Culture

A black and white image split into two sections: a half globe on the left and a crowd of people on the right, with the text "More Humans Are Better" in the center and the number 3 in the top right corner.

The overlooked virtues of a crowded world

In a world of rising cynicism, a celebration of our capacity to create, adapt, and thrive.

Jason Crawford

A graphic titled "Humanity vs. Nature" showing a human evolutionary timeline, biocentrism, ecocentrism, and ethos depictions of nature, including a tree, a bird, and marine life.

Why harmony with nature is a myth

Slowing growth and limiting development isn’t living in harmony with nature—it is surrendering in a battle.

Jason Crawford

Entertainment

How the internet changed news, according to The Onion

Freethink spoke to Onion staffers about parodying news from the print era into the digital age.

Tim Brinkhof and Stephen Johnson

Startups

How a prison sentence inspired a father & daughter tech startup

A father-daughter pair learned to code while the dad was in prison. Now, their startup is helping other prisoners connect with their kids.

Teresa Carey

Healthcare

Telemedicine is the new normal. But can it survive after COVID?

4:42

As medical professionals struggle to meet the needs of patients during the coronavirus pandemic, telemedicine companies have become welcome allies that could drastically alter the future of healthcare.

Doug Dais

Coronavirus

The science behind your crazy pandemic dreams

4:40

If you’ve been having strange dreams and poor sleep during lockdown, you’re not alone. The anxiety-inducing pandemic, less activity, and more screen-time have many more people struggling with insomnia than usual.

Doug Dais

Entertainment

Freethink recognized with 11 Telly awards

This year, Freethink was honored to receive 11 Telly Awards for excellence and creativity in storytelling.

Amanda Winkler

The rise of virtual therapy

3:56

In a time when the need is great and the future is unknown, virtual mental health services like BetterHelp are bringing relief and hope.

Nick Tucker

Series| Challengers

Preschool is broken. Silicon Valley is fixing the system.

6:28

Wonderschool is empowering educators to offer affordable, private preschool classes from their homes, making early childhood education more accessible to every child.

Doug Dais

Veterans

No man left behind: The extreme measures to bring missing soldiers home

6:22

This team of anthropologists, historians, forensic scientists, and military officers is helping find missing soldiers’ remains and return them to their families.

Doug Dais

Coronavirus

The pandemic time capsule

The novel coronavirus has changed life as we know it. Submit your story to a pandemic time capsule to help mark history.

Teresa Carey

Video Games

A talk show in “Animal Crossing” is drawing big-name guests

“Animal Talking” — a late-night talk show set in the video game “Animal Crossing” — landed several big-name guests in its first few weeks of streaming.

Kristin Houser

Mental Health

Facing the fear of death in virtual reality

7:09

With a virtual reality death simulator, this immersive experience helps people address the uncomfortable subject of mortality and face their fear of dying.

Doug Dais

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