<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">This article is part of </span></i><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Upstream,</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.</span></i></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">***</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.</span></p>
<p><b>Soft-launching sentimental summer </b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Autumn’s got a reputation for being the most nostalgic of the seasons. But sweater weather, crunchy leaves, and hot cocoa can’t hold a pumpkin spice candle to the playful sentimentality of summer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I was teleported to my childhood in Pennsylvania the other day after seeing a lightning bug for the first time in 15 years. (I recently moved from Los Angeles to Nashville. Even though fireflies reportedly exist </span><a href="https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/lightning-bugs-5-things"><span style="font-weight: 400;">west of the Rocky Mountains</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, they’re not as into the bioluminescent thing, so who knows where they are in the dark.) The memory was so vivid, I could almost hear the soft hiss of lawn sprinklers and my Huffy bike chain jangling with every jumped curb. As kids, we also loved decorating smooth rocks from the creek behind my grandparents’ house and “selling” them to neighbors. If only we could have painted them like Junior Mints and McDonald’s hash browns, à la </span><a href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/03/elizabeth-salokas-painted-rocks/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Elizabeth Saloka’s</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> odd-sized-brick art, we could have made a fortune.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Feeling seasonally snacky? This summer’s viral “</span><a href="https://thedotcakes.com/products/asap-dotcups-copy"><span style="font-weight: 400;">dot cake</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">” trend brings “candy caviar” energy with its throwback topping of analog nonpareils. But for lovers of frozen cherries and grapes in warmer weather, </span><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@nytcooking/video/7548162895536835871?_r=1&amp;_t=ZP-96hHROV1unu"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sweet and salty frozen grapes</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> feature a sweet lemon dressing pepped up by chili flakes and salt. Shake everything together in a zip-top bag, freeze, and bank a brand-new summer memory.</span></p>
<p><b>Okay, but is this really the best decade of music?</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="https://www.theamas.com/2026/05/winners-announced-for-the-52nd-american-music-awards/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">52nd American Music Awards</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> happened in Las Vegas on Monday. But before the Artist of the Year trophy went to </span><a href="https://www.billboard.com/lists/2026-amas-winners-list-american-music-awards/genre-neutral-categories-2/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BTS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Man’s Best Friend” won best album, a few industry icons revealed their opinions on “the best decade of music.” Wu-Tang may be “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRtJsvZg6zI"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Forever</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,” but playlists featuring Britney, *NSYNC, Nirvana, and Snoop Dogg make the &#8217;90s the top choice every day of the week. Sorry not sorry, we’re never letting go of our obsession with this decade.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &#8217;80s and early 2000s followed close behind. As early &#8217;90s choreography queen </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wAMI4g2s5hA?t=24&amp;feature=share"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Paula Abdul</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> declared, “The &#8217;80s was great for music, but not fashion and not hairdos.” She obviously has no idea what she’s talking about. Pass the hairspray — these frosted wings aren’t gonna feather themselves over the shoulder pads of my color-block windbreaker. </span></p>
<p><b>Human life in 60 seconds</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just before the neighborhood affair-slash-crime of passion was solved on “20/20,” my delulu Hulu court proceedings were interrupted by an </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Etsy commercial</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> creatively ticking off mile markers of the average human life. I was gently smacked into reality by the emotional swell of handmade crafts. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the ad, we get 7</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">6 summers</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. And most of us probably barely remember the first 20. Pour me a frosé and slather me in Hawaiian Tropic; it’s time to start appreciating the moment!</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zo6GykyjB6Q?si=aJz_l7SZrSPhUwPG" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But there were other calculations to math. How many of us will work the average 12 jobs in a lifetime or experience 10 “fresh starts”? Can you already count more than six best friends, four “best dog friends,” and 15 “great loves” across your closest relationships? There’s something bittersweet about “three broken hearts” and “1,205 firsts.” As each of us gently marches toward our estimated 2.5 billionth heartbeat, fingers crossed, we all land above average on the things that matter most.</span></p>
<p><b>America’s soft spot for cheese</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Doing the Lord’s work, vital research sponsored by </span><a href="https://talkerresearch.com/survey-finds-americans-turning-to-cheese-for-taste-versatility-and-protein/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Undeniably Dairy</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has revealed that 52% of America is “cheese-obsessed.” (FYI, it’s 100% if we’re just surveying my apartment.) And out of all the stinky, melty, crumbly options out there, our national favorite cheese is cheddar, followed by mozzarella and Parmesan.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Clearly training for </span><a href="https://nationaldaycalendar.com/celebrations/national-cheese-day-june-4th"><span style="font-weight: 400;">National Cheese Day</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on June 4, Wyoming, Illinois, and Alaska make up the top three cheese-eating states (even though the top cheese-producing states are </span><a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/cheese-production-by-state"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wisconsin</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, California, and Idaho). And the cheesiest demo is Gen Z. Of course, everyone’s invited to the cheese party, no matter your age or emotional support dairy of choice. But someone please tell me where to sign up for Cheese Survey &#8217;27 because I’m gunning for Gruyère.</span></p>
<p><b>The comic genius of wildlife</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I should confess that I’m a lifetime “America’s Funniest Home Videos” fan. Original host Bob Saget seemed like he could be everyone’s dad, and the corny jokes felt wholesome and perfect for Sunday night TV. Almost four decades into the series, I’d trade all of TikTok for the old VHS footage of </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7X54cJvVUk"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the little boy who was scared of a life-size Eeyore</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Bless his heart, that kid’s probably a grandpa by now.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having recently spent five uninterrupted minutes filming a squirrel hauling a slice of pizza up an electrical pole (follow me for more inspirational cinematography), I was delighted to discover that there’s an actual award for funny wildlife videos. (</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Real </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">ones, not Temu </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UPXUG8q4jKU"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pizza rats</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the comic animal kingdom, it’s just another day in the wild as a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdxD7FMCKzI"><span style="font-weight: 400;">grey heron surfs a hippo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgG0ymK-jCg"><span style="font-weight: 400;">penguin ditches his friends</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> when the water’s too cold, and </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xzsPcilEA"><span style="font-weight: 400;">two lions bro out like synchronized swimmers</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on land. All captured by lucky onlookers.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re wondering why we think it’s hilarious to watch a </span><a href="https://youtu.be/W23u30bhw2g?t=108"><span style="font-weight: 400;">kangaroo</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> scratch its chest like it&#8217;s playing air guitar, founder Tom Sullam says, “This ability that we have to recognize either ourselves in the images, or our friends or loved ones, is why these pictures are so intriguing.” Founded over a decade ago as part of a conservation effort, the 2026 </span><a href="https://www.comedywildlifephoto.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> are open for submissions through June. But the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niBeb0oGsRU"><span style="font-weight: 400;">chipmunk shoving peanuts into its mouth</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> already won my heart.</span></p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">So glad you’re here! I always love reading your comments (you can </span></i><a href="mailto:lbair@dailywire.com"><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">email</span></i></a><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> me too). I hope lighter news like this brings some sunshine to your day! — Lauren </span></i></p>

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The Bright Side: The Viral Wildlife Awards Stealing America’s Heart

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Upstream

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

cheese

comedy wildlife awards

dot cake

elizabeth saloka

etsy

fireflies

Music

summer

sweet and salty frozen grapes

the bright side

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Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


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Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

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Ep. 2738

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U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
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Ep. 2737
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Evening Wire: Lebanon Ceasefire Begins & Murder-Suicide Rocks VA | 4.16.26

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The Bright Side: The Viral Wildlife Awards Stealing America’s Heart