The Optimist: A one-way ticket. A cash-stuffed teddy bear. A dream decades in the making.

A man fell off his bike in the woods and needed lifesaving surgery. An ER doctor happened to be cycling by. ; Police posted a photo of a man they say stole diapers from Walmart. Strangers across the country came to his defense. ; Latinos across the country are embracing their power in a shifting America; She landed a job most dancers would kill for. Then she made an unthinkable pivot.; A scientific hunch. Then silence. Until the world needed a lifesaving vaccine.; From novelist to climate crusader: How one woman is working to put a stop to natural gas; Playwright Sarah Ruhl lost a vital part of her self, but her story is one of acceptance and hope; Locals are working to restore coral reefs in beloved travel destinations. You can help.; Serendipity and foresight prepared the world to fight the coronavirus ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Stories that inspire.     (Rachel Wisniewski for The Post) A one-way ticket. A cash-stuffed teddy bear. A dream decades in the making. Katalin Kariko, whose work on messenger RNA now undergirds lifesaving coronavirus vaccines, has lived out awe-inspiring ideas, careful experiments, unnoticed successes and the repeated sting of rejection. By Carolyn Y. Johnson ●  Read more »   A man fell off his bike in the woods and needed lifesaving surgery. An ER doctor happened to be cycling by. "I'm obviously extremely fortunate," said Todd Van Guilder, who needed emergency surgery on the trail. "What are the odds?" By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   Police posted a photo of a man they say stole diapers from Walmart. Strangers across the country came to his defense. "I will pay for these items as long as you leave this man alone," a teenager responded on the Facebook post. By Cathy Free ●  Read more »   Latinos across the country are embracing their power in a shifting America We eat different foods and wave different flags. We span the spectrum of skin color and religious beliefs. Some of us are immigrants, while some of us have ancestors who were indigenous to this land and never left. Perspective ●  By Silvia Foster-Frau and Rachel Hatzipanagos ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app   She landed a job most dancers would kill for. Then she made an unthinkable pivot. "The pandemic sped up the process," Baltimore native Jessica Pinkett says of her decision to leave Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to become a filmmaker. By Sarah L. Kaufman ●  Read more »   A scientific hunch. Then silence. Until the world needed a lifesaving vaccine. Drew Weissman has "made hugs and closeness possible again." It didn't happen overnight. By Carolyn Y. Johnson ●  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   From novelist to climate crusader: How one woman is working to put a stop to natural gas Audrey Schulman is not an engineer or a scientist. But her work could eventually reshape how Massachusetts and other states get energy. By Tik Root ●  Read more »   Playwright Sarah Ruhl lost a vital part of her self, but her story is one of acceptance and hope In "Smile: The Story of a Face," the prizewinning writer shares the powerful tale of her struggle with Bell's Palsy. Review ●  By Heidi Moss Erickson ●  Read more »   Locals are working to restore coral reefs in beloved travel destinations. You can help. Travelers can do their part to help save coral reefs — from home now, and in future travels. By Sunny Fitzgerald ●  Read more »   Serendipity and foresight prepared the world to fight the coronavirus Barney Graham prepared the world for this pandemic, and the scientists he mentored will prepare us for the next one. By Carolyn Y. Johnson ●  Read more »     We think you'll like this newsletter Check out About US for candid conversations about identity in America — from racial injustices to political movements — in your inbox Tuesdays and Fridays. Sign up »

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