Hello!
I hope your December is proceeding apace.
Here in Indianapolis, there has been a lot of snow and rain. The shed where I write was built in 1895 by Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather, and I don't like to complain, but whatever weatherproofing he did has not held up to 130 years of Indiana winters, and so the basement is wet, and the shed is drafty. But still, I am glad to be here. Home.
At the end of every year, I write myself two letters: one looking back at the year that was, and one looking ahead to the year to come. This year, I'm reflecting on lots of tuberculosis and global health advocacy, an astonishing number of days on airplanes (120), and a year marked for me by grief and fear and also hope. Hope—that stubborn and audacious friend who always promises more than they deliver—has been the great gift of 2025 for me.
Hope survives, to borrow a line from W. H. Auden, in the valley of its own making. Let no one steal it from you. Let no one deny it to you. Let it survive improbably in that valley, where the sun rises late and sets early. But still it rises. In spite of everything, it still rises
John
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
Two strangers had an impromptu Beyblade battle. (TikTok)
Minute Earth explained why we can’t make fake feathers. (YouTube)
A dog decided to take a joyride in the truck of an unsuspecting delivery driver. (Instagram)
Architectural Digest gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. (YouTube)
A group of bundled-up kids jumped over (and sometimes into) a puddle. (TikTok)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
How the UK government spends £100 of its budget
Simon van Teutem
What does the British government spend its budget on? The chart shows spending broken down by category, scaled to £100. It combines both central and local government spending.
Social protection is the single largest item. Out of every £100 spent, £33 goes to it — more than health, at £19 per 100. The UK is typical in this regard — in every OECD country except the US, social protection is the biggest category.
Public services also account for a large share: £14 per £100. These include core government functions, foreign aid, and interest payments on government debt.
Education and economic affairs, which support the broader economy or specific industries such as fishing and manufacturing, are also prominent categories.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here.
This Week at Complexly
John and Hank have each designed their own handmade DH&J logo tees for this year's Complexly holiday collection! Hank used markers to draw this Dear Hank & John shirt, while John cut out construction paper to create this very special Dear John & Hank shirt. Which one's your favorite? Do you want the classic Hank version, or would you rather get John's and be prepared for 2028 and the inevitable renaming of the podcast? Make your decision at Complexly.store/handmade, where you can also get both logos as stickers! These shirts are only available until the end of the year!
designed by Hank
designed by John
Study Hall: College Journeys is back with a new episode featuring Smosh cast member Shayne Topp! Shayne shares his TEN YEAR college journey, from starting his career as a teenager in Los Angeles to navigating online classes between filming schedules. Shayne’s story is a funny, honest look at persistence, self-discovery, and finding fulfillment in your own time.
Some Games to Play!
Costcodle (by Zak Kermitz)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Sarah. Send yours to [email protected]
If you post your results on social media, we’d love it if you post a link for folks to subscribe to “We’re Here” (https://werehere.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
Your recent goofs
Last week, we asked for something goofy that brings you joy. Thanks to everyone who sent us a goof!
A friend of mine recently teased me for a terrible "your mom" joke so I've been making them more often just to spite her. No offense to her mother, who is a very wonderful lady.
I was reading Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and came across a line that read, “it was the moment between six and seven”. I was so excited that she didn’t even know about the joke she made. I took a snap shot and sent it to an elementary art teacher friend with a gif of the hand motions. She sent back an audio clip of a classroom of children yelling, “6 7!”. It made me so happy! The kids were so happy to have a reason to yell it.
Last year, I went to Disneyworld and while we were in Haunted Mansion, the ride stopped multiple times and also completely glitched and also sent me a complete stranger’s photo in the app. So I did what any of us would do in this situation: I used the app to get a custom made ornament with that picture. Today was the first year that I got to put it on the family tree. Ah, such happy memories! (Not mine, you know, but probably theirs! They are smiling in the photo!)
One goofy thing that brought me joy this week was my school’s Christmas Choral concert; we love to do some silly stuff in between the somber tunes, and we sang the theme from Elf - including kazoos that everybody had somewhat conspicuously stored. It was a treat to hear 120 people singing into kazoos on a huge stage!
I recently made a drive from Baton Rouge, Louisiana back to St. Paul, Minnesota for my winter break and on the way was listening to Dear Hank & John, episode 171 when Hank and John started talking about the swans in England and it devolving into smuggling a swan on a plane as a 2-year-old. It was the silliest thing but I laughed so hard that I had to pause the pod so I could actually hear the rest of it! It didn't help that instead of imagining a swan, I kept imagining a Canadian Goose...
Something goofy- last night my partner made me laugh as hard as I've laughed in a while. We were playing the game where you count down and try to say the same word and we kept being bad at it so I was getting fake frustrated. Finally I said "pillow" and they said "bed", and then we said "bed". I was very happy and then then said "good, I thought you were going to say top sheet or something". It made me laugh so hard I don't even know why. I was about if breath for like 5 minutes. Anyway I love my silly husband.
A few years ago, I decided I wanted a Porch Goose, and my dad bought me Lily for my birthday! Lily has lots of outfits and now two brothers- Lewis lives in my home studio and Larry guards my desk at work. The neighborhood kids call me The Goose Lady. It brings me so much goofy joy!
You finished the last We’re Here of 2025!
We’d love for you to write two letters to yourself: one looking back at 2025 and another looking forward to 2026. Feel free to share these letters with us, in whole or in part. (If you want to share your letters with us but don’t want them to be featured in a future We’re Here, please let us know in your email.)
Send your letters to [email protected]
