Guest Thinkers

It’s not Shakespearean. It’s not eloquent. It may not even be meaningful as anything other than today’s shallow distraction. Yet Gibson’s hate-laced phone porn has captured our attention. Is it […]

What does the future look like? We essentially rely on science fiction thrillers to give us a taste of what lies ahead for humanity: Avatar; Iron Man; I, Robot; Surrogates; […]

The number one story that has been dominating the headlines for the past two months is the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama is now dealing with […]

Psychologists and economists have long wondered whether increased wealth does indeed translate into happiness, and now new research indicates that to the (small) extent we are made happier by our […]

Dana Goldstein reports in the Daily Beast that the HHS may require all insurers to cover birth control as part of health reform’s focus preventive care: “Experts expect the Department […]

Robert Reich warns of “coming trade wars” in a recent blog, also carried by Big Think. It is an important contribution in as far as it recognises that a debate […]

Gerald Dworkin at 3 Quarks Daily asks if three Navy Seals in Afghanistan, who were killed as a direct consequence of their decision to spare civilian life, should have acted otherwise.

“We’re in the grip of a cultural panic and we have no idea whether we’re coming or going,” says The Guardian’s Books Blog. The rapidity of current cultural change can be baffling.

A Massachusetts judge has ruled that the federal gay marriage ban, a.k.a. The Defense of Marriage Act, violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Once known for its cool and revolutionary attitude, Apple now appears to have gone soft, using canned emotional appeals to market its iPhone, says The Atlantic’s Niraj Chokshi.

Christopher Hitchens heaps rare praise on The New York Times for its story on tax breaks given to pro-Israeli foundations who oppose a two-state solution, contradicting stated U.S. policy.

Jenny Holzer works in words. Her art flows from the endless river of language that surrounds us. She dips her hands into that river and pulls out a tiny handful […]

Twin blasts ripped through the Ugandan capital of Kampala Sunday while the rest of the world watched Spain claim the World Cup title. A group called al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility […]

“No one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended.” This was English author Philip Pullman’s response (speaking […]

Did you hear the one about the cryonics enthusiast who married the hospice worker? It sounds like the setup for a dark joke, but that’s exactly what Robin Hanson and […]

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman from Tabriz, Iran, whose sentence of execution by stoning was the subject of an international campaign, has received a reprieve from the Iranian Government. Over […]

I rarely watch Meet The Press since Tim Russert died, and even then, I wasn’t all that regular a viewer. David Gregory, Russert’s replacement, may be a smart guy, but […]

“Knowing more than one language is an asset in the global economy. Schools should be helping all students, English learners as well as English-only speakers, expand beyond one tongue.”

The first age-friendly city in the world, New York City is opening a new branch of urban planning: environmental gerontology. The idea is to make cities more accessible to our elders.

Al Jazeera reports on the highly disproportionate allocation of public funds in Jerusalem. Palestinian neighborhoods suffer from lack of infrastructure while Israeli ones do not.

“Money doesn’t buy happiness all on its own purchasing power, but rather happiness comes indirectly from the higher status money provides.” Relative income is what counts, says new research.

Last week, in a history book moment, an airplane was flown straight through a day-night cycle running on nothing – nothing – but the sun’s rays. Imagine the quiet, up […]

As a result of a recently leaked assessment from the UK Treasury the new British Government’s austerity budget will most likely lead to 1.3 million jobs being lost across the […]

Ethan Epstein at True/Slant says that legalizing physician assisted suicide, instead of giving individuals more freedom, would limit individuals’ control by creating a new bureaucracy.

A new Midwest coal plant marketed as a source for cheap, clean energy is expected to raise utility bills and be the largest source of carbon dioxide in a quarter century, says The Chicago Tribune.

I will pay $5 for just about anything, mostly because the five dollar bill is bucking mightily these days to replace the one dollar bill as the lowest acceptable form […]

After Oscar Grant, some are looking to the U.K. as a model for gun-free police forces. Lola Adesioye at The Guardian thinks non-lethal tasers could be the ideal solution.

I interrupt your regularly scheduled crushing negativity for a little effusive praise… I’m very proud to report that my boyfriend, Darcy James Argue, kicked all kinds of ass in  DownBeat’s […]

In two days, To Kill A Mockingbird turns fifty. God bless this book.  For whatever reasons, we still need this books in our lives, on our syllabi; we still need […]

The Jewish community in Britain represents only one-half of one percent of the population, but Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks believes it need not have a commensurate voice in the “human […]