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Changing how we interact with the planet is no small task. Humans are locked into some pretty destructive cycles, from how we grow food to how we dispose of our clothes and old iPhones. When it comes to solving how we can break those cycles we don’t always agree or have all the answers, but one thing we do know is that change needs to come sooner rather than later.

Luckily, there are people far smarter than us working right now to not only make the everyday products in our lives more sustainable, but they are also figuring out how we can redirect where that stuff goes when we don’t need it anymore. That’s where the four women below come in. Each of these forward-thinkers is blazing trails in how we make clothes, how we grow food, and where our trash goes.

This eclectic mix of women will introduce you to new ideas, help you to foster more sustainable communities, and may even find a breakthrough that changes the way we eat. These women might revolutionize our world.

Meet Reham Fagiri:

Reham Fagiri saves furniture and fixtures from landfills. Born and raised in Sudan, Fagiri is the co-founder and CEO of AptDeco, a furniture marketplace across the Northeast (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia Metro) and the San Francisco Bay Area.

This Wharton MBA grad figured out a way to make furniture resale user-friendly, helping people and the planet. “When I was moving, I had some furniture items that I needed to sell in a timely manner,” Fagiri tell us. “I had invested time and money in these pieces. Throwing it out or leaving it behind felt irresponsible and wasteful.”

For Fagiri, the easier furniture resale can become, the easier it will be to divert and upcycle to a new home, office, or any other spot. So she created AptDeco, which handles all the nuts and bolts that come with buying and selling used furniture, including online payments, assembly, pickup, and delivery. Fagiri basically made it easier to upcycle your old furniture than take it to a landfill.

Meet Lauren Gropper:

Lauren Gropper is working towards a solution to our plastic problem with the end goal of eliminating plastic pollution altogether. As the founder and CEO of Repurpose, Gropper is making it easy to replace disposable plastic products with plant-based non-toxic compostable alternatives.

“We believe that sustainability should be convenient,” Gropper tells us. “We are grateful to be part of building a sustainable future for all but there’s still so much to do.” Through Repurpose, Grouper works to help us all make sustainable choices that can easily fit into our daily lives from compostable plant-based wine cups to everyday compostable sandwich bags to toilet paper and tableware.

Meet Christy Dawn:

Christy Dawn has blended sustainable farming with regenerative practices and fashion through her apparel brand of the same name. She is championing the idea of “farm-to-closet” fashion that doesn’t just stop at where clothes are made, but where the fabric is sourced from and grown.

Dawn and her partner, Aras, founded the Farm To Closet initiative to go beyond sustainability and address the connection with ecosystems, communities, and our carbon footprint. “When you support Farm-to-Closet, you are actively joining the Regenerative Revolution,” Dawn exclaims.

Dawn’s company leased 24 acres of depleted land in Erode, India as an experiment to see if they could regenerate the soil and grow cotton while working directly with local farmers and artisans and paying them a (local) living wage. After two years, the 24 acres have successfully drawn down more than 66 tons of carbon from the atmosphere. The soil — that was once chemically-treated, barren land — now supports crops and local wildlife. While it’s only a small step, it’s a step in the right direction and worth following the Christy Dawn story to see where it goes.

Meet Dr. Lisa Dyson:

Dr. Lisa Dyson is a mission-driven scientist and entrepreneur with a passion for creative problem-solving. Founder & CEO of Air Protein, Dyson wants to reinvent how food is produced in order to sustainably feed ten billion people on Earth by 2050. Air Protein makes meat from elements of the air. Yes, you read that correctly. The process uses protein cultures and mixes them with carbon from the air to create a fermentation process that grows protein. This process was first introduced in the late ’60s by NASA scientists who explored a way to feed astronauts on long space journeys.

Dr. Dyson is an unstoppable thought leader in sustainability with degrees from MIT, the University of London, and Brandies in physics and mathematics. Considering farmed protein is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases (fueling climate change), Dr. Dyson turned her attention and knowledge of String Theory and Quantum physics to find a way to make more sustainable proteins from the elements in the air we breathe.

It might sound like Star Trek-level sci-fi but if anyone’s going to crack the code of protein without factory farming, it’s probably going to be someone like Dr. Dyson.

Though it’s been nearly 10 months since noted disaster artist Donald Trump was voted out of the White House and replaced by Joe Biden, the former president seems to have forgotten the “former” part of his title.

Earlier today, as political reporter David Freedlander shared, Trump issued a statement in which he said that “Today, my Envoy Ambassador Ric Grenell visited the Kosovo-Serbia border” in order to assist the two nations with working toward peace.

Grenell, who did in fact previously serve as Trump’s Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations as well as his Acting Director of National Intelligence, also tweeted about his visit to the Kosovo-Serbia border, where he reportedly held a press conference:

And just what did Grenell say at that press conference? According to Politico correspondent Meridith McGraw: “I come because we are frustrated.”

According to Trump’s statement, he’s annoyed because:

“The great people of Serbia and Kosovo have overcome tremendous obstacles in their pursuit of economic normalization. The agreements my administration brokered are historic and should not be abandoned, many lives are at stake.”

What makes all of this so much more bizarre is that, just like Trump, Grenell lost his job when Trump was pushed out of office—and all the benefits and protections that come with it. Yet neither one of them seems to have a problem with openly and very publicly sharing exactly what they’re doing right now, which some people claim is running a shadow government out of Mar-a-Lago.

At a minimum, Trump and Grenell appear to be attempting to conduct foreign policy, which is a clear violation of the Logan Act, which states:

“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”

Whether anything will come of Trump’s gross violation of federal law is anyone’s guess. But if the twice-impeached former president’s history of upending every rule put in place to protect our democracy with no repercussions is any indication, probably not.

Back in September, Lil Nas X shared his long-awaited debut album Montero, and with it came a music video for “That’s What I Want.” The visual sees Lil Nas fall for a teammate on his football team, and while their relationship quickly progresses, the singer soon finds out that his new partner is living a secret life. Lil Nas learns that his lover actually has a wife and a child, and just like anyone would do after a discovery like this, he decided a visit to Maury was absolutely necessary.

On November 17, Lil Nas will appear on the popular show to sort out the love triangle. The news was shared through a dramatic trailer that shows Lil Nas’ shocked reaction to learning that the “love of his life,” Yai Ariza, is living a secret life. As expected, the episode is packed with dramatic moments like Ariza submitting a paternity test to find out if he’s the father of his 4-year-old son. He also offers a ring to Lil Nas, who dramatically runs away, in the brief trailer. Maury, is clearly amused by the dramatic events as he asks, “Is Yai the dad…or will Montero get exactly what he wants?”

Ariza is also the real-life ex-boyfriend of Lil Nas, something the singer spoke about in a previous interview. “We were dating, and we are still on very good terms,” he said during a conversation on SiriusXM. “You know, we may date again I’m sure. I love him, he is amazing.”

You can watch the trailer in the video above and check out the full episode when it airs next Wednesday.

The standoff between the Philadelphia 76ers and Ben Simmons continues, with twists and turns on a near-daily basis. Earlier in November, Philadelphia began fining Simmons again for not meeting with the team’s physicians and for other basketball-related reasons. Then, on Thursday, the next chapter began with statements from Simmons’ agent and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul on Thursday, with Paul sharing with Shams Charania of The Athletic that he believes the Sixers are making things worse for Simmons.

“I truly believe the fines, the targeting, the negative publicity shined on the issue — that’s very unnecessary and has furthered the mental health issues for Ben,” Paul told The Athletic. “Either you help Ben, or come out and say he’s lying. Which one is it?”

While Paul has a clear point of view in representing Simmons, it is certainly notable that he would go as far as to say that the conduct of the team “has furthered the mental health issues” for Simmons. That wasn’t all that Paul said, either, as he continued to share the point of view of the Simmons side, including the assertion that the financial and contractual side should not overtake the mental health of Simmons.

“In this case, we have to get Ben help and not put finances above mental health,” Paul said. “As an agent, I understand contractual obligations and I hold myself accountable in this business. But if someone is telling you something, we can no longer turn a blind eye in today’s world.”

Paul concluded by saying that the situation is “no longer about a trade” and rather that the goal is finding somewhere for Simmons to “get back to his mental strength and get back on the floor.” At this stage, it is unclear what the next step will be on either side, but it doesn’t seem that a resolution, or even a peace accord, will be arriving anytime soon.

Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival unexpectedly turned into a tragedy on Friday night as it left eight people dead and hundreds more injured. Unfortunately, the number of deaths as a result of the incident has increased to nine after a 22-year-old woman who spent the past six days in the ICU passed away as a result of her injuries. Bharti Shahani’s death was confirmed by her family during a press conference on Thursday after previous reports revealed that she was showing no brain activity.

Her mother, Karishma Shahani, broke into tears as she remembered her daughter during the conference. “What happened to my blessing now,” she said. “I want my baby back. I won’t be able to live without her. It’s impossible.” Bharti’s father, Sunny Shahani, added, “Please make sure she gets justice and I don’t want somebody else’s daughter to go like this. It was the wrong day and wrong time for her.” Bharti, who was a student at Texas A&M University, had been on a ventilator since Friday night after her brain was deprived of oxygen and she suffered multiple heart attacks as a result of being crushed in the crowd at Astroworld.

Travis Scott and his team recently issued a statement to the families of Astroworld victims. “Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons,” a press release read. “He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected.”

The message concluded by asking the victim’s families to email [email protected] if they would like to reach out directly to his team.

It’s probably no secret to anyone who has ever watched one of his movies that David Fincher is an unabashed cinephile. His commitment to the craft is evident in every second of every frame he has ever shot, starting right from the opening credits. Which is why so many of the three-time Oscar nominee’s fellow film geeks are anxiously awaiting the debut of Voir, a new docuseries for Netflix by Fincher and filmmaker/frequent collaborator David Prior, which they describe as “a series of visual essays celebrating Cinema and the personal connection we each have to the stories we see on the big screen.”

Told with the help of a half-dozen writers and film critics—including Walter Chaw, Drew McWeeny, Taylor Ramos, Sasha Stone, and Tony Zhou—Voir will go beyond the surface layer of some of the most iconic films ever made to show that movies are much more than just a series of pretty moving pictures. As we’re told in the trailer, “Some of our greatest cinema challenges us to really confront our own hearts in the safety of that darkened theater. That’s part of the purpose of filmmaking.”

Among the more iconic films seen in the trailer are Jaws (of course), Citizen Kane, Easy Rider, The Shining, Bonnie & Clyde, The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Raging Bull, Network, Amadeus, The Karate Kid, Superman: The Movie, Mad Max: Fury Road, Kill Bill, Trading Places, Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Rosemary’s Baby, A Clockwork Orange, Goodfellas, The Conversation, Lawrence of Arabia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Jaws again. All these and more will be part of the discussion about the ways in which cinema becomes a reflection of society and the people who inhabit it, and the power film has to influence entire generations.

For Fincher, Voir is a perfect follow-up to Mank, which was written by Fincher’s father, and told the fascinating story of the many challenges Herman J. Mankiewicz faced in writing the first draft of Citizen Kane—the Holy Grail of movies for film geeks.

Voir will premiere on Netflix on December 6, 2021. You can watch the trailer above.

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One person commented that “music is the language for all beings.” Considering the way Baby Alice (or was it Ginny?) closed her eyes while clearly enjoying Big Lux’s rendition of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, I’d have to agree.

This is not the first private animal concert Big Lux has performed. The army veteran turned violinist was recently featured on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” for serenading beluga whales at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. And oh boy, these belugas seemed happy as clams.

You can check out even more of Big Lux’s music on his website, including a truly gorgeous cover of “Killing Me Softly.” It’s great for both animal and human audiences alike.

After the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival last weekend, where eight people lost their lives and hundreds more were injured, the Houston rapper is struggling to make things right for fans and the families who lost their loved ones. Though he’s already promised to help cover the funeral costs and other expenses for families who are dealing with the unexpected deaths, Scott and his team issued another statement today, providing families who wanted to be connected with a way to do so.

Here’s the full statement, as reported by Complex:

“Over the last week, Travis Scott and his team have been actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons. He is distraught by the situation and desperately wishes to share his condolences and provide aid to them as soon as possible, but wants to remain respectful of each family’s wishes on how they’d best like to be connected. To those families who would like to reach out directly to his team, please send an email to the below address where we will have a team on hand to assist. [email protected].”

One lawsuit has already been filed against Scott for the deaths and injuries at the event, with more likely to follow.

Juice WRLD is one of the rappers who we tragically lost at the age of just 21 due to addiction and overdose in the last few years. The hip-hop community deeply mourned the loss of such an electric talent, and as our own Aaron Williams noted, he left behind the perfect music to cry to, still helping fans cope even with their grief over his own death.

Since his passing in 2019, is mother, Ms. Carmela Wallace, has been keeping his legacy alive with posthumous releases that honor the young artist. In 2020, the first posthumous release, Legends Never Die, became a No. 1 album, and after teasing a trilogy of posthumous EPs, including one called The Party Never Ends, his mother has shared news of another new full-length today called Fighting Demons.

His mother shared a message for fans:

“There was nothing Jarad “Juice WRLD” Higgins enjoyed more than delivering new music to his millions of fans around the world. He left behind an astonishingly deep catalog of music that will ensure his fans will have new songs to listen to for years to come. Jarad was always searingly honest about his struggles and through his musical genius he articulated what was on his heart and mind vividly through his art. He never gave up and his friends and family never gave up on offering their support to him. Today we announce a new album Fighting Demons out Dec 10th. We encourage all of you who struggle with addiction and mental health to never give up the fight. We continue to extend free support to you via LiveFree999.org created in his honor.”

Watch the trailer for the new album above. For context, LiveFree999.org was established after his death to honor the late rapper and help other young people battling with addiction. Fighting Demons is out 12/10 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

Most people wouldn’t take perpetually laidback surfer dude Matthew McConaughey for an anti-vaxxer—including Matthew McConaughey. But when asked about vaccinating his kids against COVID at The New York Times‘s DealBook summit on Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actor responded in a way that made it sound like he wasn’t quite onboard with the idea of letting his kids get jabbed.

While speaking with journalist and Billions co-creator Andrew Ross Sorkin, the topic of mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for kids came up. When Sorkin asked the actor for his opinion on the topic, McConaughey’s response was: “I couldn’t mandate having to vaccinate the younger kids. I still want to find out more information.”

Though he later stated that: “I’m vaccinated. My wife’s vaccinated. I didn’t do it because someone told me I had to. I chose to do it,” McConaughey believes that because of his initial response, many outlets took that quote out of context and ran with it, which led to hundreds of headlines that stated the possible gubernatorial candidate is anti-vaccine—and he was determined to set the record straight. So, as Yahoo! Entertainment reports, late Wednesday night, the Magic Mike star posted a statement to his Instagram story in which he clarified his earlier statement:

“When asked my opinion on the subject of children and vaccination mandates I stated “I couldn’t mandate it for kids just yet.” What was not clear is that I was referring to specifically to the 5-11 year old mandate.

What is NOT true, and insinuated with the clickbait headlines since, is that I am against vaccinating kids at all. This is false. In fact, our eldest 13 year old son Levi is fully vaccinated for COVID 19.

I appreciate the ear and clarity, just keep livin,

McConaughey”

Spoken like a man who has been arrested while playing bongos in the buff.

(Via Yahoo! Entertainment)