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The ultimate goal of any education system should be to give people the opportunity to find and bring to life that which motivates them intrinsically. 

What’s the Big Idea?  Long-time political activist and self-proclaimed “party crasher”Richard Tafel believes that American democracy is under threat. The environmental, economic, healthcare, and political systems we’ve relied on for decades are […]

Last week, the blogosphere was in an uproar over a sermon given by a North Carolina pastor, Sean Harris, who seemingly advised parents to beat their children if they show […]

Scientists at Stanford have pioneered a new way to charge electric vehicles without requiring drivers to stop. The new system would place recharging coils beneath the surface of roads. 

Climate change deniers lost an important ally in 2011, as Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller recently switched sides. James Lawrence Powell dissects the curious case of this former climate skeptic. 

Last week, as you’ve no doubt heard, Dan Savage gave a speech to a national convention of high school journalists in which he criticized Christians’ use of the Bible to […]

A new venture called Planetary Resources plans to send a fleet of droids to space to prospect the most valuable near-Earth asteroids. The project will require billions of investment dollars but could yield a trillion dollar reward. 

Sigmund Freud postulated that dreaming is a reflection of the unleashed id; it represents one’s deep sexual fantasies and frustrations implanted during childhood. But what happens when we fall asleep […]

What is the Big Idea? An orthopedic surgeon was abducted by masked security forces from his operating room. He was tortured while detained in Bahrain. Gaddafi’s soldiers held an anesthesiologist […]

Two business professionals differ in their views of launching a start up. One says entrepreneurs should trust their instinct. The other says being mindful of data pays dividends. 

Read Part 1 here. Before I deliver my recap of the speakers at the Reason Rally, I need to give a shout-out to the people who accompanied me for the […]

I’m the only one who can get you out of the situation that you’re in.

Just around the corner from my desk something strange is happening. Miles and miles of hair is being teased into place, bucket loads of make-up are being applied and delicate […]

Author James Lawrence Powell explains the case of the physicist Richard Muller, who used to be critical about the science behind global warming. Muller conducted a study funded by the […]

Author James Lawrence Powell explains the case of the physicist Richard Muller, who used to be critical about the science behind global warming.

As we enter year five of the global economic recession, is it fair to say that capitalism is in crisis? What, if any, are the alternatives? A Nobel laureate and a federal judge weigh in.

With the Mega Millions jackpot now at the $640 million mark, it’s no wonder that everyday people without any prior interest in playing casino-like games of chance are willing to […]

With state and local governments still suffering from a persistent deficit of tax revenues due to the moribund economic recovery, smart politicians are looking ahead and lobbying for spaceport development […]

These days, one of the blogs where I spend the most time commenting is Leah Libresco’s Unequally Yoked on Patheos. This isn’t just because its author has a unique and […]

A handful of philanthropic billionaires, including Gates, are funding private research efforts into a ‘Plan B’ for climate change, should the UN and politicians fail to arrive at a solution.

–Guest post by Amanda Frank, graduate student at American University. Contemporary debates over climate change reveal the inherent complexity of the issue, which the New York Times’ Andrew Revkin refers […]

President Obama apparently thinks the safer way to justify higher taxes on the super rich is to pitch the proposal based on its deficit-reduction potential. But if he wants to get the ball rolling for meaningful tax reform, Obama will summon his rhetorical powers to explain how the Buffett Rule could help reduce the nation’s massive and destructive wealth inequality.

The extra dimension of time embedded in each photo we see this holiday season reminds us of how fleeting each moment truly is. 

If Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus shown above seems a bit off, you’re right. In this version of “Venus on the Half-Shell,” the goddess is almost half her self, thanks […]

Like the MP3 or ACC format used in music, a recipe needs to become a standardized digital good, one that can be bought, sold, shared, edited and annotated, says foody and techi Richard Fitchard.

The customer service benefits to using Twitter have become apparent to companies large and small. Michele Obama and Rupert Murdoch are the latest individuals to fire off tweets.

This semester, students from a diversity of majors at American University are participating in an advanced seminar I am teaching on science and environmental communication. For the first part of the […]

If there’s a villain in Rosalind E. Krauss’ newest book, Under Blue Cup, it’s Marcel Duchamp. Art fell in the toilet with the dawn of Duchamp’s Fountain.

This article was previously published on AlterNet. For the vast majority of human history, the only form of government was the few ruling over the many. As human societies became […]

In my early days of blogging, I would have exhaustive debates, sometimes lasting for weeks, with believers who came across one of my websites and posed a challenge to me. […]