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For too long, biking has been viewed skeptically as a white-people thing, a big city thing, an ultra-fit athlete thing, a 20-something thing, a guy thing, a warm weather thing, or an upper-middle class thing. But times are changing. More than 100 million Americans rode a bike in 2014, and bicycles have outsold cars most years in the U.S. since 2003. Latinos bike more than any other racial group, followed by Asians and Native Americans. African Americans and whites bike at about the same...

Christine Thompson is eager to leave the two bedroom apartment she rents in a shabby house on the north side of Milwaukee. There are so many things wrong with the place. "In the bathroom I have to turn my shower on in order for the light to come on. And when I turn the shower off, the light goes off," she says. The apartment also has mice, cockroaches, and so many bedbugs that she and her sons — ages 3 and 7 — sleep on an air mattress on the dining room floor, where's there's no carpet. She...

Our addiction to smartphones and social media is largely driven by corporate profit. That’s according to Dr. Robert Lustig, who says modern technology is designed to trigger the same reactions as a drug. While we might feel pleasure when we open our phones or eat sugary snacks, Lustig argues, we aren’t experiencing true happiness. The UCSF researcher joins us in-studio to talk about his latest book, “The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies...

Synapses go off like fireworks every time I attend a RYSE event or workshop. RYSE consistently approaches trauma-informed work from a structural, systems lens; then shares the fruits of their learning in workshops available to the public.

The Mississippi fight against integration and civil rights was the most organized, defiant, and violent of anywhere in the country. But until 2011, civil-rights history was not part of the required curriculum in Mississippi public schools. “Before then, it was up to the discretion of the teacher if the civil-rights movement was taught at all inside a classroom,” according to the reporter Sierra Mannie. In 2011, the Mississippi Department of Education issued a new set of standards requiring...

In the American health care debate, “single-payer” is hardly a new concept. The idea has grabbed headlines and sparked countless political and policy discussions, not to mention campaign advertisements. Other countries with single-payer systems include South Korea and Taiwan. But “single-payer” merely means that the government pays all the bills. The mechanics can vary from country to country. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently visited Canada, touting that system’s benefits. How much do...

The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history left 58 dead and hundreds injured, but thousands of the other traumatized victims won’t be able to get settlements from the record-breaking $22 million fund set up to help them, the Los Angeles Times reported. Those suffering psychological trauma from the Oct. 1 shooting at a Las Vegas country music festival with 22,000 attendees won’t be eligible for claims under the final terms of the fund, announced Frida y. Instead, claims eligible...

The question is an eternal one, but it is particularly relevant during the holiday season: Can money buy happiness? New research offers a nuanced answer: it depends on what, exactly, brings you joy. "What seems to be the case is that your wealth predisposes you to different kinds of happiness," lead author Paul Piff , a psychologist at the University of California–Irvine, said in announcing the results. He reports wealthier people find joy "in their accomplishments, status, and individual...

Children and adolescents who suffer adversity, including abuse, throughout childhood tend to have poorer cardiometabolic health, according to an American Heart Association committee report. All forms of abuse, including bullying, neglect, or witnessing violence, are linked to a greater increased risk of cardiovascular disease, said the report, authored by Shakira F. Suglia, ScD, of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues writing in Circulation.

The algorithms that play increasingly central roles in our lives often emanate from Silicon Valley, but the effort to hold them accountable may have another epicenter: New York City. Last week, the New York City Council unanimously passed a bill to tackle algorithmic discrimination — the first measure of its kind in the country. The algorithmic accountability bill , waiting to be signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio, establishes a task force that will study how city agencies use...

(Reuters Health) - - Both LGBQ sexual identity and traumatic experiences in childhood are linked to a heightened risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, U.S. researchers say. Teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or are questioning their sexual identity are also more likely than their heterosexual peers to have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in childhood, the study team reports in Journal of Adolescent Health. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents...

The field of positive psychology has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Now almost everywhere you look, you see articles in mainstream publications about the science of happiness and emotion, purporting to tell us the secrets to achieving a happier life. Historian Daniel Horowitz, professor emeritus at Smith College, became fascinated with the rising popularity of this scientific movement. But he was also disturbed by some of the larger social and political themes many in the field...