Molly’s Epic Adventure
The best kids’ shows don’t just celebrate lone heroes—they build communities. In Molly of Denali’s new five-episode miniseries, Molly’s Epic Adventure, (which began airing on PBS Kids on November 3), that means learning with (and from) elders, cousins, friends, and new mentors as Molly and her Grandpa Nat travel from Alaska to New Jersey, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico, and Hawaiʻi.
It's the kind of storytelling Native American Heritage Month was made for—a show that highlights Indigenous communities not as historical footnotes, but as living cultures with something to teach all of us.
What makes Molly work isn't just that it centers an Alaska Native girl—it's that viewers are immersed in her whole world. Through her family and community, kids learn by listening to stories and Indigenous wisdom, and by seeing how the tribes themselves honor the history and legacy of their people.
Social Media and Mental Health
I was overseas when the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict erupted into a brutal October wave. Each morning, away from my community in Seattle, I awoke hours before my family to scroll through an avalanche of social media. Post after post of opinions, rage, graphic images, and downright horror. Information was moving torrentially and shared with similar speed, third-party posters having no time to look into the validity, sources, or evidence of what they were sharing. Major news outlets were moving too fast and making huge errors in the process, and journalists covering disinformation, such as Shayan Sardarizadeh for the BBC, have since been doing the rounds on viral posts containing false claims, conspiracy theories, and hateful content about the war.
Reflections for a New Year
As Jews enter the first of the high holidays of Judaism, Rosh Hashanah, many prepare for the 10 Days of Repentance, or, Asseret Yemei HaTeshuvah. During these 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews reflect, atone, and practice teshuvah.
“The Hebrew term teshuva is a derivation of the Hebrew root for returning,” writes Samuel J. Levine, “highlighting the purpose and dynamics of a process through which humans are able to renounce and repair the improper actions that have led them astray, thereby returning to God and to their own true selves.”
Teshuvah is a comprehensive practice, not a general or vague quest for forgiveness from another. While I have certainly received a phone call in my past consisting of, “Hey, if I happened to harm you this past year, sorry about it!”, teshuvah is actually a full process of accountability. It calls for responsibility and commitment to change. To me, it is the work of transformative justice.