Astronauts seeing Earth from space experience a mix of awe and interconnectedness that reduces anxiety and increases well-being. Astronaut Edgar Mitchell called it an "explosion of awareness." This Forbes article explains how to get this "overview effect" without leaving Earth. The key is seeking experiences that make you feel small against something vast: stand on high viewpoints, stargaze away from city lights, step back to find meaning, and find a way to "trust the process." — MF

I recommend you watch the Oscar-winning film Emilia Perez without knowing too much about it. Don’t read up. The less you know ahead of time, the better. I can say that it’s in Spanish with subtitles, a crime melodrama with feel-good vibes, plus it is a French musical (!), and you won’t guess what happens next. Not in a weird, spooky, absurd way, but in a plausibly surprising way. It is now streaming on Netflix. — KK

I use an OXO POP Container (1.7 Qt) to store coffee beans. It has a push-button mechanism to create an airtight seal. It's dishwasher safe, including the lid. Just don't drop it — the BPA-free plastic can crack. — MF

These affirmations support growth at every stage of life, starting with the prenatal, and are designed to be used across your entire lifespan. Many of these messages were not expressed to me as a child, but I am using them now as a way to "reparent" myself. You can speak them to yourself, write them down and carry them with you, or express them through the way you speak, touch, and interact with the people you love, especially when they need support. The one I’m working on right now is: “You can say your hellos and goodbyes to people, roles, dreams, and decisions.” — CD

The compact EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter has 5 USB ports (3 USB-C, 2 USB-A) and plug configurations for US/EU/UK/AUS. Its LED power indicator lets you know it's working. Just remember it's not a voltage converter — your devices need to be dual-voltage compatible. — MF

One of the crazier projects funded by the US government was a plan in 1957 to build a 4,000-ton spaceship powered by exploding nuclear bombs. A small group of scientists aimed to reach Mars by 1965 in Project Orion, long before the dream of NASA’s Apollo. One of those working on the project was physicist Freeman Dyson. His son George Dyson interviewed his father and all remaining participants, and got thousands of declassified documents to tell the whole astounding story in a remarkable book, Project Orion. Published to little fanfare in 2002, Dyson has re-released a self-published expanded version (2025) with new material, new documents and illustrations, full citations of his sources, all material that the original publisher excluded. This strange story has lessons for attempting (and funding) hairy, audacious seemingly impossible projects. It’s great historical storytelling, too. – KK

I’m often very unimpressed with my Netflix algorithm, but these Netflix Codes have helped me discover new and surprising content. It’s useful, if you can overlook all the unsightly ads. — CD

This web tool instantly shows how a word translates across about 30 European languages, displayed on a color-coded map. Type in English words like "cat" or "thank you" and the translations appear in their geographic locations. The color codes show linguistic families like Romance and Slavic languages. Proszę bardzo! — MF

If you’re considering psychedelic therapy, I recommend starting with Althea’s Psychedelic Preparedness Scale, a three-minute quiz that helps assess your readiness by evaluating mental health stability, intentions, knowledge, support systems, and coping skills. Developed in a clinical trial at University College London, the quiz identifies areas needing improvement to ensure a safer and more meaningful experience. Althea, a Public Benefit Corporation based in Oregon and Colorado, connects individuals with licensed facilitators for legal psychedelic therapy, aiming to make these transformative experiences more accessible and stigma-free. — CD

China is vast, nearly a continent to itself with highly diverse ethnic cultures. It has become an easy place to travel, with 28,000 miles (45,000 km) of high speed trains, and cheap domestic flights. My guide to traveling to the most interesting places in China is an English-speaking YouTuber, Yan, who calls herself Little Chinese Everywhere. Yan records her explorations of her own country, usually to offbeat, little-visited places, far from crowds, but extremely enjoyable. She specializes in the border areas of China where it mixes minority cultures (Tibetan, Mongolian, Uyghur, Vietnamese, etc.). Her channel is perfect armchair travel because she captures a very unromantic view of China, taking buses, renting motor scooter, staying at expensive hostels, interviewing shop keepers. This is the real China, and if you wanted to get a sense of what the everyday country is like, watch her channel. Better yet, visit it. — KK

I noticed several professional electricians using this thing: The Klein Non-Contact Voltage Tester is a small magic wand that beeps when it detects a live current in a wire, or a switch or a cable or anything electronic. The cool thing is that you don’t need to bare the wire or contact, you just wave this near the wire. That is both much safer and way quicker. It can detect voltages between 12 and 1,000 which will be enough for most uses. For me it has replaced several devices in my toolbox I used to use to detect a live current. — KK

Things.in is useful for creating a travel guide and a curated list of the top sights, restaurants, and places to stay in a city. I’m currently planning a trip to London and feeling overwhelmed by all the history and important sights to see. This tool is helpful in narrowing down my itinerary. — CD

I discovered a delightful five-minute word puzzle game called Bracket City. The gameplay is simple — you just start typing words to solve crossword-like clues in brackets that are nested within other clues. What makes it addictive is how the clues build on each other, with each solution revealing new parts of connected puzzles. Here's the tutorial example: [where [opposite of clean] dishes pile up] or [exercise in a [game played with a cue ball]]. You can peek at the first letter of any clue if you're stuck. I’ll bet the NY Times will end up buying it. — MF

Like the Grand Canyon, or the Pyramids, I believe Burning Man is something you should experience at least once in your life, no matter who you are. This year is a good time to go, because it is no longer cool and you can easily get tickets. It is still a spectacle of art and creativity, a wonder of urban design, a singular example of a miraculous gift economy, and the best bicycle city on Earth. The cliches about it are all true, yet it will astonish you. I will make this guarantee: If you have never been to Burning Man, and you go this year and are bored, I will personally refund your ticket price. The festival erupts north of Reno, Nevada from August 24 to September 1, 2025 and the easiest way to attend it is in an RV. — KK

I still regularly create AI imagery of my dreams using Midjourney, and I recently discovered Whisk, a Google lab tool for blending different visual elements into something entirely new. I just drag and drop the images, and I’m able to merge styles, subjects, and scenes. I can provide some visual guidance with text, but you don’t need to be an expert at writing prompts to have fun with it. It feels like a playground for creative visualization. — CD

I created a searchable archive of every product we've recommended in Recomendo and our other newsletters since 2020. The database includes thousands of items (with photos) that you can filter by category, date, or keyword. Want to see all the knives we've reviewed? Just type "knife" in the search field. This makes it easy to browse our entire review history or find specific recommendations. The site is ready to explore, though I'm open to suggestions for improvements. — MF

I was in Segovia, Spain recently and used my iPhone to take a photo of a painting at the cathedral that interested me. There was no signage next to the painting. Later, when browsing through my shots, I noticed an unfamiliar option when I tapped the "info" button — "Look Up Artwork." One tap and I had the painting's name, artist, date, current location, and link to Wikipedia. This feature works retroactively on all art photos in my library. — MF

This article offers advice on "How to see the humanity in anyone" by replacing certainty about what we think we know about other people with curiosity about what we don’t yet know. The author, Scott Shigeoka, suggests using techniques like individuating people by focusing on their unique preferences rather than group identities, which he calls the “Garden Salad” effect. I found that the most crucial advice for cultivating deep curiosity is to value the dignity of every person, which simply means acknowledging their inherent worth and choosing connection over judgment. Definitely worth a read, but if you prefer video, here’s a link to his TED talk: "Can curiosity heal division?" — CD

Over the years we have accumulated a variety of can openers. The one we always reach for is the Oxo Good Grip Smooth Edge Can Opener. It has a fat easy-to-grasp handle. It is one of those can openers that slices off the top of the lid from the outside, rather than from inside of the top of the lid. This way when you lift the lid off, there are no sharp edges. It is also the easiest can opener to use, taking the least effort to spin. However, it is now hard to find because Oxo discontinued it. The Kuhn Rikon Safety Can Opener is a decent alternative with a similar approach. It is not quite as ergonomic, but still better than the traditional style. — KK

LibriVox.org is an amazing resource offering 40 thousand free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers. The audio quality and reader performance varies but is usually quite good. Some classics, like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, have multiple versions to choose from, so listen to short snippets and choose your favorite. The LibriVox app makes it easy to download and listen on your phone. All recordings are public domain, so you can freely share and remix them. The volunteer-powered nature of the project means it keeps growing, with new audiobooks added regularly. I recommend Wired Love — an 1879 novel about telegraph operators falling in love before they meet that feels surprisingly modern in the age of texting and online dating. — MF