Michaela Haas

🍄 For Fans of Fungi From mushroom boats to luxury handbags, fungi are taking over — stylishly.

What? You're not getting my monthly newsletter yet? Check it out here: michaela.substack.com/p/for-fans-o...

Did you know boats and bags are being made from fungi?

I wrote about the godfather of fungi!

Imagine back-to-school season… with no “teachers,” no curriculum, no rows of desks, no hallway passes and no bells.

A San Francisco school is letting students shape their own education, guided by “collaborators” and an ethos of trust: reasonstobecheerful.world/brightworks-...

ANALYSIS Trump Plays Reality TV Host at Marathon Cabinet Meeting President Trump hosted a televised meeting at the White House for hours as his cabinet members offered praise. It was a glimpse of how he runs his presidency.

No, damnit, #BrokenTimes, this is not "reality TV." It is our democracy. You trivialize and normalize fascism. "Mr. Trump, a pop culture maven, had relatively little to say about what was arguably the biggest news of the day: the engagement of Taylor Swift." Fuck off, Times.

From the edge of rural Germany, the village of Etteln is offering the world a new matrix for what a smart city can be — one rooted in connection, not just connectivity.

reasonstobecheerful.world/etteln-smart...

Using the DNA of the world’s mightiest trees, a tree grower in Michigan aims to replenish old-growth forests, one sapling at a time.

reasonstobecheerful.world/detroit-sequ...

Giant sequoias in Detroit? You read that right. I reported on David Milarch's initiative to reforest the world with champion trees.

Small-group storytelling circles are helping older adults share their lives and build lasting bonds through weekly themed conversations.

reasonstobecheerful.world/older-adults...

Devastating California wildfires have brought renewed attention to a simple, disaster-resilient construction method that combines old and new. It’s called “SuperAdobe.”

reasonstobecheerful.world/the-whimsy-a...

Growing Corn in the Desert, No Irrigation Required The surreal sight of squash, melons and corn sprouting from the sandy ground reflects an ancient farming technique that’s newly relevant.

The story explores how traditional methods, used for thousands of years, can offer real solutions to modern problems like drought: reasonstobecheerful.world/growing-corn...

As California communities rebuild from wildfire, some residents are looking to SuperAdobe, which shows that the future of fire-proofing can be beautiful.

reasonstobecheerful.world/the-whimsy-a...

Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories. Read this stat’s story here: reasonstobecheerful.world/the-whimsy-a...

I wrote about people bicycling out of homelessness to independence.

Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories. Read this stat’s story here: reasonstobecheerful.world/homeless-san...

Congratulations to RTBC Contributing Editor @michaelahaas.bsky.social! Her story about how the Hopi grow crops without irrigation has won the solutions journalism category in the Los Angeles Press Club’s 67th Southern California Journalism Awards.

Don't these look fabulous? I took a trip to Hesperia to check out the climate-resilient SuperAdobe at CalEarth.

Why are hundreds of veterans traveling to Mexico and other countries to seek treatment with psychedelics? Because they've tried everything else to cope with their posttraumatic stress.

I wrote about storytelling as a way to combat loneliness.

Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories.⁠ Read this stat’s story here: reasonstobecheerful.world/how-music-ea...

Welcome back to #StatsSunday — your statistical fix, pulled from this week’s stories.⁠ Read this stat’s story here: reasonstobecheerful.world/force-blue-v...

I wrote about the latest science showing that listening to our favorite jam actually has medical benefits, including reducing pain and anxiety.

🤷🏼‍♂️

For my latest story, I interviewed former marines and SEALs who are making ocean conservation their new mission.

College students have great ideas! I wrote about a nonprofit that gives them the money and tools to actually implement them.

I wrote about the revival of Indigenous cultural burns and how they benefit Indigenous culture, the environment, and everybody else.

My research about rewilding death was surprisingly cheerful!

Each year, countless birds die after colliding with buildings. But simple solutions exist, from tiny dots on glass to turning out the lights. ow.ly/SSuU50VlKIf
@michaelahaas.bsky.social

As communities recover from the devastation of wildfires, rebuilding offers an opportunity to prioritize resilience to future disasters. ow.ly/uOc250VbT0a