Guest Thinkers

There was a time, in the now dim and distant past, when Israeli Commando actions were often heralded as brave and awe inspiring. Take for instance the no nonsense approach […]

“‘Democracy’ in the abstract misleads us. Living in a democracy—and it is lived experience that must be our theme—becomes a different thing in each generation,” begins Kenneth Minogue.

THERE is an exhibit more ghastly and gruesome than the tatty stuffed Alsatian dog, awarded the Gustav Husak medal for sinking its teeth into a record number of attempted defectors […]

Should humans harmonize with nature of seek to manipulate and master it? These two polar views of man’s role on earth could determine whether we survive climate change, says Tikkun.

Barry Estabrook says the common knowledge that locally grown food is the most sustainable form of agriculture is incomplete and should allow for regional distribution networks.

Ross Douthat asks why adoption is so difficult while going to a fertility clinic is so easy, especially when children of anonymous sperm donors often have deep psychological dilemmas.

Evolutionary biology may explain differences in mortality risks between genders, says Daniel Kruger at the University of Michigan; men take more risks to attract a mate, i.e. to have sex.

A good analysis of the coming newspaper paywalls was recently written in The Financial Times by John Gapper. The London Times and The New York Times have announced their intention […]

High fructose corn syrup, sedentary lifestyles, endocrine disrupting chemical BPA in our plastic water bottles… we’re already up against enough hurdles when it comes to combating the diabetes epidemic. But […]

A new pill which a German pharmaceutical company will soon present to the FDA for approval raises medical and safety concerns since it claims to boost women’s libidos.

“Retirement, like other post-industrial inventions like electricity or television, has become a luxury we’ve come to expect and rely upon,” says the Economist, but it hasn’t always been this way.

The British Petroleum rig spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico pales in comparison to amount of oil spilled annually in Nigeria, a reminder of the double standard when it comes to poor countries.

Nancy Cohen at the L.A. Times says the traditional terms “pro-choice” and “pro-life” are too simplistic to have a constructive debate over abortion; she calls for more nuanced language.

Robert Fisk in an institution, a warrior and a stalwart of old media. While writing for an English daily newspaper, The Independent, he spent over three decades reporting on the […]

“If Americans were to learn of wartime inequalities, the public would become more circumspect about future military action,” writes Douglas Kriner after studying class inequalities in the army.

“The priest, like every human being, needs to love and be loved,” say twelve Italian women who have written the Pope urging that priests be allowed to have intimate relationships.

Newspapers may be dying, but the news business is not. The paper part of the business—the physical newspaper itself—is doomed. It no longer makes any sense to print and distribute […]

A few weeks ago, we looked at how designers were revolutionizing sight for the vision-impaired. Today, we focus on another kind of sensory disability — can design make deaf people […]

The chief rabbi of a West Bank settlement decreed that women are ineligible to run for municipal office because women should only be heard through their husbands: The chief rabbi […]

What is it about Foxconn, the factory in China which makes most of Apple’s devices and has already shed thousands of its workers, that is driving so many of them to suicide?

I was on Tybee Island earlier this week, sitting in my usual spot on the 17th street crosswalk just after dawn, when a young man carrying an ocean going kayak […]

Valuable climate change data collected every day by military satellites remains classified diminishing global health and security, writes Daniel Baker for the New York Times.

It’s nuclear-armed and seems increasingly unstable yet we lack a contingency plan for a sudden collapse of the North Korean regime, warns The Economist.

This could be an ideal time for creatures touched by the Gulf spill to pick up yoga and/or meditation. Here’s why. Consider the iguana. When iguanas get stressed out about […]

Do men have the right to choose? After being divorced and sued for child support, one man testifies that he and his ex-wife had agreed to get an abortion if she became pregnant.

Energy producers who met with skyrocketing food prices and international protests while using food crops to create large quantities of biofuels are now eyeing inedible waste.

“China, Russia and the U.S., as permanent members of the security council, are holding themselves above the law,” says Amnesty International in a new report.

In March, Sunlight Labs announced Design for America — a 10-week design and data visualization contest aiming to connect the creative community with the increasing amounts of public data produced […]

Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler for the New York Times, announced today that he is putting down his pen. In his column, he talks about what he’s learned over the past […]

Robert Fisk thinks that political speak has taken over journalism and that accuracy of fact has become dominated by competing historical narratives that favor power over truth.