Good morning, Hank. It's Tuesday. It's November, there's snow on the ground, which can only mean one thing: it's time for John's annual psychophysical decline.

Hank, as you're always reminding me, I'm just 30 trillion cells trying to maintain homeostasis, which is hard work, and things are going to go wrong all the time. So, I've been battling a bit of ill health alongside the feeling I get every November, which is that if I'm not sad, it's only because I'm so anxious.

Also, the travel has been, is, and will continue to be a little bit non-stop. And while I do feel very fortunate to be able to preach the good news that the world's deadliest infectious disease is curable and preventable, I am, nonetheless... a bit tired.

Now, Hank, I want to be clear. I know this experience is temporary. When you're 30 trillion cells trying to maintain homeostasis, every experience is!

And I know that hope remains the correct response to consciousness. Despair is a lie, even if a very convincing one. And I know that getting up, doing work, engaging in relationships, and so on, is a path to wellness, even if it feels like an obstacle to wellness.

It would be extremely depressing but also a little bit convenient to live in a nihilistic world where nothing matters and you can't improve any of your relationships and you can't improve the world even marginally through helping other people, because, like, then I could stay in bed. But instead there is work to do. Much of which can be done from bed, which right now is fortunate for me.

So, how am I going to try to do good despite gestures broadly, and the weather, and my own tris de vivre? Oh my God, my French pronunciation. Chef's kiss. Or as they say in France, [in a bad French accent], "Chef's kiss."

Right, I'm going to do that work two ways, at least in this video. First, I'm going to remind myself of this.

Hank, as you noted last week, the ribbon has been cut on the completed Maternal Center of Excellence in Sierra Leone, bringing the country its first NICU, over 100 new maternal beds, clean and safe operating suites for emergency C-sections, a blood bank, and so much more. All of which is owned by the Sierra Leonean people through their government.

The MCOE is so much more than a building, Hank. It's also a statement of intent. After six years of fundraising and four years of construction, the long-term open-ended problems of maternal and child mortality in Kono are being met by long-term open-ended support from our community and beyond.

It is my proudest moment in 19 years of making YouTube videos to know that our little corner of the internet has made this possible. Admittedly, with lots of help from lots of other people, but still, I genuinely don't think it would have happened without us.

Secondly, I am going to think about some good work that I can do because I find that energizing. So, Hank, people often ask us what's the best way to support Partners In Health and their ongoing efforts to fight global health inequity, and I think the best way by far is to make a monthly or one-time donation at pih.org or pih.org/hankandjohn if you want to support the Maternal Center of Excellence specifically.

It's also valuable to talk to your friends and family about PIH or about the problem of global health inequity more broadly.

I mean, over a million people die every year from tuberculosis, but almost all of those people could be saved by a drug regimen that costs less than $300. That's bonkers.

Now, it's not always simple to provide someone with the right drug regimen. You need the space, staff, stuff, and systems to provide healthcare and diagnose, treat, and prevent tuberculosis. I'm not saying it's simple. I'm saying it's possible.

But another way you can support Partners In Health and the Coral Reef Alliance is through Good Store, which over the last five years raised about $10 million to fight maternal and child mortality in Sierra Leone.

So here's how Good Store works. We find the world's best stuff and then we give it to you. Well, actually we don't give it to you. That's part of the value proposition.

Then we donate 100% of our profit to charity. This beanie is hot, so I'm taking it off.

So how does it work? Well, we've got amazing holiday gift bundles for you this year. I know it's astonishing, but the holidays are coming, Hank. And it basically breaks down into three categories. If you buy, for instance, socks, like the wonderful mystery sock gift pack that makes a great gift, that goes to the Maternal Center of Excellence. Same thing if you buy the incredible soap or the candles or the bath bombs. Anything Sun Basin Soap–related also goes to the MCOE.

Then with our coffee and tea, both available in gift bundles this year, you can fight tuberculosis.

And lastly, if you buy anything EcoGeek-related, that goes to the Coral Reef Alliance to help protect some of the most vulnerable ecosystems on Earth. EcoGeek's got everything, Hank—from dish soap to laundry sheets to our new dishwasher powder designed in part by Alec from Technology Connections.

Alec is my current favorite YouTuber. He has made himself an expert in the field of dishwashers and also many other fields. And he currently serves as an unpaid intern for EcoGeek and our sock company because he is kind of an angel.

So yeah, get Good Store for the holidays!

So, Hank, let me tell you what happened during the filming of this video. I started out very sad and frustrated, and now I am still sad and frustrated, but I also feel a little hint of something else, because talking to you cheered me up and also I have successfully promoted the great work of Good Store and the amazing people who work there. So thanks! I'm going to call that a win, even if I am about to definitely get back in bed. Hank, I'll see you on Friday.