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White Noise and Tawny Owls
Payton Mitchell & Hank Green
March 28, 2025
Hello!
Somehow, we have hit one year of "We're Here!" When we started, one of the goals of this newsletter was to direct some of my attention (and hopefully yours) away from places where algorithms are in control toward places where humans are in control. Ultimately, I /think/ this has worked a little bit. One problem is that Bluesky came along and provided a "quick post" place that makes me feel less bad.
Still, I think a lot of the problem is "quick posts" (and the incentives behind them) rather than the particular algorithm in charge (though, certainly, that matters a lot).
It's obvious to me that when I pop open the "We're Here" inbox, I'm in for a much more pleasant experience than when I pop open a platform where everyone is aware that every interaction is observed. I think putting so much human communication into a public forum is much weirder and more important than we give it credit for, and that's one of my big learnings from having this space.
There's learning, and there's just having fun! This has been very fun for me and John, and I hope it's been fun for you, too. We also still have a fair hunk of ideas for things we want to do in this space in the new year, but let's save that for another time.
Thanks for sticking with us, and thanks to everyone who has sent us stuff to share with the world. It is a messy time, but we are gathering here to do good and to feel good. We meant it to be a little time away from structures so dedicated to grabbing and holding our attention at all costs, and for me, it has been exactly that!
OH ALSO, we have had folks since launch asking for products featuring Allison Conway's delightful art, and we are finally doing that! You can see what we've got by clicking the link below.
Hank
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You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
Filmmaker Gamander López spent 24 hours with a tawny owl.
A kayaking dad used rock acoustics (pun intended) to give everyone a free Creed concert.
John was a guest on Men in Blazers, Science Friday, and NPR’s Wild Card.
Abby Roque scored the first-ever PWHL Michigan goal.
You can sleep well while listening to white noise that helps support Partners In Health!
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
February was cooler in 2025 than in 2024 — but the long-term trend is still warming
Veronika Samborska
January 2025 was the hottest January on record. This was surprising because the world recently transitioned from El Niño (which tends to increase global temperatures) to La Niña (which tends to cool them). We might have expected this cooling to be reflected in January’s temperatures. It was not.
But February did not follow this same pattern.
The chart tracks monthly temperature anomalies, comparing current temperatures to historical averages. Each dot represents a February anomaly, with El Niño (warmer) years in orange and red and La Niña (cooler) years in blue.
As expected, February 2025 cooled compared to February 2024, following the usual pattern where La Niña years tend to be cooler than the El Niño years before them.
However, this doesn’t mean global warming has slowed. Recent La Niña years are still warmer than El Niño years from just a few decades ago, showing that even natural climate fluctuations don’t reverse the long-term warming trend.
We update this data monthly so you can track how these patterns evolve.
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
Meet Jonny Manganello, AKA Jonny Cakes—a cake artist, comedian, actor, and Is It Cake? contestant! 🍰
Once set on becoming a professional actor, Jonny found an unexpected passion for baking hyper-realistic cakes and gained popularity on the internet for his comedic commentary. In his College Journey interview with journalist Joss Fong, Jonny discusses how his education was shaped around unconventional learning and how he still uses the skills he gained in college in his unconventional career.
Whether you’re a student or lifelong learner, Jonny’s story reminds us to stay open to new passions and listen to the signals your experience is sending you.
Jacob Collier joined Hank to ask him how we feel the wind, what the future of carbon removal looks like, and if creativity can be measured on Ask Hank Anything.
Some Games to Play!
lettergetter (by Mark Whelan)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Ella. 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)
Free bookmark with every Keats & Co order!
There is nothing better than a great cup of tea and a good book. Luckily, the greater Green establishment can supply you with both! Keats & Co has four brand new blends of tea to try out while you read Everything is Tuberculosis, and we have a limited edition bookmark that we’re adding to every new order while supplies last. (So make sure you order soon.)
Sip some tea, learn about TB, and fight to make this world disease-free.
Don’t Forget To Be Awesome
Last week, we asked you to make a DFTBA and send it to us. We received tons of wonderful creations. Thank you all!!
From Megan
 From Allison |  From Rose |
From Katie
From Leila
 From Jennifer |  From Elsa |
From Drea
 From A T |  From Ash |
From Connor
From Denton
From Viv
In honor of We’re Here turning one, we want to know if you’ve been introduced to something new from the newsletter. Let us know if we put you onto a game, gave you a new comfort creator, recommended a great read, or something else!
If nothing comes to mind, you can tell us some of your favorite We’re Here features.
Send your We’re Here thoughts to [email protected].
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