Why you should tolerate intolerable ideas

Just because you disagree with something doesn't mean that it isn't true for someone else.

  • Former ACLU president Nadine Strossen argues that without freedom of expression we don't have freedom of speech.
  • With some major college campuses disavowing "dangerous ideas" from certain speakers on campus, this can lead to a slippery slope wherein ideas—and even ways of life—can be marginalized entirely.
  • The Charles Koch Foundation is committed to understanding what drives intolerance and the best ways to cure it. The foundation supports interdisciplinary research to overcome intolerance, new models for peaceful interactions, and experiments that can heal fractured communities. For more information, visit charleskochfoundation.org/courageous-collaborations.
  • The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Charles Koch Foundation, which encourages the expression of diverse viewpoints within a culture of civil discourse and mutual respect.
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Ruth Whippman—a mindful, productive, super-positive nation of nervous wrecks

With the help of positive psychology and the happiness industry, many of us seem to be running in the exact opposite direction of happiness.

  • "It's almost like the only way we can understand leisure is as a productivity hack."
  • "If we think of happiness as an individual responsibility, that stands in the way of building a society in which the conditions are there for everybody to thrive."
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Marlboro maker places $1.8 billion bet on marijuana company

Altria Group Inc., maker of Marlboro cigarettes, said it's taking a 45 percent stake in Cronos Group, a major Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider.

  • The deal includes the option for Altria Group to take a 55 percent stake in the Cronos Group over the next five years.
  • It marks a continuing trend of big tobacco companies moving into the marijuana industry.
  • If legalized at the federal level in the U.S., the marijuana industry could shape up to be like the current alcohol market in the U.S.
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A world first: Luxembourg's public transport to be free for all

Luxembourg will offer the world's first fare-free public transit system, but is there really such a thing as a free ride?

(Photo from Wikimedia)
Politics & Current Affairs
  • To combat congestion, Luxembourg aims to become the first country to implement fare-free public transit services.
  • Other European nations are considering similar courses, but across the pond the United States continues to fumble its public transportation to deleterious effects.
  • Luxembourg's goal is noble, but it will have to overcome historic trends showing such fare-free systems rarely work in the long run.
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Did Russia just launch a secret space weapon into orbit?

Russia has launched several so-called "inspector satellites" that could potentially be weaponized.

Pixabay
Politics & Current Affairs
  • U.S. intelligence recorded a Russian rocket deploying a mysterious object during a recent mission.
  • It's possibly an inspector satellite, a spacecraft designed to repair, monitor and, potentially, destroy other satellites.
  • Weaponized satellites would likely be used in the early stages of a large-scale conflict, U.S. intelligence reports.
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Australia cuts plastic bag use by 80% in 3 months after supermarket ban

Australia's two largest supermarkets led the ban, which has so far prevented some 1.5 billion plastic bags from entering the environment.

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Politics & Current Affairs
  • The ban was led by the private sector, though several Australian states have banned single-use plastic bags.
  • Worldwide, more than 30 countries and two U.S. states have banned single-use plastic bags.
  • Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the U.S., recently announced plans to phase-out plastic bags by 2025.
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