Dancing into 2026

Saving endangered species in your basement

Dear Solution-aries,

If there were an Olympic sport for remembering the worst parts of a year in vivid detail, most of us could medal. The human brain is excellent at replaying disasters—and much less talented at holding on to the good stuff.

2025 was a crazy year, politically and for me personally. It began with devastating fires in Los Angeles just a week after I moved from there, and it ended with a landmark storm, me white-knuckling the steering wheel in a torrent on our way to my in-laws for Christmas dinner.

But when I force myself to slow down, what I most want to remember are the people—often quietly, often stubbornly—making life a little better for their communities and for the planet.

I don’t write about politics much here, but I do as a columnist for the German Süddeutsche Zeitung. Pressures and restrictions in the US have increased noticeably. I now cross borders with a burner phone, and recent announcements that visitors are required to disclose up to five years of social media activity have raised serious civil liberties questions.

Possibly because of all that, I’ve started dancing again.

Every Saturday morning, I go to Groove Therapy and spend an hour dissolving into movement and music. I used to dance a lot when I was younger—tango, salsa, hip hop— somewhere along the way, I lost my groove. But last month, my boss David Byrne took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with Who Is the Sky? For 90 minutes, several thousand people (myself included) danced wildly almost without stopping. It was sweaty, euphoric, and clarifying. I had missed that release more than I realized.

Writing for Reasons to be Cheerful and Rotary International remains one of my main reasons to be cheerful. I publish at least two reported stories there each month, focused on people making tangible, measurable differences where they live.

Among my favorite stories this year are about the former Navy SEALs using diving skills to protect coral reefs and sea turtles, conservation burials that combine funerals with rewilding and land protection, and my most recent story that looks at animal keepers saving endangered species in their own homes. I saw some of the rare animals they rescue in person on my trip to Costa Rica this spring.

You can foster an endangered species in your home

A few other recent pieces, in case you missed them:

Shit2Power: Turning human waste into clean fuel in Germany

Clean Slate: Tattoo removal helping San Diegans start fresh

Copyright: Shutterstock

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who read, shared, supported, and challenged my reporting this year. And thank you to the Los Angeles Press Club for the Solutions Journalism Award for my story on the Hopi Nation dry farming corn and melons.

Christmas marks the darkest day of the year. From now on, it’s going to get brighter every day.

I hope you find ways to dance—on a dance floor, in your living room, or quietly to yourself—as the year turns.

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and a healthy, hopeful New Year,

Love,

Michaela