As the incoming head of the new president's cabinet, Paweł Szefernaker, head of Karol Nawrocki's election campaign, is taking a strong stand against anyone who tries to take Nawrocki’s victory away.  Currently, there are efforts to move ahead with a recount, which many Polish conservatives believe the left it partaking in election

He still loves them.

An early influence who became a brief collaborator.

In the early decades of the 20th century, Harlem transformed into a vibrant epicenter of Black creativity and ambition. An unprecedented wave of music, art, literature, and activism surged through its streets, igniting what would become known as the Harlem Renaissance. This wasn’t just a localized phenomenon—it was a cultural earthquake whose tremors reverberated across ...

by Martin Armstrong, Armstrong Economics: China has discovered a massive 1-million-ton thorium deposit valued at $178 billion that could potentially power the nation for the next 60,000 years. Thorium is a radioactive metal found in the Earth’s crust that is three times as common as uranium. One ton of thorium can produce as much energy […]

How do you put a stop to bullying? For a primary school in Cambridge, England, the answer lay in a work of fiction. For years, one class had had “real problems with bullying and damaging relationships,” says teacher Helen Mulligan. Malorie Blackman’s book Cloudbusting, the story of an unlikely friendship between two boys, offered a way to explore relevant issues without making it personal and potentially worsening the situation. The pupils discussed the roles and perspectives of each character — bully, victim, bystander, supporter — and what needed to change. “Children who played particular roles were suddenly able to see themselves in the characters,” Mulligan explained in a video testimonial. She saw pupils, who for years had not considered their own actions, “suddenly reflect, analyze and amend the behavior of the characters in the books — and then follow through themselves.” Children learning about empathy at Pembroke Dock Community Primary in Wales. Courtesy of EmpathyLab The school was using resources from EmpathyLab, a U.K. organization that aims “to raise an empathy-educated generation” through the power of reading. Independent research has shown that this is one of the best ways to understand other people’s perspectives.  Stories allow us to “walk around” the character, and to consider their viewpoint in a safe way, says Imogen Bond, managing director at EmpathyLab: “We might think of reading as something that you do in isolation … actually, it’s something that really connects us to other people.”  EmpathyLab is just one of a number of initiatives built on the premise that empathy is not so much a trait one is born with, but rather a muscle that can be trained. Many educators and experts see such training as vital — for individuals and for wider society. Empathy Studios has similar goals to EmpathyLab, but uses film rather than books to expose youngsters to other life experiences. But these are not your typical educational videos, says founder Ed Kirwan, a former science teacher turned filmmaker. “Unfortunately, because entertainment has got so good, students expect that same level of material in their education,” he says. A talking head explaining why bullying is bad, for example, won’t work: “They’ve heard it all before. … It’s boring. It’s dull. It’s repetitive,” he says. Kids disengage and don’t learn anything.  Students at an Empathy Week 2025 event with Amnesty International. Courtesy of Empathy Studios Instead, Empathy Studios creates what Kirwan calls “Netflix-style” stories about real people around the world — like the Mexican mountain guide, or the hijab-wearing female footballer — and accompanying, age-appropriate teaching resources. By encouraging curiosity and exploring different perspectives, the stories act as a “trojan horse for empathy building,” according to the organization.  And it seems to work: a 2024 evaluation of 900 students in six countries found that a semester-long program of Empathy Studios lessons led to measurable, positive changes in behavior, emotional awareness and curiosity about different cultures. Cambridge University’s Helen Demetriou, who has studied empathy since the mid-1990s and helped design and interpret the Empathy Studios evaluation, says these positive results were to be expected, given how “empathy-rich” the materials are. And yet, she adds, “to think that such a small amount of intervention and time and exposure has had this impact is quite surprising, in some ways.” Empathy can be viewed as three elements, Demetriou explains: There’s an emotional (feeling) part, and a cognitive (understanding) part. Too much of one without the other can be problematic, but combined, they prompt a third element: the motivation to help.  Thanks to a recent breakthrough in genetics, we know more about what makes us empathetic. In 2018, scientists discovered that only around 10 percent is genetic — meaning up to 90 percent comes from social factors, such as upbringing or environment. That makes it “really important to think about how it can be learned in schools,” Demetriou says. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] Studies also show that children are naturally empathetic, but this drops away as life experiences make us biased or we become “cognitively busy” — thinking about multiple things at once and losing sight of the emotional aspects, according to Demetriou. The shift can happen at a young age if kids are exposed to negative experiences. But even children who retain their natural empathy need to build on it: “It’s so very important to keep going with it. It’s like a muscle: It needs exercising.” Educators are usually on board with this; after all, empathy is increasingly recognized as essential for everything from healthy relationships to creativity to getting ahead in the workplace. But teachers are often time-stretched and under pressure to focus on other priorities. It’s “really important to think about” how empathy can be learned in schools, says Cambridge University’s Helen Demetriou. Courtesy of Empathy Studios “There’s a real drive for being able to measure every inch of a child’s progress, and it is harder to do that with things like social and emotional skills, because it’s not a linear process and it’s just much harder to put a number against it,” says Bond. Schools are helping students to develop empathy, but “it’s happening as a byproduct of things, rather than as the main focus, which I think is really problematic.” Bond would like to see schools teaching empathy as a distinct subject, citing Finland as an example. Finland and Denmark have both used “empathy classes” to encourage respect, self-esteem and kindness, reportedly contributing to lower levels of bullying. Until that idea spreads further, initiatives like EmpathyLab are stepping in. Teaching empathy is not a new idea. Roots of Empathy was created in Canada in 1996, and now operates in multiple countries. In this program, a parent and their baby visit an elementary class over the course of the school year, along with a trained instructor. Pupils observe the parent-baby relationship, and develop emotional literacy as they identify the baby’s feelings, reflect on and understand their own feelings, then consider the feelings of others. Evaluations show that pupils are kinder, more cooperative and less likely to bully others, compared to those who did not participate, and that the positive effects can last for years. A Roots of Empathy family visit at Market Lane Public School in Toronto, Ontario. Courtesy of Roots of Empathy Some newer initiatives build empathy as part of a focus on giving back to the community. U.S. nonprofit The Giving Square runs a book award scheme, where kids select the best books each year that encourage empathy and responsibility toward others. The U.K.’s First Give gets pupils to explore issues affecting their community, identify a local charity addressing their chosen issue and then come up with ways to support it. This real-life context embeds empathy more deeply, says First Give director Isaac Jones, “laying the foundations for a more generous and connected society.” Other efforts train the empathic muscle through discussion: The charity Parallel Histories gets schoolkids to analyze and then debate controversial topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict.  For EmpathyLab and Empathy Studios, balancing breadth of reach and depth of impact is important: both organizations work directly with schools, but also run large-scale, free annual events enabling them to reach hundreds of thousands of people.  Both also train teachers to ensure the resources have the maximum impact. “Reading on your own will take you so far in terms of understanding another perspective, or building that language or ability to reflect,” says Bond. But the “additional exploration” guided by adults requires that they feel confident in this area, too. “That’s not always easy when teachers are juggling a lot.” Bond points to wider issues in literacy. In 2024, the percentage of U.K. children and young people who enjoy reading hit its lowest level since 2005. School libraries and librarians are becoming less common. And celebrities-turned-authors dominate the shelves of new releases, which can mean less space for a diverse range of stories, with richly drawn characters, told from different perspectives. Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime There are also challenges in reconciling differing understandings of empathy. One social psychologist argues that the term can refer to eight different concepts, including imagining how one would feel or think in another person’s place, or feeling distress at their suffering. For Kirwan, confusion around the term is a barrier to teaching it as a skill. Some see it as acts of kindness or simply “being nice” — whereas, he says, “empathy, for us, is about understanding in its simplest form.” Empathy Studios’ work therefore includes explaining what empathy is, and showing that it can be a bridge to understanding someone’s behavior, even if you don’t agree with them. And while some may dismiss empathy as something gentle, soft or fuzzy, this is absolutely not the case, says Demetriou: “We need a re-education with the term. … If anything, it’s extremely powerful.” The post How Kids Are Learning Empathy at School appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

  Throughout human history, people have sought to build and to find the most incredible and awe-inspiring things. Alongside this effort, people have also sought to categorize and determine which things are worthy of the greatest attention. In ancient times, the Greeks published their list of “Seven Wonders of the World”, and since then, others have replicated these efforts. Through personal and public opinion, there are hundreds of natural and man-made things that can be considered “wonders” today. Which ones are the most visited?   The Original Seven Wonders of the World The Pyramids of Giza. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Of the original Wonders of the World, only one of them remains. The Pyramids of Giza, the oldest of all the man-made wonders, is the only wonder from this list to survive. And they are still a huge contender for the most visited wonder, even when considering all the declared wonders ever since! The pyramids attract more than 14 million tourists every year, making it one of the most visited spots on the entire planet.    Modern Lists Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil   Many authors and organizations have compiled their own lists of “Seven Wonders” which fit into different categories. Some of these lists have garnered public recognition and thus attained a semblance of authority, while many others have fallen by the wayside and have been forgotten.   As such, it is difficult to make the claim of which wonder is the most visited, as it is difficult to determine what constitutes a wonder!   In 2001, however, a campaign was started which gained huge amounts of public support. New7Wonders wanted to create a new list that took into account the entire world and not just the world known to the ancient Greeks.    New7Wonders The Pyramids of Giza: Wikimedia Commons   The campaign to determine the New 7 Wonders started in 2001, and in 2007, after many rounds of public voting, the wonders were named. Those given the honor of being the New 7 Wonders were:   Machu Picchu  The Taj Mahal  Petra  Cristo Redentor  Chichen Itza The Roman Colosseum  The Great Wall of China    The latter is the most visited, receiving approximately 10 million visitors per year. The attraction is so popular that one section of it reportedly had 100 000 visitors in a single day! The second-most visited place on this list is the Taj Mahal which receives between seven and eight million visitors every year. Following the success and popularity of this campaign, a new campaign was launched to determine the New 7 Wonders of Nature.    New 7 Wonders of Nature Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Source: imaggeo   From 2007 to 2011, New7Wonders held their next campaign to determine the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The final seven were:   The Amazon, Jeju Island  Ha Long Bay Puerto Princesa Underground River Komodo Island Iguazu Falls  Table Mountain   In terms of numbers of tourists, Jeju Island claims the top spot, having recorded a total of almost 14 million visitors in 2022.    Determining the numbers for natural wonders can, however, be difficult. The Amazon is so large that it covers an area almost as large as the area covered by the 48 contiguous states of the US. Tracking who goes in and out and for what purpose is almost impossible, especially since the Amazon Rainforest can be found in nine countries!   New 7 Wonders Cities Kuala Lumpur skyline at dusk. Source: Wikimedia Commons   After the success of the previous two campaigns, New7Wonders launched a third to determine the New 7 Wonders Cities. The seven cities that were eventually chosen by public voting initiatives were:   Durban, South Africa Vigan, Philippines Havana, Cuba Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Beirut, Lebanon Doha, Qatar La Paz, Bolivia   The most visited city on this list is, by far, Kuala Lumpur, which is expected to receive almost 30 million tourists by the end of 2024.    Other Lists   Of course, there are other lists compiled by people and organizations. These lists contain vastly different wonders, from the wonders of the industrial world to the wonders of the solar system, to the wonders of human achievement, and even less tangible objects. Of Deborah Cadbury’s Wonders of the Industrial World, the Panama Canal could vie for a position at the top of the list of most visited wonders, while The American Society of Civil Engineers names several wonders that could be considered, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Channel Tunnel, and the Empire State Building.    Astronomy magazine lists the Earth’s oceans as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Solar System”. The other wonders listed don’t have any visitors at all, at least not from Earth! If, however, one considers the list compiled by USA Today in 2006, then the clear winner would have to be the internet. The internet has over five billion users.    Conclusion   Depending on which lists are considered authoritative and which aren’t, it is difficult to make any factual claims as to which wonder is the most visited. Determining authority is purely subjective, so there can be no definitive answer.