Unexplainable It's not all bad
5 snips
Jan 14, 2026 Bryan Walsh, Vox's senior editorial director and curator of the Good News newsletter, joins Joanna Solotaroff to discuss the brighter side of current events. They highlight remarkable advancements like the first CRISPR baby, declining violent crime rates, and the significant drop in overdose deaths. Walsh shares insights on the youth's reduced alcohol consumption and promising research linking shingles vaccines to lower dementia risk. With topics like ozone recovery and hopes for lab-grown meat, the conversation is a refreshing reminder of progress amidst challenges.
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First CRISPR Patient Success
- Bryan Walsh recounts a six-month-old who became the first person to receive a CRISPR therapy and was effectively cured.
- He frames this as a breakthrough for ultra-personalized gene editing treatments for rare lethal disorders.
Post-Pandemic Trends Reversing
- Bryan Walsh observes that many pandemic-era spikes in violence and overdose began to reverse in 2025.
- He argues these declines suggest some bad post-pandemic trends are now bending back toward pre-pandemic levels.
Declining Alcohol Use Among Young People
- Alcohol consumption has declined sharply, especially among young people, reaching the lowest adult drinking rates since 1939.
- Walsh links this decline to meaningful public-health gains given alcohol's large death toll.