Unexplainable

It's not all bad

January 14, 2026

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  • Despite a general feeling of bleakness, significant positive long-term trends are emerging in areas like violent crime reduction, overdose deaths, and declining alcohol use, offering a counter-narrative to daily negative news. 
  • Major scientific advancements, such as the first successful custom CRISPR therapy for a rare infant disorder, demonstrate ongoing progress in personalized medicine that often goes overlooked. 
  • International cooperation has led to measurable environmental success, exemplified by the shrinking ozone hole, and global renewable energy capacity continues to grow rapidly despite political headwinds. 

Segments

Setting the Stage for Good News
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(00:00:33)
  • Key Takeaway: The prevailing media and human tendency is a negativity bias, making the active search for good news necessary.
  • Summary: The episode of Unexplainable, titled “It’s not all bad,” aims to push back against the negativity bias prevalent in media and human perception. Guest Bryan Walsh launched the ‘Good News’ newsletter to intentionally look at world events through an optimistic lens. This approach is needed because negative headlines inherently catch more attention than positive, long-term improvements.
CRISPR Therapy Breakthrough
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(00:04:21)
  • Key Takeaway: A six-month-old baby was cured of a lethal urea cycle disorder using a custom-built CRISPR gene-editing therapy.
  • Summary: This advancement, led by a team at UC Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute, offers hope for ultra-personalized therapies targeting rare disorders often skipped by standard research due to small markets. The treatment saved the infant’s life, demonstrating that gene editing is now paying off in tangible ways. The underlying science for gene editing has roots stretching back to 20th-century discoveries.
Declining Violent Crime Rates
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(00:06:52)
  • Key Takeaway: The US is on track for one of its steepest one-year national homicide declines, potentially returning murder rates to 1960s levels.
  • Summary: Post-pandemic spikes in violent crime and deaths of despair are now showing significant reversals in 2025. This decline is attributed partly to returning to normalcy after the social breakdown of the pandemic shutdown. Similarly, drug overdose deaths have fallen by about 24% from their peak, marking an enormous victory against the opioid epidemic.
Reduction in Alcohol Consumption
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(00:10:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Reported alcohol use among 12th graders has dropped significantly, with only 54% of Americans now reporting drinking, the lowest share since 1939.
  • Summary: Young people are showing a marked reduction in drinking alcohol, countering narratives that suggest recklessness. Alcohol consumption is linked to approximately 178,000 deaths annually in the US, so these declines contribute to improved health outcomes. This trend suggests a safer cohort of young people entering adulthood.
Promising Medical Research
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(00:12:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Research suggests a link between the shingles vaccine and a markedly lower likelihood of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s in older adults.
  • Summary: While a cure for dementia remains elusive, promising research is investigating potential viral roles in the disease’s progression. Adults who received the shingles vaccine showed significantly reduced rates of dementia compared to those who had not. This area of research offers significant optimism for future treatments against a devastating condition.
Environmental Progress Highlights
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(00:12:55)
  • Key Takeaway: The ozone hole is now 30% smaller than its 2006 record peak due to concerted international action via the Montreal Protocol.
  • Summary: Global renewable power capacity continues to grow rapidly, exceeding optimistic projections from a decade ago, with solar and wind leading the charge. This growth is occurring despite efforts to hinder it, showing sustained momentum toward cleaner energy sources. The shrinking ozone hole serves as a prime example of successful, long-term international environmental policy.
Managing News Overload
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(00:14:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Gaining a longer sweep of time and understanding historical context are key factors in managing the overwhelming nature of the daily news cycle.
  • Summary: Bryan Walsh finds that actively seeking good news helps counteract the negative input inherent in his job. A crucial coping mechanism is realizing that many current major stories will not be remembered in five years. Recognizing that global metrics like extreme poverty and child mortality have significantly declined over decades provides essential historical grounding.
2026 Outlook and Space Exploration
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(00:18:16)
  • Key Takeaway: NASA’s Artemis II mission, scheduled for early 2026, will send four astronauts on a round trip around the moon, paving the way for a permanent lunar outpost.
  • Summary: Despite chaotic headlines at the start of 2026, long-term positive developments continue in the background. Major clinical trials testing LSD as a treatment for anxiety and depression are expected in 2026, potentially leading to approval by 2027. Global movements are successfully phasing out fur use, with New York Fashion Week banning it starting in September 2026.
Animal Welfare and Future Tech
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(00:19:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Technological improvements in lab-cultivated meats offer a potential future solution to the ethical and environmental problems associated with factory farming.
  • Summary: Poland, the world’s second-largest fur producer, has completely phased out the practice, signaling a global shift away from fur use. Progress continues in improving the welfare of hens through cage-free egg initiatives. While expensive now, lab-grown meat technology shows promise to eventually revolutionize food production and mitigate the impact of factory farming.
Outrageous Prediction and Credits
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(00:22:31)
  • Key Takeaway: There is a 60% chance that an AI-generated song will top the Billboard Hot 100 chart during 2026.
  • Summary: The rapid improvement in AI technology makes the creation of chart-topping, algorithmically generated music increasingly likely. This prediction is not framed as a positive development but as an outrageous possibility based on current technological trends. The episode concludes by thanking the production team and encouraging listeners to subscribe to the Good News newsletter.