the world, and to know that no matter your age your voice matters. Logan will be attending the Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit coming up later in April. This is an event where young people will tackle big environmental challenges. Workshops, learning sessions, student panels, and a green career fair will be a few of the offerings there. Logan was able to share this with other students in her age range and of course she did just that. She has been nominated for an 2024 award from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for her dedication to Cleveland and her community.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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It’s Not Safe to Live Here.' Colombia Is Deadliest Country for Environmental Defenders

Jani Silva is a renowned environmental activist in Colombia’s Amazon, but she has been unable to live in her house for nearly a decade

PUERTO ASIS, Colombia (AP) — Jani Silva sits inside the wooden house she built on the banks of Colombia’s Putumayo River — a home she hasn't slept in for more than eight years.The longtime environmental activist has been threatened for work that includes protecting part of the Amazon from oil and mining exploitation. She describes a tense escape one night through a back window after community members tipped her that armed men were outside.“Since leaving because of the threats, I’m afraid ... it’s not safe to live here,” she told The Associated Press. She only comes now for brief daytime visits when accompanied by others. “The two times I’ve tried to come back and stay, I’ve had to run away.”Activists like Silva face steep risks in Colombia, the deadliest country in the world for people protecting land and forests. Global Witness, an international watchdog monitoring attacks on activists, recorded 48 killings in Colombia in 2024, nearly a third of all cases worldwide. Colombia says it protects activists through its National Protection Unit, which provides bodyguards and other security measures. Officials also point to recent court rulings recognizing the rights of nature and stronger environmental oversight as signs of progress.Silva, 63, now lives under guard in Puerto Asis, a river town near the Ecuador border. She has had four full-time bodyguards for 12 years provided by the National Protection Unit. Yet the threats have not pushed her from her role at ADISPA, the farming association that manages the Amazon Pearl reserve she previously lived on and has worked to protect.“I have a calling to serve,” Silva said. “I feel like I am needed … there is still so much to do.”Colombia's ministries of Interior, National Defense and Environment did not respond to requests for comment.About 15,000 people nationwide receive protection from the NPU, the Interior Ministry said in a 2024 report. They include environmental and human rights defenders, journalists, local officials, union leaders and others facing threats, though watchdog groups say protections often fall short in rural conflict zones. Community buffer stands in a violent corridor The Amazon Pearl is home to roughly 800 families who have spent decades trying to keep out oil drilling, deforestation, illicit crops and the armed groups that enforce them. Silva describes the community-run reserve, about 30 minutes by boat down the Putumayo from Puerto Asis, as “a beautiful land … almost blessed, for its biodiversity, forests and rivers.”The preserve's 227 square kilometers (87 square miles) host reforestation projects, programs to protect wetlands and forest threatened by oil exploration and efforts to promote agroecology. The farming association has community beekeeping projects to support pollination and generate income, organizes community patrols, supports small sustainable farming and has carried out major restoration, including cultivating more than 120,000 native seedlings to rebuild degraded riverbanks and forest corridors.Silva has been a main voice challenging oil operations inside the reserve. As president of ADISPA, she documented spills, deforestation and road-building tied to Bogota-based oil company GeoPark's Platanillo block and pushed environmental regulators to investigate. Advocates say those complaints, along with ADISPA’s efforts to keep new drilling and mining out, have angered armed groups that profit from mining and oil activity in the region.GeoPark said it complies with Colombian environmental and human-rights regulations and has not received environmental sanctions since operations began in 2009. The company maintains formal dialogue with local communities, including Silva, and “categorically rejects” threats or links to armed groups and its activities require environmental licenses and undergo regular inspections, GeoPark said in a written statement to the AP. Rubén Pastrana, 32, runs one of the Pearl’s beekeeping projects in the riverbank community of San Salvador, where ADISPA works with children using native stingless bees to teach biodiversity and forest conservation. “They’re very gentle,” he said of the bees, and their calm nature lets children learn without fear.More than 600 families now take part in conservation and agroecology projects, many launched through community initiative.“The first project was started on our own initiative,” Silva said. “We started setting up nurseries at our homes … and reforesting the riverbank.”Women exchanged native seeds and organized replanting drives, and the community agreed to temporary hunting bans after seeing pregnant armadillos killed — a move Silva said allowed wildlife to recover. Families now map their plots to balance production with conservation. Border Commandos control the territory Armed groups known locally as Comandos de la Frontera, or Border Commandos, operate throughout this stretch of Putumayo, controlling territory, river traffic and parts of the local economy. The Commandos emerged after Colombia’s 2016 peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the Marxist guerrilla army whose demobilization ended a half-century conflict but left power vacuums across the Amazon and Pacific regions. In places like Putumayo, those gaps were quickly filled by FARC dissidents, former paramilitaries and other criminal networks.The Commandos enforce control through extortion, illegal taxation and by regulating, or profiting from, coca cultivation, clandestine mining and key river routes. Residents say the group forces some communities to perform unpaid labor or face fines, further eroding livelihoods in an area where most families rely on tending their farms. The AP saw illegal coca growing near the beekeeping project via drone imagery.Human Rights Watch on Friday said armed groups in Putumayo have tightened their control over daily life and committed serious abuses against civilians including forced displacement, restricting movement and targeting local leaders. Andrew Miller, head of advocacy at the U.S.-based advocacy group Amazon Watch, said Colombian authorities must go beyond providing bodyguards and prosecute those behind threats and attacks on defenders. Developing the next generation Pastrana, from the beekeeping project, said Silva’s long-term vision has nurtured new leaders and guided young people, helping them develop the grounding to resist recruitment by armed groups.Silva's daughter, Anggie Miramar Silva, is part of ADISPA’s technical team. The 27-year-old grew up inside the reserve’s community process and watched her mother move constantly between meetings, workshops and patrols, pushing others to defend the land. She admires that resolve, even as she lives with the same fear that trails her mother. While people often suggest she might one day take her mother’s place, she is not convinced. “My mother’s work is extremely hard," Miramar said. “I don’t know if I would be willing to sacrifice everything she has.”Jani Silva knows the risks. But stopping doesn't feel like an option.“We have to continue defending the future," she said, "and we need more and more people to join this cause.”The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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Climate
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The Strange Disappearance of an Anti-AI Activist

Sam Kirchner wants to save the world from artificial superintelligence. He’s been missing for two weeks.

Before Sam Kirchner vanished, before the San Francisco Police Department began to warn that he could be armed and dangerous, before OpenAI locked down its offices over the potential threat, those who encountered him saw him as an ordinary, if ardent, activist.Phoebe Thomas Sorgen met Kirchner a few months ago at Travis Air Force Base, northeast of San Francisco, at a protest against immigration policy and U.S. military aid to Israel. Sorgen, a longtime activist whose first protests were against the Vietnam War, was going to block an entrance to the base with six other older women. Kirchner,  27 years old, was there with a couple of other members of a new group called Stop AI, and they all agreed to go along to record video on their phones in case of a confrontation with the police.“They were mainly there, I believe, to recruit people who might be willing to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience, which they see as the key to stopping super AI,” Sorgen told me,  a method she thought was really smart. Afterward, she started going to Stop AI’s weekly meetings in Berkeley and learning about the artificial-intelligence industry, adopting the activist group’s cause as one of her own. She was impressed by Kirchner and the other leaders, who struck her as passionate and well informed. They’d done their research on AI and on protest movements; they knew what they were talking about and what to do. “They were committed to nonviolence on the merits as well as strategically,” she said.They followed a typical activist playbook. They passed out flyers and served pizza and beer at a T-shirt-making party. They organized monthly demonstrations and debated various ideas for publicity stunts. Stop AI, which calls for a permanent global ban on the development of artificial superintelligence, has always been a little more radical—more open to offending, its members clearly willing to get arrested—than some of the other groups protesting the development of artificial general intelligence, but Sorgen told me that leaders were also clear, at every turn, that violence was not morally acceptable or part of a winning strategy. (“That’s the empire’s game, violence,” she noted. “We can’t compete on that level even if we wanted to.”) Organizers who gathered in a Stop AI Signal chat were given only one warning for musing or even joking about violent actions. After that, they would be banned.Kirchner, who moved to San Francisco from Seattle and co-founded Stop AI there last year, publicly expressed his own commitment to nonviolence many times, and friends and allies say they believed him. Yet they also say he could be hotheaded and dogmatic, that he seemed to be suffering under the strain of his belief that the creation of smarter-than-human AI was imminent and that it would almost certainly lead to the end of all human life. He often talked about the possibility that AI could kill his sister, and he seemed to be motivated by this fear.“I did perceive an intensity,” Sorgen said. She sometimes talked with Kirchner about toning it down and taking a breath, for the good of Stop AI, which would need mass support. But she was empathetic, having had her own experience with protesting against nuclear proliferation as a young woman and sinking into a deep depression when she was met with indifference. “It’s very stressful to contemplate the end of our species—to realize that that is quite likely. That can be difficult emotionally.”  Whatever the exact reason or the precise triggering event, Kirchner appears to have recently lost faith in the strategy of nonviolence, at least briefly. This alleged moment of crisis led to his expulsion from Stop AI, to a series of 911 calls placed by his compatriots, and, apparently, to his disappearance. His friends say they have been looking for him every day, but nearly two weeks have gone by with no sign of him.Though Kirchner’s true intentions are impossible to know at this point, and his story remains hazy, the rough outline has been enough to inspire worried conversation about the AI-safety movement as a whole. Experts disagree about the existential risk of AI, and some think the idea of superintelligent AI destroying all human life is barely more than a fantasy, whereas to others it is practically inevitable. “He had the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Wynd Kaufmyn, one of Stop AI’s core organizers, told me of Kirchner. What might you do if you truly felt that way?“I am no longer part of Stop AI,” Kirchner posted to X just before 4 a.m. Pacific time on Friday, November 21. Later that day, OpenAI put its San Francisco offices on lockdown, as reported by Wired, telling employees that it had received information indicating that Kirchner had “expressed interest in causing physical harm to OpenAI employees.”The problem started the previous Sunday, according to both Kaufmyn and Matthew Hall, Stop AI’s recently elected leader, who goes by Yakko. At a planning meeting, Kirchner got into a disagreement with the others about the wording of some messaging for an upcoming demonstration—he was so upset, Kaufmyn and Hall told me, that the meeting totally devolved and Kirchner left, saying that he would proceed with his idea on his own. Later that evening, he allegedly confronted Yakko and demanded access to Stop AI funds. “I was concerned, given his demeanor, what he might use that money on,” Yakko told me. When he refused to give Kirchner the money, he said, Kirchner punched him several times in the head. Kaufmyn was not present during the alleged assault, but she went to the hospital with Yakko, who was examined for a concussion, according to both of them. (Yakko also shared his emergency-room-discharge form with me. I was unable to reach Kirchner for comment.)On Monday morning, according to Yakko, Kirchner was apologetic, but seemed conflicted. He expressed that he was exasperated by how slowly the movement was going and that he didn’t think nonviolence was working. “I believe his exact words were ‘the nonviolence ship has sailed for me,’” Yakko said. Yakko and Kaufmyn told me that Stop AI members called the SFPD at this point to express some concern about what Kirchner might do, but that nothing came of the call.After that, for a few days, Stop AI dealt with the issue privately. Kirchner could no longer be part of Stop AI, because of the alleged violent confrontation, but the situation appeared manageable. Members of the group became newly concerned when Kirchner didn’t show at a scheduled court hearing related to his February arrest for blocking doors at an OpenAI office. They went to Kirchner’s apartment in West Oakland and found it unlocked and empty, at which point they felt obligated to notify the police again and to also notify various AI companies that they didn’t know where Kirchner was and that there was some possibility that he could be dangerous.Both Kaufmyn and Sorgen suspect that Kirchner is likely camping somewhere—he took his bicycle with him, but left behind other belongings, including his laptop and phone. They imagine he’s feeling wounded and betrayed, and maybe fearful of the consequences of his alleged meltdown. Yakko told me that he wasn’t sure about Kirchner’s state of mind but that he didn’t believe that Kirchner had access to funds that would enable him to act on his alleged suggestions of violence. Remmelt Ellen, an adviser to Stop AI, told me that he was concerned about Kirchner’s safety, especially if he is experiencing a mental-health crisis.Almost two weeks into his disappearance, Kirchner’s situation has grown worse. The San Francisco Standard recently reported on an internal bulletin circulated within the SFPD on November 21, which cited two callers who warned that Kirchner had specifically threatened to buy high-powered weapons and to kill people at OpenAI. Both Kaufmyn and Yakko told me that they were confused by that report. “As far as I know, Sam made no direct threats to OpenAI or anyone else,” Yakko said. From his perspective, the likelihood that Kirchner was dangerous was low, but the group didn’t want to take any chances. (A representative from the SFPD declined to comment on the bulletin; OpenAI did not return a request for comment.)The reaction from the broader AI-safety movement was fast and consistent. Many disavowed violence. One group, PauseAI, a much larger AI- safety activist group than Stop AI, specifically disavowed Kirchner.  PauseAI is notably staid—they include property damage in their definition of violence, for instance, and don’t allow volunteers to do anything illegal or disruptive, like chain themselves to doors, barricade gates, or otherwise trespass or interfere with the operations of AI companies. “The kind of protests we do are people standing at the same place and maybe speaking a message,” the group’s CEO, Maxime Fournes, told me. “But not preventing people from going to work or blocking the streets.”This is one of the reasons that Stop AI was founded in the first place. Kirchner and others, who met in the PauseAI Discord server, thought that genteel approach was insufficient. Instead, Stop AI situated itself in a tradition of more confrontational protest, consulting Gene Sharp’s 1973 classic, The Methods of Nonviolent Action, which includes such tactics as sit-ins, “nonviolent obstruction,” and “seeking imprisonment.”In its early stages, the movement against unaccountable AI development has had to face the same questions as any other burgeoning social movement. How do you win broad support? How can you be palatable and appealing while also being sufficiently pointed, extreme enough to get attention but not so much that you sabotage yourselves? If the stakes are as high as you say they are, how do you act like it?Michaël Trazzi, an activist who went on a hunger strike outside of Google DeepMind’s London headquarters in September, also believes that AI could lead to human extinction. He told me that he believes that people can do things that are extreme enough to “show we are in an emergency” while still being nonviolent and nondisruptive. (PauseAI also discourages its members from doing hunger strikes.)The biggest difference between PauseAI and Stop AI is the one implied in their names. PauseAI advocates for a pause in superintelligent AI development until it can proceed safely, or in “alignment” with democratically decided ideal outcomes. Stop AI’s position is that this kind of alignment is a fantasy, and that AI should never be allowed to progress further toward superhuman intelligence than it already has. For that reason, their rhetoric differs as much as their tactics. “You should not hear official PauseAI channels saying things like ‘we will all die with complete certainty,’” Fournes told me. By contrast, Stop AI has opted for very blunt messaging. Announcing plans to barricade the doors of an OpenAI office in San Francisco last October, organizers sent out a press release that read, in part, “OpenAI is trying to build something smarter than humans and it is going to kill us all!” More recently, the group promoted another protest with a digital flyer saying “Close OpenAI or We’re All Gonna Die!”Jonathan Kallay, a 47-year-old activist who is not based in San Francisco but who participates in a Stop AI Discord server with just under 400 people in it, told me that Stop AI is a “large and diverse group of people” who are concerned about AI for a variety of reasons—job loss, environmental impact, creative-property rights, and so on. Not all of them fear the imminent end of the world. But they have all signed up for a version of the movement that puts that possibility front and center.Yakko, who joined Stop AI earlier this year, was elected the group’s new leader on October 28. That he and others in Stop AI were not completely on board with the gloomy messaging that Kirchner favored was one of the causes of the falling out, he told me. “I think that made him feel betrayed and scared.”Going forward, Yakko said that Stop AI will be focused on a more hopeful message and will try to emphasize that an alternate future is still possible—“rather than just trying to scare people, even if the truth is scary.” One of his ideas is to help organize a global general strike (and to do so before AI takes a large enough share of human jobs that it’s too late for withholding labor to have any impact).Stop AI is not the only group considering and reconsidering how to talk about the problem. These debates over rhetoric and tactics have been taking place in an insular cultural enclave where forum threads come to vivid life. Sometimes, it can be hard to keep track of who’s on whose side. For instance, Stop AI might seem a natural ally of Eliezer Yudkowsky, a famous AI doomer whose recent book co-authored with Nate Soares, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, predicts human extinction in its title. But they are actually at odds. (Through a representative, Yudkowsky declined to comment for this article.)Émile P. Torres, a philosopher and historian who had been friendly with Kirchner and attended a Stop AI protest this summer, has criticized Yudkowsky for engaging in a thought exercise about about how many people it would be ethical to let die in order to prevent a superintelligent AI from taking over the world. He also tried to persuade Kirchner and other Stop AI leaders to take a more delicate approach to talking about human extinction as a likely outcome of advanced AI development, because he thinks that this kind of rhetoric might provoke violence either by making it seem righteous or by disturbing people to the point of totally irrational behavior. The latter worry is not merely conjecture: One infamous group who feared that AI would end the world turned into a cult and was then connected to several murders (though none of the killings appeared to have anything to do with AI development).“There is this kind of an apocalyptic mindset that people can get into,” Torres told me. “The stakes are enormous and literally couldn’t be higher. That sort of rhetoric is everywhere in Silicon Valley.” He never  worried that anybody in Stop AI would resort to violence; he was always more freaked out by the rationalist crowd, who might use “longtermism” as a poor ethical justification for violence in the present (kill a few people now to prevent extinction later). But he did think that committing to an apocalyptic framing could be risky generally. “I have been worried about people in the AI-safety crowd resorting to violence,” he said. “Someone can have that mindset and commit themselves to nonviolence, but the mindset does incline people toward thinking, Well, maybe any measure might be justifiable.”Ellen, the Stop AI adviser, shares Torres’s concern. Though he wasn’t present for what happened with Kirchner in November (Ellen lives in Hong Kong and has never met Kirchner in person, he told me), his sense from speaking frequently with him over the past two years was that Kirchner was under an enormous amount of pressure because of his feeling that the world was about to end. “Sam was panicked,” he said. “I think he felt disempowered and felt like he had to do something.” After Stop AI put out its statement about the alleged assault and the calls to police, Ellen wrote his own post asking people to “stop the ‘AGI may kill us by 2027’ shit please.”Despite that request, he doesn’t think apocalyptic rhetoric is the sole cause of what happened. “I would add that I know a lot of other people who are concerned about a near-term extinction event in single-digit years who would never even consider acting in violent ways,” he told me. And actually, he had other issues with the apocalyptic framing aside from the sort of muddy idea that it can lead people to violence. He worries, too, that it “puts the movement in a position to be ridiculed,” if, for instance, the AI bubble bursts, development slows, and the apocalypse doesn’t arrive when the alarm-ringers said it would. They could be left standing there looking ridiculous, like a failed doomsday cult.His other fear about what did or didn’t (or does or doesn’t) happen with Kirchner is that it will “be used to paint with a broad brush” about the AI-safety movement, depicting its participants as radicals and terrorists. He saw some conversation along those lines earlier in November, when a lawyer representing Stop AI jumped onstage to subpoena Sam Altman during a talk—one widely viewed post referred to the group as “dangerous” and “unhinged” in response to that incident. And in response to the news about Kirchner, there has been renewed chatter about how activists may be extremists in waiting. This is a tactic that powerful people often use in an attempt to discredit their critics: Peter Thiel has taken to arguing that those who speak out against AI are the real danger, rather than the technology itself.In an interview last year, Kirchner said, “We are totally for nonviolence and we never will turn violent.” In the same interview, he said he was willing to die for his cause. Both statements are the kind that sound direct but are hard to set store in—it’s impossible to prove whether he meant them, and, if so, how he meant them. Hearing the latter statement about Kirchner’s willingness to die, some saw a radical on some kind of deranged mission. Others saw a guy clumsily expressing sincere commitment. (Or maybe he was just being dramatic.)Ellen told me that older activists he’d talked with had interpreted it as well meant, but a red flag nonetheless. Generally, when you dedicate yourself to a cause, you don’t expect to die to win. You expect to spend years fighting, feeling like you’re losing, plodding along. The problem is that Kirchner—according to many people who know him—really believes humanity doesn’t have that much time.

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The Scientific American Staff’s Favorite Books of 2025

Here are the 67 books Scientific American staffers couldn’t put down this year, from fantasy epics to gripping nonfiction

Each year around this time, we ask the staff of Scientific American to recommend the best books they read this year. Here are the 67 new favorites and old classics that kept us turning the pages in 2025.Happy reading! Jump to your favorite section here:On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.NonfictionIn alphabetical orderApocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futuresby Lizzie WadeHarper(Tags: History)“This was such an upbeat book about apocalypses! I learned a ton and got a much smarter sense of what people really experienced during these extreme scenarios.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterBad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining Americaby Elie MystalThe New Press(Tags: Policy)“A clearly structured and compellingly argued takedown of 10 terrible laws that could easily be fixed by simply revoking them. It will make you mad but in the most clarifying way.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterThe Black Family Who Built America: The McKissacks, Two Centuries of Daring Pioneersby Cheryl McKissack Daniel, with Nick ChilesAtria/Black Privilege Publishing(Tags: Memoir)“The author’s great-great-grandfather, an enslaved person brought from Africa, started a construction/engineering company in North Carolina and Tennessee that is still in the family and is now run by her. An intimate view of courageous Black lives in the midst of ongoing white prejudice and violence.” —Maria-Christina Keller, Copy DirectorCareless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealismby Sarah Wynn-WilliamsFlatiron Books(Tags: Memoir)“When I finished the prologue of Careless People, I immediately looked up who had the movie rights—the author has a flair for the cinematic in describing her experiences. Besides being a riveting read, this look at the thoughts and thoughtlessness of those running Facebook is crucial to understanding how today’s toxic digital landscape came to be.” —Sarah Lewin Frasier, Senior EditorCHART: Designing Creative Data Visualizations from Charts to Artby Nadieh BremerA K Peters/CRC Press(Tags: Data Visualization)“Nadieh Bremer excels at creating captivating and memorable information-rich data displays. If you’re stuck in a world of bar charts and line charts and looking to stretch your own capabilities beyond standard visualization forms, this book is for you. Examples include several graphics commissioned for Scientific American articles!” —Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics EditorThe Football: The Amazing Mathematics of the World’s Most Watched Objectby Étienne GhysPrinceton University Press(Tags: Math, Physics, Sports)“A fascinating mathematical and physical microhistory of soccer balls and the official FIFA World Cup match balls in particular.” —Emma R. Hasson, 2025 AAAS Mass Media FellowThe Harder I Fight the More I Love Youby Neko CaseGrand Central Publishing(Tags: Memoir)“A searing, beautiful memoir by singer-songwriter Neko Case, recalling her lonely, tumultuous upbringing and the way music became a balm and an escape. It is written with the same gut-punching poetic voice that makes her such an incredible lyricist.” —Andrea Thompson, Senior Desk Editor/Life ScienceI Want to Burn This Place Downby Maris KreizmanEcco(Tags: Essays)“A wonderfully slim collection of essays about growing up, getting angry and choosing to change the world for the better. I cringed at how relatable it was at times, but that’s the point!” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerInventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Ageby Ada PalmerThe University of Chicago Press(Tags: History)“You may know Ada Palmer as a science-fiction novelist, but she’s also a historian at the University of Chicago who focuses on the Renaissance. This is a chunky book with many parts, but it’s very readable and thought-provoking. You’ll think differently about the Renaissance—and about how history works.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterLeaving the Ocean Was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creaturesby Cara Giaimo. Illustrated by Vlad StankovicQuirk Books(Tags: Humor, Animals)“This charming little book highlights 60 creatures that live in the shallows to the abyssal deep. Each is beautifully illustrated, while the text shares an interesting fact about the animal and a wry inspirational-poster-style motto for human life drawn from its experience. Great for kids five to 10 years old, plus anyone else who wants to be delighted by the ocean’s denizens.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterThe Meteorites: Encounters with Outer Space and Deep Timeby Helen GordonProfile Books(Tags: Space, History)“I’ve never had such an emotional reaction to reading about rocks, but the prose is beautiful, and the passion of the authors pours off every page.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerMore Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanityby Adam BeckerBasic Books(Tags: AI, Technology)“A fascinating look at the so-called philosophies that Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs use to justify sacrificing the present to build a future that will never exist. Equal parts fascinating and infuriating, this book sheds light on the way some of the most powerful people in the world think and also shows you how to argue against it.” —Ian Kelly, Product ManagerOne Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been against Thisby Omar El AkkadKnopf(Tags: Memoir, Politics)“A powerfully written, thought-provoking book with deep moral clarity.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterOwned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Leftby Eoin HigginsBold Type Books(Tags: Political Science)“The story of how tech billionaires are buying out their most vocal critics and trying to change the journalistic landscape. This book helps explain not just how narratives are changing in front of our eyes but why.” —Ian Kelly, Product ManagerPhenomenal Moments: Revealing the Hidden Science around Usby Felice FrankelMITeen Press(Tags: Young Adult, Photography)“Photographer Felice Frankel explores the science behind visual characteristics through a series of images paired with artist statements and succinct scientific explanations. Together, this prompts the reader to ponder light and shadow, form, transformation and surfaces.” —Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics EditorProto: How One Ancient Language Went Globalby Laura SpinneyBloomsbury Publishing(Tags: History, Linguistics)“Laura Spinney tells engaging tales of archeologists traipsing through fields, linguists working toward professional vindication and many others active in the search for understanding of how these ancient languages traveled, fragmented, warred and traded to eventually became the dominant Indo-European languages today.” —Rich Hunt, Managing Production EditorA Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Liftingby Casey JohnstonGrand Central Publishing(Tags: Memoir)“A gripping combination of memoir and exploration of the history and science of weight lifting. Casey Johnston’s background as a science journalist comes through clearly in the fascinating explanations of how and why lifting can be so beneficial.” —Sarah Lewin Frasier, Senior EditorRaising Hareby Chloe DaltonPantheon(Tags: Memoir)“An atmospheric and cozy memoir about a city slicker workaholic who rescues a newborn abandoned hare and awakens to nature. A great one for animal lovers.” —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter EditorReefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survivalby Lisa GardinerPrinceton University Press(Tags: Science, Environment)“This is a love letter to past, present and future coral reefs. Gardiner is a close friend of mine. Her stories of fossil and modern polyps—as well as the people that study them—prompted me to think more deeply about resilience.” —Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics EditorRipples on the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Our Place in the Solar Systemby Dagomar DegrootHarvard University Press(Tags: Science, Space)“A fascinating tour of the environmental history of the inner solar system and how centuries of changes to our neighboring worlds have shaped the human experience.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterSearches: Selfhood in the Digital Ageby Vauhini VaraPantheon(Tags: AI, Technology)“I loved this philosophical look at how and why artificial intelligence and broader technological developments have changed our world and our artistic practice within it.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerThe Sexual Evolution: How 500 Million Years of Sex, Gender, and Mating Shape Modern Relationshipsby Nathan LentsMariner Books(Tags: Sexology, Zoology)“Surprisingly funny and eye-opening book about how the animal kingdom is more sexually diverse than previously understood.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerSociopath: A Memoirby Patric GagneSimon & Schuster(Tags: Memoir, Mental Health)“I picked up this book after I read our own July/August 2025 article about treating childhood psychopathy and wanted to know more. The author describes with vivid honesty how it felt to grow up as an undiagnosed sociopath and how she came to learn about herself and create her own path to treatment. As someone who is fascinated by different neurotypes, I was hooked from the start and came away with (somewhat ironically) a newfound empathy for those who don’t themselves experience empathy like most people do.” —Amanda Montañez, Senior Graphics EditorSpeak Data: Artists, Scientists, Thinkers, and Dreamers on How We Live Our Lives in Numbersby Giorgia Lupi and Phillip CoxChronicle Books(Tags: Data)“A collection of thoughtful interviews with people who spend their days thinking about and working with data—including scientists, artists, activists and business leaders. I loved that each interviewee defines data in a different way.” —Amanda Montañez, Senior Graphics EditorStrata: Stories From Deep Timeby Laura PoppickW. W. Norton(Tags: Geology)“The deep history of Earth can be overwhelming—the sheer scale of billions of years, with only the opaque names of eras and epochs to navigate by—but Strata is different. In it, geologist-turned-science-journalist Laura Poppick carries the reader on our planet’s adventure by highlighting four pivotal phenomena: air, ice, mud and heat.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterSweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Loverby Sarah PerryMariner Books(Tags: Essays, Food)“The sweetest essays about some of my favorite candy indulgences. It was sometimes funny, touching and even educational. This would be a nice palate cleanser to get someone out of a reading slump. The illustrations and formatting, with sections broken up by candy color, was a cute touch.” —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerTigers Between Empires: The Improbable Return of Great Cats to the Forests of Russia and Chinaby Jonathan C. SlaghtFarrar, Straus and Giroux(Tags: History)“A heart-in-your-mouth saga that tells the stories—terrifying, riveting and sad—of the adventurer scientists who saved the disappearing Amur tiger. Slaght gives us an inspiring account of a wilderness where brown bears fight tigers and the too-brief geopolitical thaw that reshaped the lives of both man and tiger.” —Dan Vergano, Senior Editor, Washington, D.C.FictionIn alphabetical orderAmong Friendsby Hal EbbottRiverhead Books(Tags: Literary Fiction)“This is simply about a birthday weekend spent between two families that goes wrong, but I was locked into the drama right away. Lesson learned: some friendships are best left in the past.” —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerThe Antidoteby Karen RussellKnopf(Tags: Historical Fiction)“Thrilled my book club made me read this! I loved this new take on a witch in the American West.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerAtmosphereby Taylor Jenkins ReidBallantine Books(Tags: LGBTQ+, Astronauts)“A gorgeous romance interspersed with a thrilling mission story about fictional astronauts in the space shuttle program in the 1980s.” —Clara Moskowitz, Chief of ReportersThe Botanist’s Assistantby Peggy TownsendBerkley(Tags: Mystery)“A fun murder mystery steeped in the world of scientific research and botany.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterEat The Ones You Loveby Sarah Maria GriffinTor Books(Tags: Fantasy)“Creepy and weird in all the best ways! More horror stories should examine violence through botany and abandoned malls.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerEmily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Talesby Heather FawcettDel Rey Books(Tags: Fantasy)“I find the world and characters so endlessly endearing I’d read about them if they were just sitting around having tea! The combination of monster hunting, academic woes and romantic high points was just what I was looking for.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerFor Whom the Belle Tollsby Jaysea LynnS&S/Saga Press(Tags: Romance, Erotica)“A woman dies of cancer, explores the afterlife, enjoys customer service and finds two kinds of love. It’s a nice blend of romance, plot and characters that feels like a warm cozy hug of a book.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterI Got Abducted By Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Comby Kimberly LemmingBerkley(Tags: Erotica, Science Fiction)“As a longtime Lemming fan, I was still shocked to see her foray into science fiction. She satirizes the field’s desperation and tunnel vision for experimentation and documentation well while still showcasing hysterically self-aware protagonists and introducing new, weird and hot aliens.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerIsaac’s Songby Daniel BlackHanover Square Press(Tags: Historical Fiction)“A heart-wrenching read on grief, love, family and identity. Set in the 1980s, it’s a poetic journey about dealing with generational trauma and writing your own story.” —Fonda Mwangi, Multimedia EditorRejectionby Tony TulathimutteWilliam Morrow Paperbacks(Tags: Short Story Fiction, Satire)“As someone who spends way too much time on the social Internet, this book made me spiral. It’s a scathing look at Internet losers, woke politics and a self-hating generation of people just looking to be accepted.” —Carin Leong, Editorial Contributor“This book was as startling as it was eye-opening. Going to be hard to forget this one.” —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerThe Rest Is Silenceby Augusto Monterroso. Translated by Aaron KernerNew York Review of Books(Tags: Academic Satire)“A hilarious and touching bludgeoning of the provincial éminence-grise-type, in translation from the original Spanish. A short, savage antidote to every unblemished saccharine Festschrift of the scholarly world. Will make you want to go back and read Don Quixote, around which the critic at the center of the story has mislaid his entire oeuvre.” —Dan Vergano, Senior Editor, Washington, D.C.The Salvageby Anbara SalamTin House(Tags: Historical Fiction, Mystery)“There are ghosts in the icy waters east of Scotland. In 1962 a marine archaeologist raises them to the surface from a century-old shipwreck. But she is haunted by ghosts of her own. Dead men’s shadows, creaking cupboard doors and poisoned relationships make for a gothic takeover of the science in this tale. I liked the way our archaeologist is gradually convinced of the supernatural terrors, even while a supposedly superstitious islander counters with evidence rooted in the everyday world.” —Josh Fischman, Senior Editor/Special ProjectsSmall Boatby Vincent Delecroix. Translated by Helen StevensonHope Road Publishing(Tags: Philosophical Tragedy, Historical Fiction)“A minimalist and morally complex retelling of the 2021 English Channel disaster that suggests there’s no one to blame but us all.” —Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service AssistantSunrise on the Reapingby Suzanne CollinsScholastic Press(Tags: Dystopian Fiction)“Suzanne Collins really delivered with Sunrise on the Reaping. The backstory of Haymitch, Katniss’s mentor during the Hunger Games, is finally revealed, and the result is gutting—it is rip-out-your-heartstrings devastating.” —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerVanishing Worldby Sayaka MurataGrove Hardcover(Tags: Science Fiction, Dystopia)“This dystopian tale imagines a world where sex for procreation has become obsolete, replaced entirely by artificial insemination and clinical reproduction. Here intimacy is viewed as unnecessary, unsanitary and even taboo. It’s an unsettling exploration of how the erosion of romantic love and pleasure and the human bonds they forge can profoundly reshape the meaning of family, friendship and society at large.” —Sunya Bhutta, Chief Audience Engagement EditorWe Love You, Bunnyby Mona AwadS&S/Marysue Rucci Books (Tags: Fantasy, Thriller)“This was the perfect spooky-season read—and dare I say, I preferred this to the prequel. Mona Awad hits the nail on the head with this dark academia freaky fever dream. The origins of this New England MFA student clique are revealed, and we get all the witchcraft and laughter that bring the ‘Bunnies’ to life. —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerWhere the Axe Is Buriedby Ray NaylerMCD(Tags: Science Fiction)“It’s less interested in the apocalypse than it is in those who shape its course. No perspectives are off limits in this far-too-familiar future, a prospect that’s as chilling as it is riveting.” —Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service AssistantWild Dark Shoreby Charlotte McConaghyFlatiron Books(Tags: Climate Fiction)“A riveting drama set on a remote island near Antarctica, where a man and his three children are caretakers for an underground vault protecting vital samples of the world’s plant seeds. Personal mysteries and dangerous climate-change-induced weather make this a suspenseful page-turner.” —Clara Moskowitz, Chief of ReportersBountiful BacklistIn order of publication yearJournal of a Novel: The East of Eden Lettersby John SteinbeckPenguin Books, 1990(Tags: Diary, Creative Writing)“A fascinating look into an author’s process, especially his insecurities and what he believed the story of East of Eden was truly about. It inspired me to write more in pencil!” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerKilling Rage: Ending Racismby bell hooksHolt Paperbacks, 1996(Tags: Essays)“A necessary confrontation with the realities of racism that demands to be read. Be ready to question yourself and the country you live in.” —Charlotte Hartwell, Marketing ManagerTo Liveby Yu HuaVintage, 2003(Tags: Historical Fiction)“Set in 20th-century China, it’s an unforgettable reminder of what’s left when relentless misfortune and tragedy strike. There are plenty of moments that are unsettling, but you can’t help but keep reading such a human story.” —Cynthia Atkinson, Marketing & Customer Service AssistantThe Thing around Your Neckby Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieVintage, 2009(Tags: Short Stories)“I find I barely have any time to read these days, but Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2009 collection of short stories about postcolonial Nigeria is an absolute page-turner. I finished it in just two days, but each narrative has the potency that will keep me coming back to read them over and over again.” —Claire Cameron, Breaking News ChiefThe Night Circusby Erin MorgensternVintage, 2012(Tags: Fantasy)“A beautiful love story told through secrets, magic and circuses. Erin Morgenstern is the kind of spectacular writer who can convince me to follow her anywhere, no matter how fantastical the plot may seem at first glance.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerTo Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Partyby Heather Cox RichardsonBasic Books, 2014(Tags: History)“A history of the Republican Party that helps explain how we got to our current political situation.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterPachinkoby Min Jin LeeGrand Central Publishing, 2017(Tags: Historical Fiction)“One of the best books I’ve ever read. Isak’s life story completely broke my heart, and just thinking about it makes me teary-eyed all over again.” —Brianne Kane, Associate Editor/Books & Rights ManagerThe Apollo Murdersby Chris HadfieldMulholland Books, 2021(Tags: Space Thriller)“This riveting thriller by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield imagines a cold-war-era Apollo mission gone wrong, with lots of exciting intrigue between astronauts and cosmonauts.” —Clara Moskowitz, Chief of ReportersThis Time Tomorrowby Emma StraubRiverhead Books, 2023(Tags: Science Fiction)“I normally don’t go for time-travel books, but this had just the right sprinkle of magical realism. The book is rooted in the relationship between a father and daughter and hooked me with its tenderness and humor. It reminded me of The Midnight Library, [by Matt Haig], too.” —Isabella Bruni, Digital ProducerAbortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Winby Jessica ValentiCrown, 2024(Tags: Health, Politics)“Everything you need to know about the antiscience tactics being used to keep people from the health care they need. It’s a supersmart guide to seeing the whole context of how abortion is treated in the U.S.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterAlways Bring Your Sunglasses: And Other Stories from a Life of Sensory and Social Invalidationby Becca Lory HectorSelf-published, 2024(Tags: Parenting)“A beautifully honest account of the author’s experience growing up as an undiagnosed autistic person—part memoir, part guide for parents and other caregivers who want to better understand and support the autistic children in their lives.” —Amanda Montañez, Senior Graphics EditorCustodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Aliveby Eliot SteinSt. Martin’s Press, 2024(Tags: Society and Current Affairs)“A lovely adventure profiling 10 nearly lost traditions from around the world. It explores the history of each one and the handful of people fighting to keep them alive.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterFaux Feminism: Why We Fall for White Feminism and How We Can Stopby Serene KhaderBeacon Press, 2024(Tags: Politics)“A detailed reckoning of how white feminism has failed everyone, this book paints a beautiful picture of the way the world could be instead.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterFever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Themby Timothy EganPenguin Books, 2024(Tags: History)“This is a beautifully written book about a terrifying period in U.S. history. It’s also a reminder that there are always those whose hearts, corrupted by racism and power, would happily trade in freedom to enact their own tyrannical white supremacist fever dreams. Egan reminds us that the privilege of living in a democracy is the unending work that goes toward maintaining it.” —Kendra Pierre-Louis, Editorial ContributorThe Javelin Programby Derin EdalaSelf-published, 2024(Tags: Science Fiction)“This Web-series-turned-book has everything one could ask for in character-driven hard science fiction. It’s a compelling snapshot of a potential future society, full of gripping mysteries, anthropological intrigue and complex but (as far as I can tell) accurate physics. But be warned: because it was initially released as a chapter-by-chapter web series, the ending of the first book on its own will not be satisfying.” —Emma R. Hasson, 2025 AAAS Mass Media FellowThe Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earthby Zoë SchlangerHarper, 2024(Tags: Botany)“Most people think of plants as mindless, unfeeling creatures. Zoë Schlanger’s compelling, lucid tour of the latest research on the ‘plant experience’ proves this is far from the case.” —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter EditorThe Ministry of Timeby Kaliane BradleyAvid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2024(Tags: Science Fiction, Time-Travel Rom-Com)“A really fun premise of historical figures plucked from their own eras and unwillingly expatriated to present-day London, where they’re forced to reckon with modern technology and with the moral legacy of the British Empire that brought them there. I love a character who yearns!” —Carin Leong, Editorial ContributorThe Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Centerby Rhaina CohenSt. Martin’s Press, 2024(Tags: Lifestyle)“This book is about a type of relationship that we have no set vocabulary for: friends who have chosen to become life partners. Rhaina Cohen, who has herself experienced one of these platonic partnerships, profiles pairs of friends whose relationships have broken out of the conventional molds. It was so striking how each of these pairs felt like they were inventing something wholly new with their love and commitment to each other—even though, historically, there’s nothing new about it at all.” —Allison Parshall, Associate Editor/Mind & BrainThe Phoenix Keeperby S. A. MacLeanOrbit, 2024(Tags: Fantasy)“This was such a delightful read! It’s billed as cozy, which I don’t think is fair—a couple guns do eventually show up—but it’s a very heartwarming story set in a magical zoo, following the revival of a defunct phoenix-breeding program.” —Meghan Bartels, Senior ReporterThe Safekeepby Yael van der WoudenAvid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, 2024 (Tags: Historical Fiction)“This novel absolutely slammed into me. Set in the postwar era of the Netherlands, it features a sour central character, a family history slowly oozing out onto the pages and an interloper who isn’t what she seems. I read this in one sitting—it is richly written, breathless and surprising! You’ll be as obsessed with this as the two main characters are with each other.” —Arminda Downey-Mavromatis, Former Associate Engagement Editor The Vaster Wildsby Lauren GroffRiverhead Books, 2024(Tags: Historical Fiction)“A lyrical tale of survival in a harsh undeveloped version of colonial America. Groff seamlessly blends a psychological exploration of oppression and class with a naturalist’s view of the living world. It is both a feminist story and an ode to freedom.” —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter EditorWhat If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futuresby Ayana Elizabeth JohnsonOne World, 2024(Tags: Climate, Technology)“The interviews, poems, essays and artwork by a wide range of contributors, including scientist Kate Marvel, artist Erica Deeman, journalist Kendra Pierre-Louis and architecture and design curator Paola Antonelli provide frameworks and nudges to propel us forward. The book provided me with much needed hope and an energy boost.” —Jen Christiansen, Acting Chief of Design & Senior Graphics Editor

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‘The dinosaurs didn’t know what was coming, but we do’: Marina Silva on what needs to follow Cop30

Exclusive: Brazil’s environment minister talks about climate inaction and the course we have to plot to save ourselves and the planetSoon after I returned home to Altamira from Cop30, I found myself talking about dinosaurs, meteors and “ambassadors of harm” with Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva.No one in government knows the rainforest better than Marina, as she is best known in Brazil, who was born and raised in the Amazon. No one is more aware of the sacrifices that environmental and land defenders have made than this associate of the murdered activist Chico Mendes. And no one worked harder to raise ambition at Cop30, the first climate summit in the Amazon, than her. So what, I asked, had it achieved? Continue reading...

Soon after I returned home to Altamira from Cop30, I found myself talking about dinosaurs, meteors and “ambassadors of harm” with Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva.No one in government knows the rainforest better than Marina, as she is best known in Brazil, who was born and raised in the Amazon. No one is more aware of the sacrifices that environmental and land defenders have made than this associate of the murdered activist Chico Mendes. And no one worked harder to raise ambition at Cop30, the first climate summit in the Amazon, than her. So what, I asked, had it achieved?“This Cop revealed the truth that efforts until now have been insufficient,” she told me in a video call from Brasilia. “Our climate efforts continue, as ever, to buy time when we have no more time.”In a tearful and defiant address to the closing plenary of the conference in Belém, Marina had told applauding delegates that she – like many others – had dreamed of achieving more when they attended the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, which set up UN conventions for the climate, biodiversity and desertification. What had she meant by that?The then US president, George HW Bush, signs the Earth pledge at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Photograph: M Frustino/AP“Reality itself says we did less than was necessary,” she replied. “But what gives us hope is we managed to maintain the connection between dream and action during these 30 or so years. If we didn’t have the Paris agreement and the efforts that preceded it, the planet would be on course for 4C of warming [above preindustrial levels].“Thanks to these efforts, global heating hasn’t reached that level and if that were to be counted in lives, in food systems, in energy systems, in technological advances, we would see that we have had many gains, that we have avoided many catastrophes, that we have saved many lives, many portions of food, and we have managed to preserve more areas of land from being totally devastated by desertification or by the rise in sea levels.“But our efforts are still insufficient. And now there is no more room for insufficiency, only a tiny crack for action remains. And when possibilities narrow, efforts to broaden them must be carried out with all speed, intensity and quality.”No one in the Amazon could doubt the need for urgency. The rainforest has dried up like never before in the past three years. On the way home, I was horrified to see a new stretch of forest had been burned along the side of the road during the three weeks I had been away.Marina said she had hoped that visitors to the Belém conference would see that a climate collapse was already under way in the rainforest. “Having a tropical forest that is losing humidity is science materialised in three dimensions: mighty rivers that dry up for long periods, to the point of killing the fish, harming biodiversity and isolating populations that have always remained integrated with each other through natural water channels,” she said. “I think Cop30 in the Amazon was a place to demonstrate and denounce what is happening and a place to initiate a response.”Houseboats and other vessels stranded at David’s Marina in October 2023, when the water level at the Rio Negro river port hit its lowest in 121 years. Photograph: Bruno Kelly/ReutersThe response came in the form of a bold move, supported by more than 80 countries and civil society, which dominated debate in Belém – a push to set a course for a just and planned transition away from fossil fuels and deforestation. It was backed by climatologists, championed by Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and largely orchestrated by Marina.The plan was cut from the final mutirão or joint decision – along with all mention of fossil fuels – after opposition from Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing states.But the idea of creating roadmaps to reduce dependency on oil, coal and gas will be taken forward by the Brazilian Cop presidency over the coming year. Marina insisted this was a great start. “The scientific community is celebrating that finally something has been put on the table to debate what really matters,” she said. “We recognise the outcome was not yet enough, but we must also recognise that what was put on the table is the response that we should have been working on for the past 30-odd years.”Each country should choose its own speed, she said. Oil and coal producers might need to move more slowly, but everyone needs to move in the same direction: “Being fair does not detract from the need to act. Being fair is just the basis on which we will take action.”skip past newsletter promotionThe planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essentialPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionThe power of extractivist economic interests to delay and reverse climate action has also been apparent in Brazil. Congress, which is dominated by agribusiness interests, overturned several of Lula’s vetoes of a controversial bill to dilute environmental licensing just days after Cop30.Given these forces, how could governments ever push forward progressive policies on the climate and nature? For Marina, it is necessary to go to a deeper level of values. Ultimately, she said, it is a matter of survival – not just of an individual or a species, but the very conditions in which life is possible.Compared with the huge efforts to preserve the economic system after the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, and the immense military spending under way in Europe, itwas incredible how little was going into the campaign to stabilise the climate and nature, she said. “Something is wrong. And it’s not just wrong with the dynamics of multilateralism. It’s wrong with the ethical values ​​that are guiding our decisions.“Recently we moved to confront the problem of Covid-19. Why are we only able to do this when the harm has already been done? Why don’t we show that ability when the problem has been detected and proven and already sending us its most malevolent ambassadors in the form of fires, heatwaves, ever-more-intense typhoons and hurricanes, loss of areas that were previously used to produce food and reduction in hydroelectric power generation capacity?“The visits of these sinister ambassadors should be enough for us to make preparations in a way the dinosaurs were unable to do. They didn’t know a large meteor was coming towards them. We know what is coming towards us, we know what needs to be done and we have the means to do it, yet we don’t take the necessary measures.”Marina is planning to do all she can to change that. The Brazilian government will push forward with a debate on roadmaps to halt deforestation and fossil fuels. It will participate in the first international conference on a just transition away from oil, coal and gas in Colombia next year.And it will try to lead by example, she says. “I am inspired by the fact we have reduced deforestation by 50% in the Amazon and agribusiness has grown by 17% in the last three years. This demonstrates it is possible to do this,” she said. “If we are not determined to achieve, we will apparently remain in the same place. And I say apparently because we are already heading towards an unthinkable place, where the very conditions of life are diminished.”

Activism
Climate
Forests

NYC Comptroller Push to Drop BlackRock Creates Test for Mamdani

By Ross Kerber(Reuters) -New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging city pension fund officials to rebid $42.3 billion managed by BlackRock...

(Reuters) -New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging city pension fund officials to rebid $42.3 billion managed by BlackRock over climate concerns, the first major move by a Democrat to counter pressure on financial companies from Republican allies of the fossil-fuel industry.Lander's term in office ends on December 31, but his recommendation, to be unveiled on Wednesday, will put Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the hot seat when he takes office in about five weeks. Mamdani's appointees will take key positions that hold some sway over the pension boards that decide where to invest retirement funds for some 800,000 current and former city employees.In a November 25 memo to other pension fund trustees, seen by Reuters, Lander urged the funds to re-evaluate contracts with New York-based BlackRock, which is both the world's largest asset manager and the city's largest manager of retirement assets.Lander cited what he called "BlackRock's restrictive approach to engagement" with about 2,800 U.S. companies in which it owns more than 5% of shares.'ABDICATION OF FINANCIAL DUTY'Under pressure from the Trump administration, BlackRock in February said it would not use its discussions with executives to try to control companies. That ran contrary to the hopes of Lander and other environmentally minded investors, who wanted the investors to press executives on priorities like disclosing emissions.In an interview, Lander said the change was "an abdication of financial duty and renders them unable to meet our expectations for responsible investing."His recommendation must still be approved by pension boards that traditionally take cues from the comptroller's office. Representatives for Mamdani and for New York's incoming Comptroller, Mark Levine, did not respond to questions on Tuesday.Lander, a rival-turned-ally of Mamdani during the mayoral campaign, recommended that the pension plans keep BlackRock to manage non-U.S. equity index mandates and other products. Lander also recommended the three systems continue using State Street to manage $8 billion in equity index assets, and that they drop deals with Fidelity Investments and PanAgora, which he said also do not press companies sufficiently on environmental matters like decarbonization.A number of Republicans, some from fossil-fuel-producing states, have withdrawn money from BlackRock and other money managers, accusing them of basing investment decisions on social or environmental issues. New York City funds would be the first large Democratic or liberal-leaning asset owner to respond in kind.Environmental activists also want Lander and other public officials to take a harder line by backing more shareholder resolutions that push corporate boards to embrace policies that combat climate change. Speaking before Lander's decision was announced, Richard Brooks, climate finance program director for the advocacy group Stand.earth, said dropping major asset managers "will be one of the first tests of the climate credentials of the incoming mayor and comptroller. I hope they will recognize the importance and lead on getting these recommendations passed."(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Thomas Derpinghaus)Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

Activism
Climate

Suggested Viewing

The Whale Guitar: Instrument of Change

Inspired by Herman Melville's epic tale, "Moby-Dick or The Whale", a late-blooming singer/songwriter and former toy designer, Jen Long, acts on a startling vision and commissions the design and build of a remarkable custom electric guitar. It's body is "The Whale" itself as it snags the mad Captain Ahab in the tangled ropes of his own obsession, and prepares to launch a boat of his whalers to their doom. The entire guitar reinterprets Melville's tale as an Anthropocene climate change warning, with the whale representing the seas and storms of climate change arising on this "third day" of late stage capitalism. Hundreds of guitarists, including J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., and Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females, have played and signed this "Instrument of Change" to amplify the alarm to turn our ship of over-production and over-consumption around while there is still time. As the embroidered strap featuring Starbuck's last words implores: "oh! Ahab, not too late is it, even now, the third day, to desist."

Music
Activism
Climate

L’eau Est La Vie (Water Is Life): From Standing Rock To The Swamp

On the banks of Louisiana, fierce Indigenous women are ready to fight—to stop the corporate blacksnake and preserve their way of life. They are risking everything to protect Mother Earth from the predatory fossil fuel companies that seek to poison it. The film follows water protector Cherri Foytlin in the swamps of Louisiana as she leads us on a no-nonsense journey of indigenous resistance to the Bayou Bridge Pipeline (BBP), which is an extension of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). The pipelines are part of an ongoing legacy of colonization and slow genocide. At the heart of the struggle is a battle between people and profit.

Indigenous
Resources
Activism

Jetty Cats

Jetty Cats explores contemporary animal rights issues through a focus on a feral cat colony that has survived on a rocky, seaside jetty in Southern California for decades. There is an ongoing debate over feral cat colonies involving advocates who support the trap, neuter, and return -- or "TNR" -- model of management, and those who argue that trapping and euthanizing the cats is more humane. This documentary’s point-of-view supports the TNR model and the related “no-kill” animal shelter policy, and features an exclusive interview with Richard Avanzino, the "Father" of the no-kill movement.

Animals
Government
Activism

The Z-Nail Gang

When a corporate mining giant moves into a small coastal town looking for gold and talking about trickle down wealth some folks just aren't convinced.

Activism
Resources
Fiction

In the Land of Palm Oil

IN THE LAND OF PALM OIL focuses on the casualties, both human and environmental, of palm oil exploitation in Indonesia. The film fuses first hand accounts of villagers -- victims of land-grabbing by large global corporations who pay off local and national officials -- and vérité observations of young Dayak activists who are trying to expose the brutal human rights violations. The narrative thread of the film centers on Emmanuela Shinta, a rising Dayak activist who sees video and social media exposure as the key to holding her government to account. Acting as an eyewitness to both the civil rights abuses and the environmental degradation, Shinta and her team visit Dayak villagers to record their experiences and ride along with firefighting teams during the dry seasons to expose the tragic consequences of the modern day palm oil empire in her home province of Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). Through a close collaboration with local people, the film develops and threads this narrative into the reality of the situation there. The film weaves together the many personal narratives of loss with broader observations on current political and social conditions within the Dayak community. In tandem with a quest for answers and accountability, the film constructs a stark portrait of the lasting effects of crony capitalism, now over two decades into the Post-Suharto Reformation.

Land Use
Indigenous
Activism

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