Hello!
Before recording every episode of Dear Hank and John, I have a conversation with Deboki Chakravarti, who is a research assistant for the show. We go over what she’s discovered about various science questions people have sent in to the podcast so that I don’t end up spouting nonsense.
But this week we ended up having a completely off-topic chat about why modern life seems so tense.
Why does relaxing feel impossible or, at least, irresponsible? Why does there seem to be so much weight to simple choices? Why are so many people permanently braced for bad news? Even when things are “fine,” they don’t feel fine.
Part of the answer we kept circling back to is that maybe this isn’t a malfunction. Maybe being unchill is, in some important ways, a feature. Especially in a world where we (hopefully) assign a lot of value to life, it makes sense to be very tense. A lot is on the line.
We are living through a moment where the world keeps presenting us with stories that demand emotional engagement… violence, injustice, instability, suffering, often with no clear resolution. Often, there is no apparent way of pushing back against what certainly seems to me to be a significant movement away from progress.
It doesn't seem like being calm in the face of that would be good. It is okay to be disgusted by the state of things. That disgust can be an action, and it can also be the start of an action. But some people will offer the easy path of “there’s no way out, just give up,” and that’s the lie we can’t believe.
If life were supposed to be chill, we wouldn’t have been built to care.
Hank
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This Week in Stuff
The Times Square NYE confetti is thrown by hand, and one volunteer gave us a behind-the-scenes view. (TikTok)
A dog named Ollie found a snack that happened to be attached to a snowman’s face. (Instagram)
Lincoln Parish Library showcased all of the bookmarks that were forgotten in returned books last year. (Instagram)
Michael Stevens of Vsauce and Professor Hannah Fry discussed the mystery of magnets. (YouTube)
A nerdfighter created a quilted postcard inspired by the Auld Lang Syne essay in The Anthropocene Reviewed. (Instagram)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
On every continent, food supplies have grown faster than the population
Pablo Rosado and Max Roser
We just lived through the period with the fastest population growth in human history. Six decades ago, there were three billion people on our planet. Since 2022, there have been more than eight billion people — an increase of five billion over this period.
It would have been impressive if food supplies had merely kept pace with population growth. But as the chart above shows, they grew even faster. On every continent, food supplies — measured by calories — grew faster than the population. This rise in food production per person was a major reason for the decline of extreme poverty and hunger.
To us, this chart documents one of humanity’s most extraordinary achievements.
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
The narwhal puts a curious spin on what it means to be classified as a “toothed whale.” The male’s left canine grows out in a long counterclockwise spiral, straight through its face. This tusk is a giant, inside-out, bendy tooth that feels everything and almost exclusively grows in males. But what is it for?
Every year, SciShow digs up the most amazing fossil discoveries and explores what they reveal about the ancient past. Here are the winners from 2025!
Some Games to Play!
Wordsmyth (by Fox Point Games)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by schwed. 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)
The Project for Awesome matching fund is open!
Hank and John’s annual charity event, the Project for Awesome (P4A), is coming up soon! From now until Sunday, February 8th at noon EST (UTC-5), anyone interested in giving $500 or more can become a matching donor for P4A. If you become a matching donor, you can help build excitement during the livestream and get thanked in an on-screen graphic (max 30 characters). In previous years, Nerdfighters have even collaborated to make a matching donation together that they couldn't make alone!
The P4A matching fund accepts donations via credit card, PayPal, check, donor-advised funds, and foundation grants at projectforawesome.com/matching.
Looking back and looking forward
In the final newsletter of 2025, we encouraged you to write a letter reflecting on 2025 and another looking ahead to 2026. Thank you to everyone who shared their letters with us!
2025:
You made it a point to try and do a lot of new things for the first time, because this was your year of firsts without your dad. And you wanted some of those firsts to be fun, not just sad. And that was definitely a goal you crushed. I am proud of you for not giving up, and for being so darn creative about it.
I’m here.
I’m really here– you make it.
You did the hard thing, the really hard thing, and asked for help.
You got that dog in you, man.
You did good in 2025. I know you don't think so, but if you stop and really reflect on it, you'll realise you did a lot. You got out of the house! You got out of the country. You got to talk to one of your heroes. Despite not feeling great, you didn't let your anxieties hold you back. I'm proud of you.
All of the things I study were being disavowed and defunded, and every news article hit like a sucker punch. I was devastated and hopeless. But I started listening to DH&J, right when John was talking about the collapse of USAID. I used to be a nerdfighter as a teen, and as I caught up to the pod, and started following the We're Here newsletter, and sought out other people fighting these big problems, I was reminded, over and over, that one of the things we can always control is our ability to hope.
Reflecting on this year really has made me realize how much I've changed amd grown as a person, and how happy I am to be alive, and be me. I haven't always had the greatest self esteem, or views on life, but I'm improving and loving that I get to live.
2026:
By maintaining your grades and your relationships, you will be in a better mental space, allowing you to enjoy and grow in your passions more. And--this is the most important thing--BE KIND TO YOURSELF. Obviously, it's easier said than done (we have terrible self esteem, that's why we have to write this whole thing in second person!), but you are a kind and understanding person, and you deserve the same understanding you give to other people.
1. Time is speeding up; be intentional about how you’re spending it
2. It’s okay to have an extraordinarily ordinary life
3. Take better care of your health while you still have it
4. Appreciate every moment with your family
5. Write the damn book
You're going to draw and write and find joy in little things like comic books and movies and music just like you always have. You'll finally have a chance to start finding yourself. Hope always sprouts anew, so just hold on a little longer. PS--The Batman Part II is coming out in 2027. Just a reminder in case nothing else works as motivation.
I know this year is going to be filled with a lot of the same challenges from last year, but I hope there are some good times still ahead. We’re going to finish our degree, and hopefully start a career. We’re going to find time to do the things we love, and we’re going to travel to see family like we’ve been longing to do for so long. I hope that despite its challenges, we make the most of 2026.
You need to concentrate on yourself - health, happiness, all of it. You’ve taken care of people for the past 25 years. Now, like the Goonies, this is your time.
What was the best book you read in 2025? Tell us about it!
