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July/August 2026
Newsletter
| | SOCCER'S 'WORST' TEAM RISES FROM ASHES | | Montserrat's Soufrière Hills stratovolcano. Photos by Lance Gould | | |
Every four years, the World Cup reveals which nations play soccer at the highest level. Montserrat is not one of them.
Twenty-two years ago, while the 2006 World Cup qualifying had just begun, I visited that volcanically active Caribbean island, then ranked by FIFA as the worst team in the world — 204th out of 204 teams.
There were a few players on the squad who had professional experience with British clubs, most notably Wayne Dyer, who played for the Championship (2nd level) Birmingham City Blues. But most players on the Montserrat team had other jobs: some were aviation mechanics, others ferry workers or electricians. There were four policemen on the team, including player and assistant coach Ottley Laborde.
The island was pulling players from a small population of just 11,000 in 1991 when it debuted as a national side. But in 1997, the island faced a grim setback from a devastating eruption of the Soufrière Hills stratovolcano. Most of the population lost everything: their homes, their livelihoods, and for 19 Montserratians, their lives. The eruption also destroyed the capital, Plymouth; the airport; the national team’s football pitch; and most of the industry and agricultural land on the island, forcing a mass evacuation of 8,000 people. Soccer was not a priority.
But read on to learn how the team earned its unofficial nickname, "the Phoenix," honestly. — Lance Gould
| CALIFORNIA'S RADIOACTIVE RIVIERA | | |
Twice this year, Southern California got a glimpse of just how quickly "nothing to fear" can become "holy crap."
In May, a tank holding 7,000 gallons of a flammable and volatile liquid (methyl methacrylate) at a Garden Grove aerospace plant near Anaheim flirted with disaster, forcing a mandatory evacuation of 50,000 people across Orange County. (See photo, above left.) Officials warned that the chemical could either a) spill or b) trigger a vapor-releasing mega-explosion. You know — nothing to worry about.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the county, and the issue was luckily resolved when a crack in the tank wall relieved the mounting pressure.
Then weeks later, shifting winds sent the Sandy Fire racing toward the old Santa Susana Field Laboratory — the site of one of the worst partial-nuclear meltdowns in U.S. history (see photo, above right). It came close enough that residents packed go-bags and fled on their own, even though officials only called for a voluntary warning.
Neither disaster fully materialized into the worst-case scenario. But why are we playing Russian roulette with our environment and energy? Both incidents were extremely close calls, enough to remind anyone paying attention that "probably fine" is not exactly a “plan.”
Now consider what's sitting on the beach at San Onofre, near San Diego: roughly 3.6 million pounds of spent nuclear fuel, stored in thin-walled steel canisters that are past or approaching their sell-by date. Those aging canisters sit a few feet above the water table, in a tsunami zone, near two earthquake faults, on a stretch of coast so seismic it’s nicknamed Earthquake Bay — starting to get the picture?
There's more to explore in the full article, but what San Onofre, Garden Grove, and Santa Susana have in common is a reminder that dangerous elements come with risks too great to mess with. So, again: Nothing to fear. Until there is.
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On July 1st, in Aspen, Colorado, innovation in the climate space will take center stage.
The nonprofit Climate Curve, a Brooklyn Story Lab partner, will host its annual awards gala, honoring the 10 newest winners of the annual Keeling Curve Prize, as well as revealing the finalists of its new annual Climate Curve Prize: Methane.
The 10 winners of the Keeling Curve Prize (two in each of five categories) will be recognized for their solutions that reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, and each will receive $50,000. That's enough to jumpstart growth at the pace required to achieve meaningful and lasting emissions reductions across the planet.
The emcee for this special evening will be Seth Meyers, Emmy Award-winning writer, NYT Bestselling author, and host of "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
(Learn more about the event, including winners and finalists, here, after July 1st.)
| | A MOTHER'S HOLOCAUST SECRET | | Gender-based violence is rarely part of the conversation when we talk about the Holocaust. The scale of Nazi atrocity — six million Jews among the millions murdered — is so vast that the particular devastation visited upon women has largely gone undocumented, unstudied, and unfilmed. | | |
But "My Underground Mother" — the very personal documentary by filmmaker Marisa Fox — uncovers Marisa's quest to find out what her then-adolescent mother Tamar suffered during the war. It was a subject Tamar refused to discuss with Marisa during her lifetime, even outright denying she had been in any concentration camps when her daughter asked her directly.
It was only after Tamar passed away that Marisa was able to use her journalistic training to piece together her mother's unfathomable journey. It began when she was wrenched from her family at 14 and then spent four years at Gabersdorf, a women's forced-labor camp in the German-occupied Sudetenland, where girls as young as 13 were trafficked, worked nearly to death making war goods for the German military, and languished in a void, subjected to sexual humiliation, including rape.
Small wonder that survivors like Tamar are loathe to discuss those experiences. (The film, on which BSL serves as consulting producer, was shown last week at the Zekelman Holocaust Center in metro Detroit, to the largest audience that institution has ever had for a screening — 450 sold tickets.)
| | MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID KIT | | |
Social platforms designed to harm young people. The Pandemic Effect. Depression and anxiety accounting for an estimated 12 billion lost working days each year.
The playing field is not level for young people trying to navigate mental-health issues — either in the workplace or at home. Deirdre White, CEO of BSL nonprofit partner Pyxera Global, has penned a must-read piece about the dangers — but also about the solutions — to these pitfalls, in Fast Company.
One solution she offers worth flagging, which she implemented at Pyxera Global: "We ensured each senior leader became certified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), because leaders who cannot recognize signs of distress are not fully equipped to lead."
Other solutions include:
✅ Instituting a 4-day work week
✅ Moving to a hybrid workplace
✅ Reviewing healthcare policies to ensure they include mental health benefits
As Deirdre shared, the future of work will be determined by whether people can both survive and thrive.
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FRIENDS OF BROOKLYN STORY LAB
This month, we highlight two books, a music initiative for children, a public-health campaign, and a satirical media account produced by people in the extended Brooklyn Story Lab community: an MIT psychologist sounding the alarm on what AI is doing to our capacity for human connection; a pianist curating a stimulating playlist for the youngest ears; a pioneering public-health campaign putting abortion-pill information directly in the hands of those who need it; an anonymous archivist holding toxic American evangelicalism accountable, one viral clip at a time; and a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and poet laureate exploring memory, loss, and what we leave behind.
Note: Whenever we include a link to a book or other project, we always aim to showcase independent bookstores — and not Amazon.
"Artificial Intimacy"
Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and bestselling author of "Reclaiming Conversation," sounds an urgent warning about AI chatbots that pose as best friends, lovers, and therapists — and the toll this "performance of intimacy" takes on our real capacity for empathy and connection. Drawing on decades studying human-computer relationships, Turkle traces this new habit across the lifecycle, offering both a caution and a roadmap for reclaiming what makes us human. (Preorder here.)
"Classical for Kids"
Eleonor Bindman, pianist and curator, has built a free initiative that brings expert-curated classical, jazz, and world-music playlists into the rhythms of family life — morning routines, playtime, nap-time, bedtime. No musical knowledge or expense required, just a belief that wordless music builds neural pathways for focus, emotional regulation, and creativity from birth onward. (Available on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.)
"Plan C"
For the past 10 years, Amy Merrill and a team of veteran public health advocates and researchers have co-led Plan C, a public-health and creative initiative (and 2026 Webby Award winner for Best Activist Website), to normalize self-directed abortion-pill access in the U.S. The organization functions as a research and information resource — not a provider — sharing data on safety, efficacy, and sources of pills and support in all 50 states. All while building toward a future where ending an early pregnancy is directly in the hands of anyone who seeks it.
"Christian Nightmares"
The anonymous creator behind Christian Nightmares has spent over 15 years documenting the spectacle of American evangelicalism, growing a Tumblr account into a nearly half-a-million-collective-follower archive of alarming Christian-nationalist rhetoric and revivalist fervor. With minimal commentary, the account lets unedited clips — pastors, politicians, and celebrities alike — speak for themselves, aiming to introduce a measure of accountability for what the creator views as harmful, both language and conduct alike. (Follow on Instagram, Substack, or YouTube.)
"He Tells His Mother What He's Working On"
Lloyd Schwartz, Pulitzer Prize-winning classical music critic for NPR's "Fresh Air" and Poet Laureate of Somerville, Massachusetts, returns with a poetry chapbook centered on his mother — her childhood memories, and his own attempts to explain his work to her. The collection is marked by Schwartz's signature wit and emotional clarity, reflecting on memory, loss, and the bond between parent and child.
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Though the Trump Administration has banned references to many, there are social-awareness days or tentpole events every month that can help organizations like yours connect to a larger, purpose-driven audience. By creating content connected to these key dates, you have the potential to create viral experiences. Here are the global dates with a social-good focus that stand out to us in July and August.
JULY
6/11-7/19: FIFA WORLD CUP: Games to be played in Canada, Mexico, and USA
6/25-7/1: Aspen Ideas Festival: Aspen, Colorado
6/27-7/4: UNLEASH: Copenhagen, Denmark
6/29-7/2: Green Climate Fund Board Meeting: Dushanbe, Tajikistan
7/1: The Climate Curve Awards: Aspen, Colorado
7/1-7/3: FAO Global Conference on Smart Farming: Rome, Italy
7/4-7/10: Net Zero Week: London, United Kingdom
7/7-7/10: AI for Good Global Summit: Geneva, Switzerland
7/7-7/15: UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development: New York, New York
7/7-7/31: International Seabed Authority Assembly: Kingston, Jamaica
7/11: World Population Day
7/12: International Malala Day
7/13-7/17: Montreal Protocol, 48th Meeting: Bangkok, Thailand
7/14-7/16: Global Nature Positive Summit: Kumamoto, Japan
7/17: Day of International Criminal Justice
7/18: Nelson Mandela International Day
7/27-7/29: UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
7/29: International Tiger Day
7/31: World Ranger Day
AUGUST
8/5-8/8: UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries: Awaza, Turkmenistan
8/9: International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
8/10: World Lion Day
8/12: International Youth Day
8/12: World Elephant Day
8/17-8/28: UN Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP 17: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
8/19: World Humanitarian Day
8/20: World Mosquito Day
8/23: International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
8/23-8/27: World Water Week: Stockholm, Sweden
8/26: Women's Equality Day
8/27: World Lake Day
8/29: International Day Against Nuclear Tests
8/30-9/4: 55th Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting: Koror, Palau
8/31-9/4: Global Conscious Food Summit: Bhutan
Ask us how to create noteworthy content that connects with these dates for your purpose-driven organization or brand — or how to get more attention for your social media, digital media, or feature stories.
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