Adam Hochschild: We Can End Slavery—Again
It took just 20 years to end the British slave trade. What history teaches us about ending exploitation today.
YES! Article archive
Issues
The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade
Why an African American marketing consultant and a white writer took a journey to explore the effects of slavery, racism, and privilege.
The Unexpected Gifts of Photographing Mandela, Tutu, and the Dalai Lama
Photographer Jane Feldman on earning the trust of beloved world leaders—and capturing their laughter.
This Guy Moved Into His Parents’ House So a Homeless Family Could Live in His
Three extraordinary, everyday people who will make your day better.
Slave and Slaveholder Descendants Break Free of History’s Trauma—Together
Responding to past traumas like slavery and acts of terrorism can heal us—and future generations.
Infographic: Your Stuff’s Not As Cheap As You Think It Is
What do we really trade for all of the cheap stuff we buy?
A Marathon Runner’s Lessons for a Saner Civilization
Long-distance running demands that athletes pace themselves and keep the future in mind. Might they have something to teach those who want to create a sustainable society?
Dar Williams: Why the Music of Protest Is Still Worth Defending
We can’t change the world if we can’t even sing together—a star folk singer on what happens if political music dies.
How to See Stars Like Your Ancestors Did
We could all see the sky as our ancestors once saw it just by turning off the lights, according to the International Dark Sky Association.
Peaceful Revolution? Gandhi’s Four Paths to Get There
The Indian leader saw nonviolence as an active and powerful thing—not just the absence of war.
Don’t Wait for the Revolution—Live It
When pranksters and creative organizers create temporary utopias, the experience leaves us wanting more—and ready to work hard to get it.
What the Boston Tea Party Can Teach Us About Countering Corporate Power
Before there was Citizens United, a modern Tea Party movement, or national momentum to ban corporate personhood, this 2003 article from the YES! archives showed that resistance to corporate power is just as patriotic as Boston’s original Tea Party.
Love and Power: When Are they Generative, Instead of Destructive?
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Power without love is reckless and abusive and love without power is sentimental and anemic.” How to find the balance.
A Caring Economy Requires Building Bridges—Not Burning Them
Traditional organizing makes opponents into “enemies,” but a new crop of activists is using love and empathy to create new alliances and possibilities.
Click Here to Kick Glenn Beck Off the Air: Web Activism’s Big Wins—and What to Do Next
It was online campaigning that got Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck's shows canceled. But the real power of Internet activism is what happens after we step away from the screen.
What to Say When People Say “It’s Impossible”
10 smart conversation starters to address some standard defenses of the status quo.
What’s Love Got to Do with the Apocalypse? We Asked This Group of Young Leaders
On life, leadership, and the future in an age of catastrophic change.
Why the Future of Journalism Is in the Story of Solutions
Taken all together, the practical actions YES! Magazine features reveal large societal shifts that hold the potential for a better world.
Meet the Refreshing Evangelical Who’s Leading a Revival—of “the Common Good”
Pastor Jim Wallis has been arrested for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline, builds bridges between polarized politicians, and pushes Christians to worry less about gay marriage and more about justice. And even better—there’s a whole new generation following his lead.
How Two Plant Geeks Grew a Permaculture Oasis in an Ordinary Backyard
In “Paradise Lot,” two residents of an inner city write about how they transformed less than an acre of their blighted yard into a thriving food forest full of mushrooms, gooseberries, silkworms, and more.
Get Apocalyptic: Why Radical is the New Normal
Feeling anxious about life in a broken economy on a strained planet? Turn despair into action.
For a Future that Won’t Destroy Life on Earth, Look to the Global Indigenous Uprising
Idle No More is the latest incarnation of an age-old movement for life that doesn't depend on infinite extraction and growth. Now, armed with Twitter and Facebook, once-isolated groups from Canada to South America are exchanging resources and support like never before.
Don’t Let the Apocalypse Get You Down
The climate crisis is spinning out of control, and the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow unabated. It’s time to let the radical uncertainty of this moment enlarge our sense of possibility.
How a Radical Group of American Nuns Shook Up the Vatican to Better the World
“Band of Sisters” shows why a humble group of women fell under Vatican investigation for seeing the causes—not just the symptoms—of injustice.
Georgia Professors Teach Undocumented Students—for Free
Georgia is one of three states that exclude undocumented students from full access to higher education. "Freedom University" operates on the principle that “you can stop me from going to a UGA classroom, but you can’t stop a UGA professor from teaching me.”
Help Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to YES! today.