Archive
Arsonist in Chief
Racists Look Emboldened. They’re Actually Terrified.
The act of terrorism that killed one person and injured others in Charlottesville, Virginia was horrific. There will be more days like these. Angry, cowardly, fear-mongering white supremacists have been emboldened by a president they see as the last great hope for the...
In OtherWords: August 9, 2017
This week, in the sweltering month of August, Sarah Anderson explores the surprisingly short history of a treasured luxury: air conditioning. Most Americans now have it at home. But at work, it's another story. Moreover, as the technology spreads to developing...
Trump’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission Harkens Back to Jim Crow
One October morning in Richmond, Virginia, 32-year old Joseph Cox watched his friends and neighbors go to the polls for the first time. The fight to get to that moment had been long, bloody, and vicious. But as a black man newly eligible to vote after a lifetime of...
Talking About a Revolution
It’s long been clear that if we want to avoid catastrophic climate disruption on a scale that threatens human civilization, we need to leave vast amounts of fossil fuels in the ground. Environmental writer Bill McKibben pointed out the math in a crucial 2012...
How Air Conditioning Unites — And Divides
Before air conditioning, even presidents had to suffer. In the summer months, Abraham Lincoln used to ride a horse every evening from the White House to a cottage at a higher elevation four miles away. There he'd join his family in an attempt to escape the muggiest...
Soda Doesn’t ‘Feed the World’
Coca-Cola has a new ad in which a young girl wishes to grow a garden for the whole world. Then, as a grown woman who works for Coca-Cola, she says that she's fulfilling that dream. The phrase "feed the world" is one that should always be questioned, because it's often...
Turning Churches into Super PACs
You know what's wrong with American politics? It's that there just aren't enough ways for giant corporations and mega-rich political donors to funnel their big bucks into our elections and buy our government. At least that's what Donald Trump, the Republican Party,...
Whose Turn?
In OtherWords: August 2, 2017
If our economy is as fair as some like to say, why is it so unequal? And what's that mean for those who get the short end of it? This week in OtherWords, Josh Hoxie looks at the myth of "fairness" and at new research showing how it actually harms one of the largest...
