Filter Articles:
Need a Dose of Optimism These Days?
Subscribe for good news, no politics, and a guide to a better life online!
Sign upWake up to Good News for a Change!
Get the Ever Widening Circles App! Feeling better about the world is as easy as tapping our app on your phone.


Jump to another article!
Surprise Me!4 minutes
[ Culture ]
How This Little Town Survives without Roads or Cars
By Sam Burns
What if you never had to hear the sound of cars outside of your window again? For the residents of this Netherlandish town, that’s reality: most of Giethoorn isn’t accessible by four wheels, but rather by canal boat! Here’s a lovely look at a world without roads.
8 minutes
[ Innovation ]
Human Ingenuity Never Fails: The Town Built Underground!
By Sam Burns
What do you get when you combine resilient people, extreme weather conditions, and a former mining town? In Coober Pedy, residents live, work, grocery shop, and do everything else… underground. This unique and fascinating lifestyle is a great look into how humans can learn to thrive, no matter the challenges we face. They give a whole new meaning to the term “down under”!
9 minutes
[ Thought Leaders ]
Switching Gears: How You Can Start Leaving a Lasting Legacy Today!
By Sam Burns
How do you ensure that you leave behind a positive legacy? Well, maybe it’s about rethinking the ways we approach what we do next. Here’s a new view on what it means to build a legacy for yourself that lasts—plus proof that it works!
[ Podcast ]
Traveling and Storytelling with Earl Bridges
Earl Bridges, of The Good Road, talks about his pursuit of addressing the world’s most pressing problems with a passion for traveling and storytelling.
15 minutes
[ Culture ]
How Mullets Saved This Australian Town!
By Sam Burns
How can a hairstyle straight out of the 80s save an entire town? Well, just look at what happens when 200 people proudly sporting mullets all come together! This is how some creative thinking brought a town back from the brink.
10 minutes
[ Culture ]
Paddle Down the River in this Giant Pumpkin Race!
By Sam Burns
If our crazy times are leaving you overwhelmed and itching for something to do, here are some folks who can inspire you to have a look around and see what you can get into for some big fun!
7 minutes
[ Culture ]
Meet a Man and His Dog Taking a Walk Around the World!
Join a man and his pooch on an epic walk around the globe! When we travel we are reminded of the things that make life worth living: natural wonders, the joy of discovery, and warm conversations with kind strangers. Here’s what can happen when you bring your best pal along for the journey.
20 minutes
[ Culture ]
Discover the Weird and Wonderful World of Cheese!
By Sam Burns
Is cheese the great unifying force? Travel the world of this dairy delight with us and you may find your answer! Whether from donkeys in Serbia or with maggots in Italy, cheese around the globe is as diverse and exciting as the cultures it has sustained for generations!
35 minutes
[ Culture ]
Olive Oil: Our Guide to Celebrating the Timeless Things
By Sam Burns
Take a moment to go on a journey with us to savor a flavor you probably have sitting in your kitchen cupboard! Who knew that that perfect opportunity to explore a food tradition that is thousands of years old started with a drizzle of our favorite oil.
8 minutes
[ Food ]
Savoring the Flavor of the Moment with Lemon Caviar!
Can the juicy insides of citrus fruit change the way we experience life? We’re pausing to savor the moments that delight, starting with a tiny fruit that has a tasty, sunshiney surprise inside! Take your taste buds on an adventure by discovering the wonder in the caviar of the Finger Lime!
25 minutes
[ Nature ]
A Funny-Looking Clam That’s Saving Communities!
By Sam Burns
Can a clam help keep a culture alive? The impact the geoduck has had on the communities of the American Northwest goes even further, bringing together culinary experts, conservationists, and pallets around the globe! This intriguing mollusk is way more than just a delicacy on your plate!
7 minutes
[ Creativity ]
Hidden Planets in an Everyday World!
Have you ever received a gift from a stranger that changed your view of the world? Get ready to experience a mesmerizing ball of wonder that fits in the palm of your hand! Let us take you on a global scavenger hunt in search of Josh Simpson’s hidden glass Infinity Planets!
8 minutes
[ Culture ]
The Tiny Town That Became a Kingdom of Books
In the 70s, the UK gained a new, independent kingdom: a kingdom of books! Explore Hay-on-Wye, a tiny town in Wales that is every book lover’s dream!
13 minutes
[ Culture ]
Celebrating the Quirky Signs of Change
For the residents of San Francisco, one bird and an iconic sign sparked a new love for a little piece of their quirky history! Take a close look around you and you might start to notice the details that make your hometown special.
9 minutes
[ Science ]
Need to Beat Jet Lag? Get Your Internal Clocks on Vacation, Too!
So you’ve just booked an amazing vacation, but how will you deal with the jet lag that will start to set in? Here are some tips to help you out!
10 minutes
[ Thought Leaders ]
Meet The Company Making Travel Accessible for Everyone!
By Sam Burns
Trekking up Machu Pichu, exploring Easter Island, navigating through the wilds of Mexico; these were all trips once impossible for travelers who use wheelchairs. But this organization is changing all of that!
8 minutes
[ Culture ]
How the Internet Made the Chicken Church Come to Life!
By Sam Burns
Venture with us to Indonesia’s Chicken Church—a building brought back to life through the power of the internet!
20 minutes
[ Culture ]
How Saving Languages Can Save the World!
By Sam Burns
Have you ever thought about the relationship between language and knowledge? Each of the 7000 languages spoken around the world is a powerful encyclopedia of generational wisdom. Half of these records of human history may be going extinct in the next decade, but there are amazing people out there working to save this knowledge!
5 minutes
[ Creativity ]
The White Horse: An Effort that Links 90 Generations!
By Sam Burns
This piece of art has been draped across an entire English hilltop for three thousand years. And we have an unbroken thread of ordinary people to thank for it being here today; they showed up unfailingly and sat patiently smashing it with hammers. Take a look!
25 minutes
[ Thought Leaders ]
Building Futures One Plié at a Time
By Sam Burns
In a place where violence reigns, girls are finding refuge in a surprising way—and it’s all thanks to one amazing woman.
5 minutes
[ Nature ]
What You Learn When the Sun Doesn’t Rise
By Sam Burns
There’s a span of time every year in the arctic zone when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon. What is it like to experience these polar nights? On this Saturday Around the World, we head to Greenland to explore.
6 minutes
[ Animals ]
Jellyfish Lake: An Otherworldly Place
On this Saturday Around the World, we take you to one of the most incredible underwater places in the world: Jellyfish Lake! Home to millions of beautiful, virtually stingless Golden Jellyfish, this is quite the aquatic marvel.
16 minutes
[ Conservation & Sustainability ]
The Wonder of the Salish Sea
By Dr. Lynda
There are places on the planet where millions of people still live with natural wonders that span thousands of years. We take you to one of them today, closer than you think!
19 minutes
Paragliding: Seeing a Place, Leaving No Trace
By Dr. Lynda
Want to walk a little taller today? Keep in mind that things are often only as bleak as our singular perspective is narrow! Here’s wonder exposed by a new point of view!
7 minutes
[ Culture ]
Why Paddleboard to Victoria, Canada?
By Dr. Lynda
Have you noticed that in our haste to make our lives easier, we actually experience far less wonder and adventure? Here’s a perspective that may feel like a gift!
11 minutes
[ Animals ]
Hop on Over to Japan’s Rabbit Island
By Dr. Lynda
There are places in the world that shift our sense of “normal”, and the wonder never leaves us. Here’s a small wonder!
8 minutes
[ Animals ]
Breakfast at Giraffe Manor
By Dr. Lynda
You get a wonderful appreciation of the size of a giraffe when their head is in your cereal bowl. Here’s the marvelous story of Kenya’s Giraffe Manor.
17 minutes
[ Culture ]
Paralyzed and Sailing the Inside Passage
By Dr. Lynda
Did you hear about the two men, paralyzed from their armpits down, who sailed the inside passage. They’ve got an inspiring lesson for us all. Let’s consider their secret!
16 minutes
[ Culture ]
Experience the Remarkable Sapporo Snow Festival!
By Dr. Lynda
Want to take a little trip without leaving your living room? Today on our Saturdays Around the World feature, we stroll the streets of Japan’s famous snow festival!