“A genetically engineered strain of Atlantic salmon that’s designed to grow twice as fast as its unaltered cousins may soon be eligible for dinner.” The FDA may soon approve the food.
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“There are nine states in the union where the government maintains a direct monopoly on the sale of hard liquor.” The Economist reports on these ‘lonely outposts of American socialism’.
“Is the future of TV in social networking?” A Forbes Magazine blog looks at the future of the television, which is online and allows shared viewing and conversations over Facebook and Twitter.
“How dizzyjam.com, muzu.tv and The Vynyl Factory are staging a musical revolution.” The Telegraph reports on three Internet startups that are working to change the music industry.
“Disenchantment is a result of our having over-intellectualized our relations to the world (including nature).” Philosophy professor Akeel Bilgrami advocates a wider view of nature.
Rising jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, whose doctoral thesis was a study of musical cognition and the movement of the body, draws inspiration from past jazz masters as well as the field of physics.
“Happy F*ckin’ Labor Day! Before there were unions, there was no middle class.” Michael Moore tells White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel he ought to defend the UAW.
Politics and economics used to divide Europe into parts East and West, but now North and South better define the continent’s different approaches when it comes to managing money.
Traditionally used for military purposes, falling costs in robotics are pushing the technology into hospitals, offices and the home. The technology redefines what it means to ‘be’ in a place.
All conflict tends towards binarity, be it on the chess board, in the political arena or on the mean streets of Los Angeles. This map shows parts of south LA, […]
Summer is over. Now fall begins. When we think back on this season in this year will we remember the books, the songs, the finals of the U.S. Open (or […]
Plastic bags are still legal in California. San Francisco and a handful of other California cities already ban the bags, but California lawmakers rejected a bill brought by Democrats that […]
Science and democracy are supposed to go together like Mom and apple pie. But in the American political arena, they aren’t naturally compatible: To show people Science, you have to […]
Some time ago, we looked at how designers are rethinking packaging to make it less ecologically demanding and more user-friendly. Now, eBay joins the movement with “simple green shipping” – […]
Monday is here already and although lots of folks in the States have today off (Labor Day), I don’t (from blogging or teaching)! Some news: There is a whole lot […]
“It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property.” Žižek quotes Oscar Wilde to criticize modern ideas of charity.
The New Scientist reports on an old idea, that once out of favor is gaining traction again: the language you speak, while not determining your perceptions, influences your worldview.
“Whenever a prominent scientist [disputes the existence of God], all hell is sure to break loose.” The Economist measures the fallout from physicist Stephen Hawking’s new book.
“Modernity, which centrally entails a weakening of family and clan ties, is a precondition of economic progress.” Judge Richard Posner discusses economic development in poor countries.
As Texas investigates anti-trust claims made against Google, The Wall Street Journal reports on a widening trend of government hostility toward the Internet giant.
“Incarceration in America is a failure by almost any measure. But what if the prisons could be turned inside out, with convicts released into society under constant electronic surveillance?”
“America’s ‘combat mission’ in Iraq may be over, but the combat is not.” The New Yorker on the lives, strategy and moral clarity that has been lost during the occupation of Iraq.
“It is Europe, not the United States, where the West and Islam exist in closest daily proximity.” The CSM reports that skepticism of Islam may be greater in Europe than in the U.S.
“Americans have more to fear from the folly of establishments than from the paranoia such follies summon up.” Ross Douthat says our over-the-top politics represent symbolic protest.
“Class struggle is an unfashionable term in modern America, but with millions jobless or impoverished, it’s relevant as ever.” The Guardian’s Clancy Sigal on class difference in America.
When we think of Sigmund Freud, we think first of words—the “talking cure” of psychoanalysis, books such as The Interpretation of Dreams, and the infamous Freudian slip. In Mirrors of […]
I spend more time than a sane person should wending my way through conservative, liberal and moderate political blogs to keep an eye on the latest groupthink on the web. […]
We have this perception that most cheating that goes on in marriage is among the extremely wealthy. Well, of course we do. When a man in the bottom of the […]
Sustainable underwear line PACT, from designer Yves Behar of One Laptop Per Child fame, has just introduced Creative Growth – a limited-edition collection in partnership with Creative Growth Art Center, […]
Ezra Klein calls our attention in his regular Wonkbook feature—which is a must-read, by the way—to a paper by economists Carmen and Vincent Reinhart looking at how long it takes […]