In the News
Survey reveals Americans’ hope dwindles for national future but remains strong personally
This article was originally published in BNN. Recent studies show Americans are optimistic about their personal future yet pessimistic about national prospects. Mental health plays a pivotal role. Recent studies have highlighted a growing concern among Americans...
The sweet, sweet life of America’s DINKs
This article was originally published in Business Insider. Couples with two incomes and no kids are living it up like never before Elizabeth Johnson and her husband hit the vacation circuit hard over the past couple of years. They went boating in Florida, hiking in...
This year’s Super Bowl ads will be a nostalgia fest. Here’s why all that nostalgia is actually good for us, according to science
This article was originally published in Inc. One big theme of last year's Super Bowl ads was nostalgia. Whether it was Serena Williams starring in a Caddyshack-inspired ad or John Travolta pitching T-Mobile to a decades-old tune, the...
The art of leveraging nostalgia (and why radio keeps screwing it up)
This article was originally published in Jacob's Media. Did you watch The Grammys the other night? (If you did, you were part of a dwindling group of diehards who still enjoy network award shows.) One of the less obvious aspects of the show was that most of its...
82% of US adults are hopeful about their own future and their community’s future
This article was originally published in Good News Network. The United States has a reputation for being a hopeful nation, and a new survey indicates this optimistic outlook is still as American as apple pie. The results revealed a whopping 82% of Americans are...
How nostalgia can carry us through tough times
This article was originally published in 1A Wamu. “Ah, those were the good old days.” Who hasn’t thought something like this before? These feelings of warmth and longing can be about a time in our personal lives or about an era in history. The feeling...
Power of the past and the (continued) renaissance of nostalgia in marketing
This was originally published in Campaign. Pause. Stop. Rewind. The careful product re-introduction of nostalgia comes in cycles. And now, Golin's APAC president observes that the post-pandemic, economically battered world is again warming up to the comforts of the...
No, I don’t want to know how many burritos I ate this year
This article was originally published in the Washington Post. Ah, December, when inboxes overflow with corporations defining your tastes and habits — your id, your ego, your very soul — from the past 12 months. Strava reminds you that you didn’t meet your jogging goal...
Feeling nostalgic this holiday season? It might help boost your mental health
This article was originally published in the American Psychological Association. For many, the holidays bring back memories of simpler times, along with the carefree feelings of being younger, with fewer of the worries and stress that accompany...
2023: The year of nostalgia
This article was originally published in USA Today. There’s a special magic in the air during the holiday season that, for lack of better words, hurts so good. When the pine tree sales spring up around town and holiday-themed commercials air on TV, a...
There’s a reason why some Christmas songs make you cry
This article was originally published in Business Insider. Christmas is strongly linked to nostalgia, which can lead to powerful emotions. Christmas songs may be written in a certain way to trigger feelings of sadness. Connecting with those negative emotions can have...
6 ways to tap into nostalgia—and why you should
This article was originally published in Time. When people walk into Keri Piehl’s retro toy store in Albuquerque, N.M., their eyes light up. Wooden spinning tops, Yo-Yos, Trolls, rainbow lava lamps, scratch-and-sniff stickers—it’s like time travel, unlocked....
Why nostalgia is good for you
This article was originally published in Next Avenue. As a hospice patient I'm entitled to music therapy. Since I'm more of an audiobooks fan and don't listen to music a whole lot, I couldn't understand how it would help. My nurse, Nicolle, explained that since the...
Strengthen ND partnership to fan flames of hope
This article was originally published in Minot Daily News. FARGO – Strengthen ND has announced a partnership with the Human Flourishing Lab to study and promote hope across North Dakota. “It is a tremendous opportunity to work alongside subject-matter experts and...
The truth is out there: More Americans believe in UFOs
This article was originally published in The Hill. Roughly two-fifths of Americans now believe in UFOs, polls suggest, signaling a resurgence of popular-cultural interest in extraterrestrials possibly buzzing around us. Last week, Congress held an extraordinary...
Why the 90s and Noughties are having such a moment
This article was originally published in BBC. Aqua's Barbie Girl is back on the radio, the Sugababes are packing out festival tents and low-rise jeans are here to stay. Whether it's on your radio, in the shops or at your cinema, you can't escape it. We're talking, of...
Breaking ground in psychology, outside of the academy
This article was originally published in Merion West. “Regulating your own emotions is something most people are capable of doing…It doesn’t require you constantly expressing [a problem], thinking about it, [and] sharing it with everyone…There’s something about not...
How to harness that seductive feeling of nostalgia for good
This article was originally published in Planet Woo. No, nostalgia doesn’t mean you’re stuck in the past. The morning smells like cut grass and sun cream. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but somehow you’re transported back to the last day of school, six weeks...
Why are so many young Americans OK with big brother monitoring their homes?
This article was originally published in Reason Magazine. Children raised in an atmosphere of fear become adults who prioritize security over liberty. The good news is that "only" a minority of younger American adults favor Big Brother-style surveillance of our home...
Is nostalgia actually good for you?
This article was originally published in MPLS St. Paul. Digging deep into the science behind the actually-productive and healthy human condition of being nostalgic. In the spring of 2020, households across the country listened to Elvis Presley and Cyndi Lauper, reread...
Feeling down? Psych experts share how to use nostalgia to feel better
This article was originally published in For Women First. While your grandkids help you make red, white, and blue cupcakes for your family’s Memorial Day barbecue, you’re instantly transported back to when you were a little girl at your grandmother’s side, and her...
People are sharing pics of life 100 years ago, and they might put things in a new perspective
This article was originally published in Bored Panda. Humans are nostalgic creatures. There's simply something magical about traveling back in time to witness the black-and-white (or bronze tinted) world before us. Is it the nostalgia for better, simpler times? Or...
Videos of high school life in decades past stir nostalgia and debate
This article was originally published in NBC News. A grainy video that recently circulated on social media captured a mundane portrait of school life at the turn of the new millennium. Students smile and wave toward the camera as they pass through a hallway of blue...
One feeling can help fix your relationship – but it might be too difficult to try
This article was originally published in Goalcast. When is nostalgia healthy, and when does it become counterproductive or damaging? Memories have a huge role in shaping our lives. They provide a point of reference, as mental snapshots contributing to the story of...
Why re-watching the same TV show is actually good for you
This article was originally published in Her magazine. Whenever life feels a bit much we crave escapism and often turn to our favourite fictional worlds for that comfort. Do you ever find yourself turning to the same show again and again? Netflix is full of gripping...
These nostalgia enthusiasts are living to celebrate the past
This article was originally published in Shondaland. Whether throwing it back to the 1930s or following suit with the ’60s, embracing the fashion, food, and lifestyle of past decades is more than just playing dress-up for some. From evocative scents to decades-old...
Clutter can be good for your mental health
This article was originally published in Shondaland Instead of throwing out your stuff, consider curating it for a serotonin boost. When Michelle Delabrer moved into her house, she filled the space with all the things she loved: a framed photo of the Weasley family...
How TV took us back to beloved fantasy and sci-fi realms this year
This article was originally published on CNN. Editor’s Note: The past year was filled with uncertainty over politics, the economy and the ongoing pandemic. In the face of big changes, people found themselves longing for a different time. CNN’s series “The...
Nostalgia and thinking about the future can be good for you
This article was originally published in Discover Magazine. Research has shown that mental time travel can motivate us, help us cope and even inspire better choices in the present. Do you often find yourself thinking back to the past and reminiscing about different...
Why nostalgia and reminiscing is good for you
This article was originally published in Remento. Life is full of change. And hopefully, it involves personal growth in which we learn lessons that help us become better versions of ourselves. But we also want stability. We want to feel like we know who we are and can...
McDonald’s adult happy meal mayhem shows America’s selfish need for nostalgia right now
This article was originally published in Fortune. “Nostalgia, it’s delicate but potent,” said Mad Men’s Don Draper as he pitched a concept for Kodak slides. In his famous speech that aired in late 2007, just as Wall Street banks were beginning to wobble under the...
An awkward conversation with a friend might just save someone’s life
This article was originally published on KevinMd.com There is something special about that childhood friend. It’s a bond that lasts a lifetime, something we can only experience fully in our formative years. My friend was Richard. We were inseparable in school growing...
When looking back helps us move forward, or how nostalgia can be good
This article was originally published in the Washington Post. More than a dozen studies in recent years have measured the ‘positive’ and ‘restorative power’ of such memories. If the word “nostalgia” only conjures up the idea of wistful looks back, think again, because...
Fear can trigger nostalgia. And that’s a good thing.
This article was originally published in Psychology Today. Growing up in the 1970s, there was a massive collective outpouring of nostalgia for the 1950s. The musical Grease debuted, followed by the movie American Graffiti, which spawned the TV...
The psychology of progress
Benjamin Klutsey talks with Clay Routledge about why we’re not happier and what we can do about it This article was originally published in Discourse Magazine SHARESHARE In this installment of a series on liberalism, Benjamin Klutsey, the director of the Program on...
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