Monthly Archives: March 2024

Climate comedy works − here’s why, and how it can help lighten up a politically heavy year in 2024

Climate comedy works − here’s why, and how it can help lighten up a politically heavy year in 2024

In a catchy YouTube video, British comedian Jo Brand translates a scientist’s long-winded description of the fossil fuel industry’s role in the climate crisis this way: “We are paying a bunch of rich dudes 1 trillion dollars a year to f— up our future,” she says. “Even the dinosaurs didn’t subsidize their own extinction. Who’s the stupid species now?” […] … learn more→

How teens benefit from being able to read ‘disturbing’ books that some want to ban

How teens benefit from being able to read ‘disturbing’ books that some want to ban

Should we worry, as massive book-banning efforts imply, that young people will be harmed by certain kinds of books? For over a decade and through hundreds of interviews, my colleague, literacy professor Peter Johnston, and I have studied how adolescents experience reading when they have unfettered access to young adult literature. Our findings suggest that many are helped rather than […] … learn more→