Latest news with #JohnGreen
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Author John Green has advice for Gen Z to ‘shrink the empathy gap'
John Green is best known for his tear-jerking young adult novels. But beyond the emotionally charged lives of two teens bound by more than their illnesses in his bestseller, The Fault in Our Stars, Green has become widely recognized for giving his curious audience a crash course in everything from history and philosophy to science and current events. He's known to his over two million social media followers as an expert in centuries-old historical events, global health, and our modern technological landscape. Green is able to connect with a broad audience because of his uncanny ability to understand the dark and complex realities of people—particularly young ones. And he has a message for them. 'I worry a lot that young people are affected by the terrible disease of loneliness at a scale that we haven't seen before,' he tells Fortune. With the rise in social media came a decline in mental health, and a global pandemic that shut down schools and isolated kids as they were coming of age only worsened things. In one recent analysis, a fourth of people aged 15 to 18 reported feeling lonely, which can exacerbate mental health issues. Dubbed the 'anxious generation' by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, young adults today may be the loneliest group of all. With looming uncertainty about the future of work, AI, and the economy, Green has a simple lesson for young people. 'I think they should be reading more books,' Green says. 'But I'm biased. That's like asking a musician if people should listen to music.' Nonetheless, he sees reading as the most significant character development tool for young people. 'My case for books is that they shrink the empathy gap,' Green says, 'because when I read Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield isn't my friend or my spouse or my anything, [but] he is as close as I can come to being someone else.' Being socially isolated can block people from feeling empathy for others. In the latest annual World Happiness Report, a ranking of happiest countries in the world, the U.S. dropped out of the top 20, largely because of young Americans' discontent due to social isolation and worsening mental health. A key marker of happiness, per the report, is believing in the good of others. Lacking valuable social connections can make believing in the goodwill of others more challenging. Finding a way to bridge the empathy gap, as Green says, could encourage us to reach out to people, beyond the pages of a book. 'Through the process of imagining with clarity and sophistication what it's like to be someone else, we both learn what it's like to be ourselves, but we also learn what it's like to be one of the 8 billion other people on this planet,' Green says. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Letter: Cuts to USAID will result in major tuberculosis risk
I just finished reading 'Everything Is Tuberculosis' by John Green. This book changed my worldview. In America, we don't give tuberculosis a second thought, but in 2023, 1,250,000 died of the disease. We've had the drugs to cure TB for about 70 years, yet they don't get to the places where they could reduce the death toll. Should we care? Apparently not. In his crusade to downsize the federal government, Elon Musk and his minions virtually eliminated the U.S. Agency for International Development. USAID has saved the lives of 58 million people since 2000. Without USAID funding, the death toll will increase. Should Musk be held responsible for these deaths? The man who has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, who is the world's richest person, who at one point violated immigration laws by overstaying his student visa? I'd like to see us call on Sen. Dave McCormick to act to stop this unelected, arrogant person from further ruining our country. Why? Drug-resistant TB will evolve, and if we don't continue to develop new drugs, it will come back to the USA. We might not be ready. The book is available in Berks County libraries. Don Spence Spring Township
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Change can happen.' Vlogbrothers maternal care project pays off. How soap, sock sales help
Indianapolis resident and best-selling author John Green and his brother Hank are making it safer to give birth. Green on Tuesday announced that a Sierra Leone maternal and infant care center, for which they began fundraising in 2019, is scheduled to open in January. In 2019, the social media stars pledged $6.5 million to support the building the Maternal Center of Excellence at the Koidu Government Hospital in Sierra Leone's Kono District. Then, statistics indicated that one of every 17 women in Sierra Leone died in pregnancy or childbirth. In launching the effort six years ago, Green said, 'systemic long-term problems demand systemic long-term solutions.' Green announced on the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel Tuesday that the full $20 million needed to break ground on the project had been raised. 'Today … we get to see some of the ways that long-term sustained, open-ended attention and resources can mean long-term change for the better,' he said. The facility will provide care to up to tens of thousands of people each year and radically reduce maternal and infant mortality in and around the district, Green said. 'The Fault in Our Stars' author Green said the brothers reached their goal with the help of supporters who became monthly donors to the project at others who came together to establish a matching fund, and those who contributed through the purchases of socks and soap at the Greens' online Good Store. Since the start of the campaign, with efforts by the government and organizations such a Partners in Health (PIH), the maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone has declined to one in 74, helped by increases in nursing students and residents studying there as the facility became a teaching hospital, as well as more community health workers, Green said. PIH is an international nonprofit public health organization providing healthcare in the poorest areas of developing countries by building medical facilities and hiring and training local staff. PIH supports Wellbody Clinic and Koidu Government Hospital. 'This is a reminder that when we pay attention to a crisis and focus resources on that crisis, change can happen. The world can get better,' Green said. Maternal death: A maternity wing closed. One month later, a young mom died when she couldn't get care. Construction on the Maternal Center of Excellence will be completed in October, and it will open to patients in January 2026, starting with inpatient care before opening up to outpatients. Most of the funds the Green brothers raised came from their Nerdfighteria fan community, but Green recognized the systematic and financial support of the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health. 'Sierra Leone is a vastly safer place to give birth than it was in 2019 and while Nerdfighteria certainly isn't the main character of that story, we have played a role,' Green said. 'I think in many ways, we can cite this as the greatest accomplishment in the 18-year history of this strange and lovely little YouTube channel.' 'This teaching facility is going to become a reality, dramatically improving the kind of care available to babies and moms in eastern Sierra Leone,' he said. Green encouraged continued donations through PIH and Good Store purchases to help maintain the facility. 'It needs to continue being a huge collaboration. We need your ongoing support for the MCO because its funding needs do not end with the completion of the building's construction. This will be a world-class training facility that strengthens and supports Sierra Leone's healthcare workforce.' John Green: Author connects deadly disease to Stetson hats, svelte figures and weighted vests Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at or 317-444-6264. Follow her on or Bluesky: @ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: John Green's 'greatest accomplishment' on YouTube will save lives
Times
17-05-2025
- Times
Oh, Brother! Pensioner's 3,000-mile trip around Britain by bus
An 85-year-old pensioner is circumnavigating Britain in a 3,000-mile journey using only his free bus pass. Brother John Green's six-week adventure, travelling around England, Scotland and Wales, is to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the ancient almshouse he calls home. His 'Brother on a Bus' tour will take in 31 cities and towns to highlight the medieval Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty in Winchester, Hampshire. Green is a member of the Black Brothers who live at the Christian institution, providing tours for guests and supporting the community. They are usually single, divorced or widowers, and do not have to be religious. On his travels, he will be wearing the black gown and hat that all the men at the almshouse
Indianapolis Star
14-05-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
'Change can happen.' Vlogbrothers maternal care project pays off. How soap, sock sales help
Indianapolis resident and best-selling author John Green and his brother Hank are making it safer to give birth. Green on Tuesday announced that a Sierra Leone maternal and infant care center, for which they began fundraising in 2019, is scheduled to open in January. In 2019, the social media stars pledged $6.5 million to support the building the Maternal Center of Excellence at the Koidu Government Hospital in Sierra Leone's Kono District. Then, statistics indicated that one of every 17 women in Sierra Leone died in pregnancy or childbirth. In launching the effort six years ago, Green said, 'systemic long-term problems demand systemic long-term solutions.' Green announced on the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel Tuesday that the full $20 million needed to break ground on the project had been raised. 'Today … we get to see some of the ways that long-term sustained, open-ended attention and resources can mean long-term change for the better,' he said. The facility will provide care to up to tens of thousands of people each year and radically reduce maternal and infant mortality in and around the district, Green said. 'The Fault in Our Stars' author Green said the brothers reached their goal with the help of supporters who became monthly donors to the project at others who came together to establish a matching fund, and those who contributed through the purchases of socks and soap at the Greens' online Good Store. Since the start of the campaign, with efforts by the government and organizations such a Partners in Health (PIH), the maternal mortality rate in Sierra Leone has declined to one in 74, helped by increases in nursing students and residents studying there as the facility became a teaching hospital, as well as more community health workers, Green said. PIH is an international nonprofit public health organization providing healthcare in the poorest areas of developing countries by building medical facilities and hiring and training local staff. PIH supports Wellbody Clinic and Koidu Government Hospital. 'This is a reminder that when we pay attention to a crisis and focus resources on that crisis, change can happen. The world can get better,' Green said. Construction on the Maternal Center of Excellence will be completed in October, and it will open to patients in January 2026, starting with inpatient care before opening up to outpatients. Most of the funds the Green brothers raised came from their Nerdfighteria fan community, but Green recognized the systematic and financial support of the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health. 'Sierra Leone is a vastly safer place to give birth than it was in 2019 and while Nerdfighteria certainly isn't the main character of that story, we have played a role,' Green said. 'I think in many ways, we can cite this as the greatest accomplishment in the 18-year history of this strange and lovely little YouTube channel.' 'This teaching facility is going to become a reality, dramatically improving the kind of care available to babies and moms in eastern Sierra Leone,' he said. Green encouraged continued donations through PIH and Good Store purchases to help maintain the facility. 'It needs to continue being a huge collaboration. We need your ongoing support for the MCO because its funding needs do not end with the completion of the building's construction. This will be a world-class training facility that strengthens and supports Sierra Leone's healthcare workforce.'
