Archive
This Industry is Literally Making a Killing
The 2016 presidential elections are proving historic, and not just because of the surprising success of self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders, the lively debate among feminists over whether to support Hillary Clinton, or Donald Trump’s unorthodox candidacy. The...
Getting to the Point
Food writer Michael Pollan once jammed the essence of his work into seven words: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” His brevity inspired me as the managing editor of OtherWords, a non-profit editorial service that distributes opinion pieces and editorial...
That ‘Natural’ Label Doesn’t Mean Much
Scenario: You're at the store, trying to make healthy yet frugal choices. You see several products labeled "organic" and others labeled "natural." You're trying to buy good food and household products for less, and those organic items seem to cost a bit more. Maybe...
Cameron Is Cornered
It's said that there's nothing more vicious than a wild animal that's cornered. I'd add that there's nothing more devious than a top corporate or political official caught in a hypocritical scandal. Witness the huge menagerie of political critters who've recently been...
Let Them Eat Incrementalism
In OtherWords: April 13, 2016
This week in OtherWords, Libero Della Piana shines a light on a form of voter suppression that afflicts formerly incarcerated people and Aaron Mair urges voters to pay close attention to what candidates say about climate change this electoral cycle. If you haven’t...
Free From Jail, Imprisoned by Debt
At 36, Marcus White has spent half of his life in prison. Today he's no longer behind bars, but now he's imprisoned by something else: debt. When White was sentenced, he was saddled with $5,800 in criminal fines and fees. By the time he was released, he was stunned to...
This Election, We Can’t Afford to Ignore the Climate
Our great coastal cities could be flooded within the lifetime of children born today. That's the conclusion of researchers studying the West Antarctic ice sheet — a mass of ice larger than Mexico that could rapidly break apart over the next century. Meanwhile, our...
Most Racism Is Mundane
This spring, the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus has been the site of several heinous acts of racism: An Asian student was spat on and a black student received a note with obscenities and racial slurs slipped under her door. The university is, of course, taking...
These Billboards Have Eyes
OK people, we need to discuss billboards. Yes, we really must. At best, these giant corporate placards are problematic — they loom garishly over us, clutter our landscapes, and intrude into our communities with no respect for local aesthetics or preferences. Now,...
