Reasons to Be Cheerful, the solutions-based online magazine founded by David Byrne, has announced “Now Anything Is Possible,” a new reported series that explores the once-in-a-generation potential of the extraordinary changes occurring around the world in response to COVID-19. Continuing in the Reasons to Be Cheerful spirit of acting as a tonic for tumultuous times, “Now Anything is Possible” examines how those changes are solving problems that have long seemed intractable.
As countries around the world scramble to mitigate the impact of the virus on nearly every system –– from healthcare and housing to transit and industry –– changes that once seemed like pipe dreams are being implemented seemingly overnight. Goals that have felt out of reach for decades are suddenly being achieved, making our economies greener, our cities saner, our justice systems fairer and our societies more cooperative. The stories will cover the widespread implementation of universal basic income, the decarceration of jails, the reconfiguration of our urban spaces and more. As journalist Mitch Anderson writes in the introduction to “Now Anything Is Possible,” as these changes gain momentum, “it will be difficult to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”
The series offers a glimpse of what governments, institutions and communities can achieve in this new era and examines how the policies being enacted today can outlast this crisis, and move us toward a kinder, fairer, and more just society.
“This is a catalyzing moment and many of the changes that have been made or contemplated are going to be permanent –– some of those are good, and some deeply questionable,” stated David Byrne. “We at Reasons to be Cheerful of course want to know: how can we keep the good stuff? Who is doing it (it’s already happening) and how those ideas and initiatives are working out?”
Byrne recently penned a hopeful op-ed titled “The World Is Changing –– So Can We,” that touched on some of the same themes as “Now Anything Is Possible” by addressing the need for human connection in a time of self-isolation. Byrne wrote, “What is happening now is an opportunity to learn how to change our behavior. For many of us, our belief in the value of the collective good has eroded in recent decades. But in an emergency that can change quickly.” The piece ran in its entirety on Reasons to Be Cheerful with an abridged version in the Wall Street Journal.
“Now Anything Is Possible” was inspired by Reasons to Be Cheerful’s readers, who expressed a desire for more stories about how the pandemic is changing the world. Reasons to Be Cheerful encourages its readers to weigh in about the changes they’ve seen that are giving them hope by getting in touch through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Read the series introduction, an exploration of how past crises have catalyzed meaningful, lasting change –– and how the current one could move long-sought solutions from improbable to inevitable.
