Today we visit with Smithsonian Under Secretary for Education Monique M. Chism. As America’s institution, the Smithsonian is honored to help lead the commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. To mark this historic milestone, the Smithsonian has launched Our Shared Future: 250, a nationwide initiative featuring all-new exhibitions, programs and events unfolding across all 21 Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo and communities throughout the country. https://www.si.edu/
TODAY'S REASON TO PARTY! (special thanks to ListOfNationalDays.com)
Independence Day
https://www.food.com/recipe/fireworks-flair-cocktail-458315
SURVEYS, STUDIES & SUCH
A new study suggests young people may be doing better than many headlines imply. Researchers followed 1,500 teens and young adults over nearly a decade, asking them to describe the most important event in their lives. More than 83% of the nearly 5,700 memories they shared were positive, including graduations, friendships, travel, sports, celebrations, and personal achievements. The findings challenge the idea that young people’s lives are dominated by crises and struggles. However, participants with higher levels of anxiety and depression were more likely to focus on negative experiences, such as relationship problems or personal setbacks. Researchers say creating more positive experiences may be just as important for mental health as reducing stress and adversity.
BIG SCREEN-LITTLE SCREEN
Keanu Reeves is looking to reteam with director Josh Cooley on the new live-action hybrid “Lego” movie. The role follows Reeves voicing ‘Duke Ka-Boom’ in Toy Story 4, which Cooley also directed. Plot details for the new Lego movie are not available, but Reeves is understood to be in negotiations for the role in the hybrid film.
“The Walking Dead” has given us its fair share of reunions in the past few years: ‘Michonne’ found her way back to ‘Rick’; ‘Daryl’ met up with ‘Carol’ once more; even ‘Negan’ has his mitts on a new ‘Lucille’. And now, The Walking Dead boss Scott M. Gimple isn’t ruling out ‘Rick’ and ‘Daryl’ sharing the same space again. He told Brandon Davis on YouTube there is “Absolutely still a hope.” One stumbling block may involve Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl. At the end of filming the 4th season of the standalone “Daryl Dixon” show, he wrote what reads like a definite farewell to the character.
Fans hoping for a closer look at Tom Cruise’s transformative performance in “Digger” just got a sweet surprise. Warner Bros. has unveiled a glimpse of his collaboration with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu via a montage that explores the highlights of Cruise’s career, including a surprise sneak peek at what might be his most over-the-top performance yet. In the brief teaser of the “comedy of catastrophic proportions,” Cruise’s ‘Digger Rockwell’ attempts to hype himself up to deliver the “hard truth” to a roomful of people. The film follows Digger, “the most powerful man in the world,” as he attempts to prove he is “humanity’s savior” before the disaster he unleashed “destroys everything.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4xhywa9w
DID YA KNOW!?
DID YOU KNOW… There are more than 1 million known insect species. Scientists believe millions more remain undiscovered. Insects make up the largest group of animals on Earth.
JOKE OF THE DAY
(FROM
HEIDI)
SCOOP
OF THE DAY
Researchers have developed a way to turn wet, used coffee grounds into a high-energy fuel in just 90 seconds, without first drying them. Using a superheated flame plasma, the process converts the waste into biochar, a carbon-rich material with an energy value comparable to high-grade anthracite coal. Surprisingly, the water in the coffee grounds helps drive the process. While the technique remains experimental, it could offer a fast, efficient way to recycle millions of tons of coffee waste generated worldwide each year.
Taking a long lunch and clocking in for a few hours after dinner finally has a name: “microshifting”. Working in shorter, more focused bursts throughout the day, instead of adhering to a strict 8-hour schedule is trending, according to the WSJ. The less rigid schedule informally popped up when Covid pushed people to work from home and the temptation of doing laundry while on the clock was too strong. But it has remained popular as employees and managers alike discovered that a nontraditional schedule can reduce burnout, increase productivity, and make a huge difference for workers with caregiving responsibilities. Not everyone can make their own schedule, of course, and the flexibility comes with a lot of trust from your boss. But you don’t have to go full microshift to get the benefits: You can take steps as simple as blocking off time for focus and ignoring busy-work like responding to emails during that time.
THE MOVIE QUOTE OF THE DAY
If you have a favorite quote.... you can send it to us at the bottom of the page at JohnAndHeidiShow.com
“I’m walkin’ here!” — Midnight Cowboy — Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) — 1969
NEWS TO ME
(FROM HEIDI)
FUN
FACT FOR YOU:
Share
this with your friends... they'll think you're really smart!
✓ Jellyfish are not fish. (They have no brain, heart, or bones)
✓ Your tongue is the fastest-healing part of your body.
✓ Your voice tires more quickly from whispering than from speaking in a normal tone.
✓ We really are made of stardust. The calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood come from the ancient explosions of giant stars.
✓ There’s a statue of Jason Voorhees, the “Friday the 13th” serial killer, chained to the bottom of a Minnesota lake.
WEIRD NEWS
Cuba’s ongoing shortages have reached an unexpected place: church communion wafers. Catholic priests there have been instructed to ration the wafers used during Mass because production has slowed dramatically amid the country’s worsening power outages. The wafers are made at a Carmelite monastery in Havana, where nuns sometimes have only a few hours of electricity each day to operate the presses. With fuel shortages causing blackouts that can last more than 24 hours, supplies have become limited. Despite the challenges, worshippers remain hopeful, saying their faith will endure even if communion becomes harder to obtain.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
11% of people say they’ve accidentally committed THIS clothing faux pas for part of a day. What is it?
Answer: Worn a shirt inside out
SOMETHING SPECIAL WITH HEIDI SMALL
(FROM HEIDI)
THE LIST
The Funniest Posts From Women This Week
no i don’t want your man. i’m not even sure why you want your man. — miia (@miiagarro) May 5, 2026
Whenever I hear about a new disease I look it up to see if I have the symptoms, but as soon as I get to “unexplained weight loss” I know I’m safe. — SSGoodGirl (@USSGoodGirl) May 4, 2026
I
keep buying leeks because I have too many potatoes. Then I keep
buying more potatoes because I have too many leeks. It's a
vichyssoise cycle. — Alice Mills (@millsalice144) May 5, 2026
I don’t get why I can’t eat off the kids menu AND order a margarita. I got a tiny tummy & big problems. — Kam (@PatsKam) May 5, 2026
GOOD NEWS
Snapchat CEO and Supermodel Help Erase More Than $500 Million in Medical Debt for Californians. https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news
