Innehållsförteckning för The 2023 Helpers Edition från The Goodnewspaper

When I first began building Good Good Good and The Goodnewspaper, I was heavily influenced by the work and wisdom of Fred Rogers — who is better known as Mister Rogers, everyone's favorite neighbor. Rogers has this iconic quote that you've no-doubt heard before: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'” At Good Good Good, we're here to help readers find the Helpers and then to join in and become the Helpers. Each year, we dedicate an entire edition of the Goodnewspaper to The Helpers of the Year. This year, our team worked together to nominate and curate the most impactful Helpers who made 2023…

Good Good Good was built on the foundation of a lot of big ideas: that optimism and hope are radical tools for imagining and creating a better world, that we need and deserve more media that doesn't sugarcoat reality but does celebrate the good happening around us — and that there are always people who are helping. That last bit comes from the iconic cardigan-wearing Fred Rogers. His famous quote created a framework for how we approach finding, reporting, and celebrating good news. He told us: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” While we hold closely to the legacy of Mister Rogers, we use his way of thinking to move through times of tragedy and hardship — not sitting idly by as feelings of…

On September 15, three unionized automakers in the U.S. — General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis — joined together to go on a historic, trilateral strike against the biggest forces in the auto industry. The strike came after the companies failed to meet union agreements amidst a labor contract renewal. The main goals behind the strike included higher wages to offset inflation, improved overtime and retirement benefits, and the guarantee of a 32-hour work week. In late October, after six weeks on strike, the United Auto Workers union reached a deal with Ford that includes up to an 85% increase in pay for Ford auto workers. Within a week, Stellantis and General Motors followed Ford's cue and reached a deal with the UAW. “It will change my life drastically,”…

Greta Thunberg first skyrocketed to fame in 2018 when she led a school strike outside of the Swedish Parliament to demand stronger climate action from her government. Thunberg started the strike when she was 15 years old and continued striking every Friday for 251 weeks. Her “Fridays for Future” campaign ignited a global movement that inspired school-age kids to join her fight for climate action. Five years later, Thunberg continues to use her platform to demand accountability and action from world leaders and fossil fuel-linked corporations. This year alone, Thunberg has been detained and forcibly removed from protest sites three times by police. Her latest arrest happened at a Fossil Free London event in mid-October. “People all over the world are suffering and dying from the consequences of the climate…

ELECTED OFFICIAL HELPERS Zooey Zephyr serves as a member of the Montana House of Representatives and is the first openly transgender person to be elected to Montana's state legislature. In April of this year, Zephyr opposed a bill which called for strident restrictions on puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery for people under 18. Zephyr said that conservative lawmakers would “see the blood” on their hands if they voted yes to the bill. Zephyr was then banned from speaking, without an official censure, and a rally formed in the chambers in her support. Blaming Zephyr for the disruption, she was banned from the House floor, gallery, and antechamber. In peaceful protest, Zephyr worked on a public bench outside the chambers until adjournment in May. “These attacks against the trans…

Ncuti Gatwa is having a legendary year. He just wrapped his final season on “Sex Education,” appeared in “Barbie,” and now stars as the lead of “Doctor Who.” As the first queer Black actor to play the titular Doctor in the show's 60-year run, Gatwa's casting announcement was met with a mixture of celebration and controversy. But Gatwa lets the criticism slide right off his shoulders. “What are you going to do, tell the same stories? Have the same people fronting things for all of eternity?” Gatwa asked in an interview with Elle. “Representation and inclusivity and branching out. … It enriches us all.” His role on “Doctor Who” comes at the end of five years playing Eric Effiong on “Sex Education,” and Gatwa said it was bittersweet to leave.…

Jen Hamilton, a labor and delivery nurse based out of North Carolina, has become a social media star. On her channels, Hamilton posts videos where she swaddles chickens, opens up about her family life, and demystifies taboo health topics. “I started out just posting the silly parts of my life, silly parts of being a nurse and being a mom,” Hamilton told the Buckley Report. “And then I started talking about some of things that maybe aren't so comfortable to talk about, the kind of the things that people hide.” Hamilton's taboo topics include the realities of giving birth and the hurdles women face in healthcare. Although her TikTok channel reached a whopping 3.2 million followers this year, she says that making videos is a small part of her life…

JOURNALISM HELPERS Facing nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in states across the country, reporter Erin Reed became a go-to source for breakdowns of anti-trans legislation across the U.S. in 2023. While she's known for keeping her online community well-informed, her flagship project of this year was the legislative risk map. By compiling updates and helpful information, the map aims to help trans folks in America make informed decisions about where to live — while also raising awareness about the challenges that they face in finding safe and accepting communities. Reed considered a range of factors that can impact the safety and well-being of trans folks, including anti-discrimination laws, health care access, and hate crime statistics. Each state is categorized based on its level of trans-friendliness. “Every day, I've gotten messages from…

While advocacy is vital to confronting tuberculosis, it's important to recognize the efforts and sacrifice of global health workers who diagnose and treat the disease on the front lines. Here are just a few stories that stand out: • Dr. Khiếu Thị Thúy Ngọc has been working to fight TB in Vietnam for over two decades. Following the aftermath of COVID-19, she now travels around the country training new technicians and laboratory staff on TB testing. In April of this year, she certified over 115 new technicians in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. • Josefa Pinheiro Segunda Jaime is one of many community health workers in Angola who provides one-on-one patient support through diagnosis and treatment of TB, decreasing stigma and connecting people to the health care they need.…

UNION HELPERS Rachel Bloom is an actress, writer, and producer best known for CW's musical comedy “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” Hulu's “Reboot,” and her off-broadway one-woman musical “Death, Let Me Do My Show.” As both a WGA and SAG-AFTRA union member, Bloom was a constant presence on the picket lines this year. Throughout the summer she recruited fellow union members to perform showtunes and dance numbers on the frontlines to keep morale high. “Anything you can do to get people excited and keep it fresh,” Bloom told WGA. “I'm just happy to be here to keep people coming and picketing.” By November, both strikes came to an end. But even beyond Hollywood, Bloom remains outspoken about union solidarity across all job sectors. “The mandate in capitalism is to make as much…

Elise Joshi is a 21-year-old climate activist, the Executive Director of Gen-Z For Change —and the girl who interrupted the White House press secretary. Joshi was invited to the Voters of Tomorrow summit in July. She attended, but as pleas for the Biden Administration to stop the Willow Master Development Plan (the largest proposed oil development project on public lands) went unheard, she felt compelled to speak up. In the middle of Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's remarks, Joshi stood, voice shaking. “I'm here channeling the strength of my ancestors and generation,” she said. “Will the administration stop approving new oil and gas projects and align with youth, science, and front-line communities from the north slope of Alaska to Louisiana?” Her interruption went viral on social media, and while President Biden…

In April, Tennessee State Representatives Justin Jones, Justin J. Pearson, and Gloria Johnson — dubbed the “Tennessee Three” — joined protestors in the state chamber's public galleries to voice support for gun reform in the wake of the Covenant School mass shooting. Citing violation of decorum rules, Republican representatives expelled Jones and Pearson and removed them from office. Johnson retained her seat by a singular vote. The unprecedented expulsion caused nationwide uproar, as the power to remove politicians from office is typically reserved for extreme misconduct. “There comes a time where people get sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Jones said in his speech before expulsion. “And so my colleagues, I say that what we did was act in our responsibility as legislators to serve and give voice…

LGBTQ + HELPERS Jonathan Van Ness is a non-binary TV personality, touring comedian, and host of the podcast “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness.” JVN is perhaps best known as an advisor on Netflix's “Queer Eye” who steps in to help selfless show nominees better their lives and practice self-care. As a professional hairstylist for the show, JVN helps guests feel beautiful while dispensing advice with sincerity, warmth, and infectious laughter. During an appearance on Dax Shepard's “Armchair Expert” podcast in September, JVN held Shepard accountable for misinformed claims regarding transgender participation in sports. At one point moved to tears, JVN pointed out the swirl of misinformation clouding daily debates in households across the country and the “vitriol that trans people face everyday.” Beyond the interview, JVN continues using their…

A year after the debut of his hit album “Stick Season,” singer Noah Kahan is still touring, releasing new music, and raising awareness for mental health. “It's no secret I pour my mental health into my music, and I will always continue to do so, but it means so much to me to be able to evolve that into actionable support,” Kahan wrote for TIME. In his lyrics, Kahan paints realistic portraits of depression and anxiety. He sings about drinking in bars and falling apart, and arguing with therapists about God as he tries to stitch himself back together. Kahan's latest fundraiser — the Busyhead Project — has surpassed its initial 2023 fundraising goal of “$1 million for mental health” and is still going strong. In nearly every comment section…

These days, news spreads fast and people consume it even quicker. In 2019, video reporter Dave Jorgenson created the Washington Post TikTok account, heralding a new chapter in online journalism for the nearly 150-year-old paper. Today, the channel has reached 1.7 million followers, and the majority of those followers are Gen Z. “I mean, it's just a crazy, huge, untapped audience of teenagers,” Jorgenson told Poynter when the account first launched. Today, he runs the account with Carmella Boykin and Vitus Spehar. TikTok is rife with AI-generated content and misinformation, but the Washington Post TikTok team has made it their mission to spread reliable, well-researched news. Through digestible video snippets, the Washington Post TikTok team dispenses daily news coverage on politics, health care, economics, human rights, and more to an…

TUBERCULOSIS HELPERS Tuberculosis is the world's deadliest disease, annually infecting about 10 million people and killing approximately 1.6 million. It is also entirely curable. These facts, driven by unequal access to health care, inspired author and video creator John Green to share a number of impassioned videos about TB. And it also inspired his swath of fans — Nerdfighteria — to take on the issue, too. This year, the fanbase mobilized as part of a global grassroots movement to challenge injustices that exacerbate TB, including the expiration of a patent on a life-saving drug held by Johnson & Johnson, and the cost of TB tests distributed by a company called Danaher. Through comedic memes on social media, documents full of facts and figures, and a compassionate approach, these organizers saw…

As a freelance writer, the deputy organizing director at Workers United, and the national field director for Starbucks Workers United, Daisy Pitkin is intimately involved in the experience of today's laborers. In fact, she has spent more than 20 years as a community and union organizer, first in support of garment workers, and in recent years, alongside Starbucks employees. These days, she works to support the next generation of union workers across America. Her book, “On The Line: A Story of Class, Solidarity, and Two Women's Epic Fight to Build a Union” shows how a union, at its best, can reach beyond the workplace and form a solidarity so powerful that it can transcend friendship and transform communities. “It's important right now for people to realize that they have a…

ENVIRONMENT HELPERS As a Gen Z environmental activist and entrepreneur, Zahra Biabani is one of the world's go-to climate optimists. Her social media platforms, which reach over 60K people, are dedicated to sharing action items and tidbits of hopeful news for the planet. This work culminated in the release of her book, “Climate Optimism: Climate Wins and Creating Systemic Change Around the World” in April 2023. The book provides a framework for climate optimism and celebrates some major wins from recent years. Outside of her content creation and writing, Biabani is the CEO and Founder of In the Loop, a circular economy software startup, and the founder of the Instagram platform @istherehopein, which shares “weekly Earth wins” using “data-driven reasons for hope.” “Activism, by nature, can be very draining. Without…

In 2019, Brianna Titone made waves as the first openly transgender person elected to state office. Today, she works as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, following a storied career as a firefighter, geologist, and software developer. In addition to fighting for LGBTQ+ rights and advancing a bill that provided funding for free menstrual items in public schools, one of Titone's key achievements to date is the passing of her “right to repair” legislation for farmers. The bill — which she co-sponsored with a Republican colleague — is a big win for farmers and forces manufacturers to provide their customers with the necessary manuals, tools, and software to fix their own equipment. Since Titone's bill passed in the Colorado House of Representatives this May, 15 states followed suit…

Alok Vaid-Menon is a non-binary author, speaker, comedian, and activist whose work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition — with pure curiosity. After a number of viral clips of Vaid-Menon talking about gender identity made their way around the internet (including some from their stand-up work), they took on the title “Gender Whisperer,” bringing compassion and authenticity to increasingly politicized conversations about trans and non-binary folks in America. In fact, in response to a recent hate comment, VaidMenon told someone, “Hatred is love that has lost its way.” In a culture that so often centers violence, anxiety, and fear toward LGBTQ+ people, Vaid-Menon aches for a world in which being trans is seen as “ordinary” — or if not ordinary — fabulous. “The way that I survive…

SOCIAL MEDIA HELPERS Elyse Myers is a digital content creator, comedian, and writer who got her start after a TikTok infused with her rich and comedic storytelling about a bad first date went viral. She maintains her streak of hilarious anecdotes but also shares vulnerable insights into mental health, neurodiversity, parenthood, and body image. Her audience of over five million flock to her page for laughs — and for the gift of being seen and understood. Beneath all of her videos, comments offer a community of people sharing their own experiences — from thinking a panic attack is a heart attack to embracing naturally curly hair. This year, she debuted her podcast “Funny Cuz It's True,” interviewing big names in comedy (like Mike Birbiglia and Julia Louis-Dreyfus) about the stories…

Nonprofit newsrooms are independent news organizations — often nonpartisan — that are funded by donations, foundations, and the communities they serve. In May, the Institute for Nonprofit News released a survey reporting a 17% growth in the number of nonprofit newsrooms in 2022. Here are highlights from nonprofit newsrooms in 2023: • Flatwater Free Press chronicled the work of librarians in Nebraska fighting against censorship laws as book bans in their communities reached an all-time high. • The Texas Tribune launched an in-depth report on the rising numbers of Texas children who have died from gun-related deaths in the last decade and the resounding trauma that has rippled through those communities. • The 19th News highlighted the work of Disability Victory, an organization which aims to recruit and support disabled…

Longtime global health activists Phumeza Tisile and Nandita Venkatesan both lost their hearing when they had tuberculosis, a side-effect of the many drugs they took during treatment. Learning that Johnson & Johnson makes a safer and more effective drug, bedaquiline — but doesn't distribute it at an accessible price and holds a monopoly on the drug 's patent — they sprang to action. With Doctors Without Borders, the duo filed a petition to deny Johnson & Johnson's latest patent in India, paving the way for the drug to be available as a cheaper generic in lower-income countries around the globe. The two were named as TIME100 leaders in global health and continue to lead the charge to make both treatment and diagnostics accessible for all — and ending TB as…

TECHNOLOGY HELPERS Sal Khan is best-known as the founder of Khan Academy, which creates thousands of video lessons on a wide variety of academic subjects that can be accessed for free across the globe. But his new venture is taking fears about artificial intelligence in the classroom and turning them into opportunities. While many teachers have expressed fear about AI being a hindrance to authentic learning, Khan's desire is to use newfound tech to make the lives of teachers easier — and the educational experience more enriching. So, he introduced Khanmigo, an AI tool that acts as a tutor for learners and an assistant for teachers. Khanmigo doesn't provide answers to students, but directs learners with prompts and questions, while sharing real-time feedback with teachers. “We have to fight like…

Nita Farahany is a scholar of ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technology. If, at any point in the last year, you thought “I'm not so sure about this AI thing…” she's already 10 steps ahead of you. Farahany specializes in bioethics — the rights we have to our brains in the face of emerging neurotechnology — as a professor at Duke Law School. She is also the founding director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, which aims to advance the responsible use of science and technology. Farahany isn't trying to put a stop to emerging technologies, but rather champion an ethical future alongside them, where individuals control their brain data — not corporations or corrupt governments. In fact, Farahany's most timely work is the advocacy for…