Hello!

This week, I announced the book tour for Everything Is Tuberculosis, which is creeping closer and closer to its publication date of March 18th. I haven't toured for a book since Turtles All the Way Down came out way back in 2017, and so this week, I've been reflecting a lot on the seismic changes in the world (and my life) over the last eight years. To say the least, it has been a long, strange trip.

There's snow on the ground in Indianapolis this week and biting cold. I've been engaging in the uniquely Midwestern sport of "golf cart sledding," where you—or in this case my best friend Chris—drive around a golf cart with a sled tied behind it so that children can experience the joys of sledding without topography. Snow renders everything quiet and fuzzy at the edges for me. It's made me feel calm at a not-particularly-calm time.

Much of the tour sold out within the first day (So many people are excited for a book about tuberculosis?! This is incredible?!) but if you live near Philadelphia, Atlanta, Plano, Houston, Boulder, or San Mateo, tickets are still available as of this writing. On the tour, I'll be in conversation with some of my heroes—folks like Ophelia Dahl and Atul Gawande—and I think it'll be a really cool experience. And if you don't live near one of those cities, well, fear not—there are other ways to get signed copies of Everything Is Tuberculosis.

I hope you're settling in well to this new year, and whether it's snowy where you are or not, I hope there's some calm to be found.

John

You can always email us at [email protected]

This Week in Stuff

• BBC Earth shared nearly 3 hours of nature scenes to accompany you through your day.

• Bill Nye and Jane Goodall were both awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

• All 400+ buildings owned by the City of Chicago are now powered by 100% renewable energy.

• There’s a new baby pygmy hippo at the Richmond, Virginia zoo! Visitors voted to name her Poppy.

• Dr. Michelle Thaller presented JWST’s stunning view of a young protostar.

Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]

What share of cancers are caused by infections?

Saloni Dattani

Certain pathogens, like viruses and bacteria, can cause long-term inflammation or directly damage DNA in ways that eventually lead to cancer.

For example, hepatitis B and C viruses are key drivers of liver cancer. Some types of the human papillomavirus are responsible for cervical cancer. The bacterium H. pylori can cause stomach ulcers and cancers.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that around 13% of cancers overall are directly caused by infections, as the chart shows.

For some cancer types, they estimate that infections cause nearly all cases. They’re listed at the top of the chart and include cervical cancer, adult T-cell leukemia and lymphoma, and non-cardia stomach cancer.

This is an area where prevention can be very powerful: by tackling the infections that cause them, we can stop these cancers before they start.

Vaccines for human papillomavirus and hepatitis B have already been developed and have lowered cancer rates in younger generations. Additionally, antibiotics for H. pylori, antiviral treatments, and improved hygiene can dramatically reduce the risks of other infections.

I recently wrote an article about the virus that causes cervical cancer and how vaccines can eliminate it. You can read it here.

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

✨ Kickstart Your Year of Learning! ✨ 

Study Hall is making college courses more accessible, flexible, and engaging. Why? Because we believe learning should be exciting, not expensive or rigid. So, we teamed up with ASU and Crash Course to create Study Hall—a fresh way to earn college credit!

With 10 intro courses taught by ASU professors and paired with Crash Course-style YouTube series, you can preview content for free, join an online cohort for just $25, and pay $400 to earn 3 transferable college credits—only if you like your grade!

📅 Classes begin January 13th. Start your year smarter—learn more at gostudyhall.com!

Introducing Ask Hank Anything! A new show where our celebrity guests ask Hank questions, he does his best to answer them, and they learn a little bit about each other in the process.

Some Games to Play!

 Squeezy (by Hey, Good Game)

Joined Words (by WeSay)

Download Gubbins on iOS or Android!

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 Silly 2025 Predictions

Last week, Hank made a 2025 Bingo card. That card made us curious about your 2025 hopes! Thanks for all the goofy and wonderful predictions you sent our way.

You made it to the end!

Scroll back in your camera roll or your social feeds to January 2015. Send us the best photo you find!

Send your 2015 vibes to [email protected].

We're Here is the newsletter of Nerdfighteria; the community of people that sprung up around Hank and John Green's YouTube videos. That community has many focuses and has spawned many projects but the overarching theme is that hopelessness is the wrong response to imperfection. What makes the world better is groups of people trying to understand and solve problems, and people can only do that for an extended period if they're having at least a little bit of fun.