Did you know that Indigenous people are using GPS to tackle deforestation, Michelin-starred chefs make mash in the microwave and solving homelessness is easier than you think? Neither did we until we made the new issue
Forget boiling your tatties for hours on the hob, wasting precious gas and time. The best way is to zap them in the microwave. Double Michelin-starred chef David Chang (pictured) shares his outrageously good mashed potato recipe (which involves an entire pint of cream), in our feature about why the microwave is having a revival during the cost of living crisis.
Image: Horatio Baltz
Our cover star Mark Rylance opened up about how a decade of Jungian therapy helped him “to change my life”. The long-time Positive News subscriber may be an Oscar-winner and widely regarded as the best actor of his generation, but he admits that despite his success he’s “a very sensitive person”, who began his therapeutic journey because he wanted “to not be so destructive with my life”.
Image: Pål Hansen
How does someone from one of the world’s most recently contacted peoples – the hunter gatherer Waorani tribe in Ecuador – fight back against global oil companies drilling in ancestral territory? Nemonte Nenquimo (main image), the young woman who successfully protected 500,000 acres of primary rainforest using GPS technology, can tell you. She’s one of the Indigenous people winning huge victories for the planet who we profiled in the new issue.
Image: Vlad Hilitanu
The supermodel turned Cambridge graduate turned activist, writer, filmmaker and tech entrepreneur isn’t done yet. She’s had more career changes than you’ve had hot dinners, and there’s more still to come. As she describes what life has taught her so far in our Life Lessons column – from silencing her inner critic to learning to love being a “magical” redhead – she admits that what she dreams of becoming now is a flower grower and florist.
Image: Patricia Imbarus
Gather a group of passionate Scots, add an ambitious dream of rewilding at scale, and stir in a generous dollop of cash raised at the last minute from environmental organisations including the RSPB. We get the behind-the-scenes story on the birth of Scotland’s new Tarras Valley Nature Reserve – an exciting example of what one small community can do, given the chance.
Image: Martin Wright
It’s long been considered an inevitable tragedy of urban life, but cities across the world are using a simple policy to drastically slash the number of people sleeping rough. Now the quietly revolutionary approach is being piloted in cities across Britain – we spoke to those who finally have a bed to call their own.
Illustration: Nathalie Lees
Establishing a wealth cap, giving away chunks of cash and renouncing your ISA isn’t the sort of advice you’ll find most financial advisors dishing out. We heard from Stephanie Brobbey (pictured), founder of a radical new wealth advisory firm that is supporting the superrich to redistribute their loot, aiming to create a more equitable future for all.
Image: Samer Moukarze
Far from being a time to melt quietly into the background, the years post-menopause should be when women are able to live in a manner “more aligned with our passions and longings”, according to ecofeminist author Sharon Blackie (pictured). She describes the beauty and power of the menopause in an interview with nature writer Lucy Jones about her new book celebrating the second half of life.
Image: Mark Griffths
Iraq once led the world in date production, but it lost 30m trees to war – with Iran in the 1980s, and the US-led invasion in 2003. We hear from the man whose ‘adopt-a-date’ initiative is nurturing abandoned palms across the country, returning them once again to abundant harvests, with sponsors receiving a share of the profits.
Image: Nakhla
Wales’ Carneddau plateau, the highest contiguous area of ground in England and Wales with seven peaks about 3,000ft, has been home to a 220-strong herd of ponies since the Iron Age. Left entirely to their own devices over the centuries, they’re now of scientific interest due to their status as a genetically distinct ancient breed. We spoke to the farmer whose family has been protecting them for centuries.
Image: Jim Tan
Main image: Goldman Environmental Prize
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