The drive to Bowral in New South Wales takes you through some of Australia's most English countryside. Pastoral hills roll right up to the roadside and finish in grassy verges, flecked with yellow and white wildflowers. Alliums stand sentinel around vibrant lawns. Even the eucalypts are cosplaying as beech and oaks. You might be in Hampshire, if it weren't for the dazzling sun. Just a few roads from the high street storefronts full of fancy cookware and country casuals is the Bradman Oval.
On TikTok, creator @madelinemariejg said, "Something we need to bring back as a society is having people over to your house." And it doesn't necessarily mean hosting a major party or fancy dinner, either. Instead, the vibe for the new year is all about "inviting people over for tea, for coffee, for lunch," she said, and not making a big deal about it.
Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy (2023) warned of an epidemic of loneliness and isolation that can undermine our emotional and physical health, and the World Health Organization (2025) reported a worldwide rise in anxiety and depression. As educator Kim Samuel has found, we need community, a sense of belonging, in order to feel safe and secure (2022). Throughout history, people have lived in small groups, as hunter-gatherers, then in small towns and communities.
When Mike Moretti opened "The Art of Picture Framing", a friend of his, who owned a demolition business and just finished a job, approached him and asked if he wanted a pinball machine for his breakroom. "I was like, 'oh man, no, they're really heavy,'" Moretti said. "My crew just needs to focus on getting work done." Moretti would later hire his friend's son, and when his friend, John, passed away a few years later, Moretti was again asked about the pinball machine.
Since coming to England from Ethiopia eight years ago, I've lost parts of my cultural identity. I was stuck in a monotonous, isolated routine studying for a biochemistry degree at Imperial College London, without the family-centred lifestyle I was used to. Back in Ethiopia, I'd be surrounded by my aunt, grandparents, friends. So this year, I took 12 months out and moved to my uncle's house in Leeds. The change helped me try new things, like cycling:
As the year draws to a close, photographs offer us a way to look back at the moments that defined the year. This collection brings together images made by NPR photojournalists working in communities across the country, photographers who are documenting moments both consequential and quietly human throughout the year. These images don't just cover the year's biggest headlines, though, they linger on scenes, sometimes not widely known, that stayed with the people behind the cameras.
WOODstack and Adidas launched the Blood, Sweat & Tears Adistar Control 5 and hosted an event that highlighted the true grit, hustle, and community behind WOODstack's rise. WOODstack started in Brooklyn as a single, family-run storefront and grew into a multi-location retailer that supports community, culture, and New York's next generation of entrepreneurs. WOODstack builds on principles of hard work, family legacy, and service, and serves as a trusted destination for emerging talent, local creators, and New Yorkers who seek authenticity.
Pavilions are architecture's fast, experimental structures that test ideas long before they scale up to cities. This year's highlights push that spirit further, blurring the lines between sculpture, shelter, ritual space, and ecological device. From bamboo vaults rising in flood-prone villages to inflatable dream temples, from wind-driven feather structures on remote islands to LEGO-built playscapes in London, the pavilion becomes a tool for storytelling.
I was about to round up a dozen kids for cake when my daughter asked, "Can we wait a few more minutes? He's not here yet." She was talking about the owner of our favorite local shop - the one with handmade cards, chocolate chip cookies, and an ink stamp at the checkout counter she was allowed to use. My child had insisted on inviting him to her seventh birthday party.
"Life is a bit like sitting on a sofa," says Rory Guinness, chair of the Iveagh Trust. He's joking - riffing off the Friends-style photo we've arranged, that has him and his daughter, Aoife, seated alongside Iveagh Trust tenant Leonie Crowley, and employees including John Barrett and Martin O'Keeffe.
Nestled in the heart of Logan Square, Daisies is an all-day gathering place designed to move with its patrons. From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the cafe hums with remote workers and early risers sipping coffee and savoring pastries. Come 5 p.m., the lights dim, the menu shifts, and the space transforms. Laptops are swapped for phones snapping photos of dinner - because the phone always eats first. Mugs become wine glasses, pastries become pasta, and the energy shifts from soft chatter to lively banter.
On this Thursday night, that is distant history. As fog rolls in over the Venice Pier, Sarah skates alongside dozens of women on the coastal path. They belt out the lyrics to "Hey Jude" as singer Chloe Kat serenades them with a guitar in hand. Curious fishermen eye them, their fishing lines cast into the black ocean. But they pay no attention. Twirling under the moonlight, the women resemble a witch's coven - their spells are good vibes, California weather and the boards beneath their feet.
What Chen could not yet know was that this pursuit of simplicity would kick off a decade-long journey that stretched far beyond windows. It would draw in designers from across continents, ambassadors who believed in beauty as connection, and a community of creators bonded not by geography but by a shared desire to design with care. TWOPAGES would become a space where creativity became communal.
When I was relocating to Sydney in September, I chose to make a home in Bondi Beach because of its sunny disposition.
Grief can make some people hole up indoors. But in Northampton, Massachusetts a walking bereavement group gathers outside once a week on warm days and chilly ones. Most join the group after a spouse has died, but some are there to remember a sibling, a parent or a child. Maureen Cahillane, 91, walked with a cane around a local park with about two dozen other people.
Today's buyers aren't just looking for a house they're looking for a sense of community, said Chris Lim, REMAX's chief growth officer. It's the job of real estate professionals to help prospective buyers find homes and neighborhoods that meet their financial needs while also supporting the way they want to live. Economic uncertainty and rising housing costs remained the top barriers among respondents. About three-quarters (78%) said more affordable home prices would prompt them to buy within six months.
Just over a month after a Waymo autonomous car hit and killed KitKat, the beloved Mission bodega cat, Randa's Market welcomed a new feline to its store late last week: Coco, a six-month-old white kitty with blue eyes, who is already winning over dozens of customers daily. "There won't be another KitKat, but she's bringing a spark back to the neighborhood," said a man named AJ as he left the 16th and Valencia store after petting Coco on his way out.
Living in a place where it's cold and dark for several months at a time can take a toll on even the toughest person. During Alaska winters, I'd go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. Summers bring almost 24 hours of daylight, but that doesn't necessarily mean sunshine, as Alaskan summers can also be quite rainy. The light made sleep extremely difficult, too.
