{"id":4013,"date":"2026-02-01T10:58:55","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T10:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/?p=4013"},"modified":"2026-02-01T10:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T10:58:55","slug":"goodnews-february-2026-good-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/2026\/02\/01\/goodnews-february-2026-good-to-read\/","title":{"rendered":"goodnews february 2026 \u2013 good to read"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div><\/div>

What Would You Do Alone in a Cage with Nothing but cocaine? A Philosophy of Addiction<\/h3>\t\t\t

Hanna Pickard<\/strong>
\nWhy do people with addiction use drugs self-destructively? Why don’t they quit out of self-concern? Why does the rat in the experiment, alone in a cage, press the lever again and again for cocaine to the point of death? In this pathbreaking book, Hanna Pickard proposes a new paradigm for understanding the puzzle of addiction. For too long, our thinking has been hostage to a false dichotomy: either addiction is a brain disease, or it is a moral failing. Pickard argues that it is neither, and that both models stifle addiction research and fail people who need help.
\nUniversity<\/strong> Presses<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div><\/div>

The Fern Pharmacy. Indigenous Widom & ModernPharmacology<\/h3>\t\t\t

Robert Dale Rogers<\/strong>
\nExplores more than 500 species of ferns, alongside full-color photos; examines the Indigenous and folk uses of ferns for food and medicine throughout history; explains in detail the scientific research behind the potency of fern chemicals to heal many human conditions. Used for millennia by Indigenous people for food and medicine, ferns are now being recognized scientifically for their unique medicinal potential against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and liver, kidney, and respiratory conditions.
\nBear & Company<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Plant Power. Heal Yourself with Medicinal Mushrooms, Roots, Flowers, and Herbs<\/h3>\t\t\t

Wouter Bijdendijk<\/strong>
\nMichelin star chef Joris Bijdendijk provides two delicious vegetarian recipes for each major plant, offering culinary delights to help you easily incorporate the medicinal powers of these plants in your life. A journey through the deep and ancient roots of plant knowledge, from folk uses to mystical properties to the vital role of plants in human evolution, this book shows you how to harness the natural power of plants to revitalize your body, integrate your spirit, and empower your life.
\nHealing Arts Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Portals to a New Reality: Five Experiments to Unlock the Future of Physics<\/h3>\t\t\t

Vlatko Vedral<\/strong>
\nFor the last century, physics has been following the paths set out by the same two theories-quantum mechanics and general relativity. Despite these great theories being fundamentally in conflict, most scientists are simply chasing decimal points in laboratories. To give the deeper explanation of reality we seek, we need new ways to explore and critique our best ideas of the universe on the smallest and largest scales. As Vlatko Vedral argues in Portals to a New Reality, this suggests we are on the brink of a new revolution.
\nPenguin<\/strong> Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/div><\/div>

Traversal<\/h3>\t\t\t

Maria Popova<\/strong>
\nBy turns epic and intimate-as concerned with the physical laws binding atoms into molecules as with the psychic forces binding us to each other-Traversal explores the universe between cells and souls to reveal the world, and our lives, in a dazzling new light. In Traversal, Maria Popova traverses the border between life and death, chance and choice,\u00a0chemistry and consciousness: What makes a body a person? What makes a planet a world? How do we safeguard our love of truth from our lust for power? What slakes our longings and what redeems our losses?
\nFarrar, Strauss and Giroux<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hanna Pickard Why do people with addiction use drugs self-destructively? Why don’t they quit out of self-concern? Why does the rat in the experiment, alone in a cage, press the lever again and again for cocaine to the point of death? In this pathbreaking book, Hanna Pickard proposes a new paradigm for understanding the puzzleContinue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4013"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4029,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4013\/revisions\/4029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaiamedia.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}