The Progress Network

We are currently living in a time filled with negativity. With constant exposure to grim news and the challenges of a post-COVID world, it’s easy to feel like we are on the brink of disaster. The narrative of chaos and failure is well-supported by information that’s widely available, and it doesn’t take much to find evidence for this viewpoint. However, what if that narrative isn’t the whole truth? There are equally valid ideas and evidence that suggest a more hopeful outcome, though they often go unheard. The Progress Network seeks to elevate and share these optimistic perspectives, offering a vision for a stable and sustainable future. Our contributors come from various sectors, including business, technology, journalism, and politics, but they all share a common belief: that human creativity and our ability to work together for the greater good are ultimately stronger than the negative forces at play.

International

English

Non-profit

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#2336527

United States

#648871

News and Media

#14842

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Buried by a Volcano, Read by AI

1 week ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. About 2,000 years ago, the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus sat down to record his thoughts on a group of vices that are no less pertinent today: flattery, arrogance, greed, and slander. These musings eventually became a multi-volume set of at least ten books together referred to as On Vices.
The Electric Bus Revolution

2 weeks ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. There is nothing like experiencing climate solutions firsthand to convince you that the transition is worth it. I’m currently spending a few months in the Netherlands, one of the European leaders for bus electrification. Here, along with Finland and Iceland, all new urban buses are electric.
Is Donald Trump Serious About a Third Term?

1 month ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. Dear WCGR? readers: Today we are republishing a piece from our friends at The Dispatch, by senior editor Michael Warren, previously a reporter for CNN. Is Donald Trump serious about running for a third term? Trump himself may not even know.
What Could Go Right? - Ghost Gun Kits Will Still Be Regulated—for Now

1 month ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. Last week, the Supreme Court found a gun regulation they could get behind: a Biden-era rule that subjected ghost gun kits to the same purchasing requirements as ordinary firearms, such as a serial number, background check, age verification, and sales tracking. The 7-2 decision in Bondi v.
Ordinary People Rescue Democracy

1 month ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. What does a country whose descent into illiberalism was brought to a standstill by ordinary people look like on the other side? Over a year ago, Polish voters wrested control of their country away from the Law and Justice (PiS) party that had been elected in 2015.
Four Cents Closer to Parity

2 months ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. In the past two decades, the gender pay gap in the United States has narrowed by four cents. New data from the Pew Research Center shows that in 2024, women earned an average of 85 cents for every dollar that men earned. In 2003, it was 81 cents. Four cents over 20 years sounds unimpressive, I know, but society-wide changes take time.
Justice, One Kit at a Time

2 months ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. The gist:The backlog of untested rape kits in the United States used to number over 200,000, leaving many victims without justice and allowing rapists to commit multiple offenses without being caught. Since 2016, the backlog has been slashed in half, and every state except one has passed some kind of rape kit reform law.
Lifejackets, Not Tobacco Enemas

2 months ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. What is the leading cause of death for children ages 1–4 in the United States? Drowning. That might sound scary, but in some ways it is a testament to just how safe growing up in the US is. Very few American children die of the top five global killers.
Operation Thunder

2 months ago | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. Seahorses hidden in snack boxes. Turtles stuffed into luggage. A polar bear carcass, tiger cubs, and thousands of rare, blue-tongued lizards. All of this and more has been found at various points in the history of Operation Thunder, a global crackdown of the illegal wildlife trade.
What Could Go Right?

Feb 13, 2025 | theprogressnetwork.org | Emma Varvaloucas

This is our weekly newsletter, What Could Go Right? Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Thursday at 5am ET. You can read past issues here. An asteroid the size of the Arc de Triomphe has just over a 2 percent chance of crashing into Earth on December 22, 2032. It wouldn’t end life as we know it, but it could destroy a city. Meet asteroid 2024 YR4, a space rock that could release eight megatons of energy—more than 500 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb—on impact.