Let’s get those creative juices flowing — Writing is actually pretty easy. You just punch the keyboard, and poof — you’re writing. But coming up with ideas? That’s a little harder. So I’ve created this list of 25 very weird writing prompts to help get you started. Feel free to use them to help you blow through…

Congress once banned Black people from delivering the mail — Institutional racism isn’t always obvious. In fact, most of the time, it’s hidden in plain sight, cloaked in obscure rules and strange regulations. And that’s by design. To understand just how ingrained and how deep systemic racism is in America, you only need to look at the history of the…

Learn how to ‘pluck’ it instead — Carpe diem. This two-word Latin phrase has been the battle cry of Peloton instructors, multi-level marketers, and high school drama teachers since before Robin Williams made it infamous in the 1989 classic, Dead Poet’s Society (a movie that I still really like, BTW). You’ve heard it countless times, and you…

The myth of responsible gun ownership — Tell me if you’ve heard this one. Someone you know or a friend of a friend was going through airport security when they got pulled out of line for “further screening”. The TSA had found something in their carry-on bag. That “something” was a gun. The person smacks their head…

A crisis of faith for America’s most devout predators — A recent Pew Research Center study found that for the first time in American history, more than a quarter of Americans (26%) don’t identify with any particular religion. But what’s more surprising is the growth of “religiously unaffiliated” people in the U.S. According to a nationwide Gallup poll from 2011…

The harsh reality of slow-motion collapse — I want things to get better. I hope the record heatwaves and “once-in-a-century” floods stop happening every year. I hope the current “megadroughts” end. Because of course, I do. But there’s a big difference between hoping for the best and planning for the (much more likely) future. Especially when ignoring…

The massive ‘water footprint’ of six things you use every day — It’s no secret that much of the world is running dry. That’s why so many state, local, and federal agencies are urging people around the world to use less water. And that’s great. Installing a low-flow shower head, turning off the sink while brushing your teeth, and zero scaping your…

But for a very different reason than what’s happening now — On August 8th, 2022 the FBI raided the former president’s house in Florida. And that’s a big deal. More details about the seriousness of this investigation are still emerging, but it’s still an unprecedented move by law enforcement for a number of reasons. The biggest reason is simply that there…

Why aridification of the American West isn’t going to stop, and what it means for the people who live in a drier world — It’s easy to see why media outlets have seized upon dramatic images like the one above. It’s scary as hell. Exposed “bathtub rings” on shrinking reservoirs are a powerful reminder of just how much water we use, and how quickly our essential water sources can dry up. And if you’ve…