The Great Pumpkin Shortage Is Coming

The Great Pumpkin Shortage Is Coming

Pumpkin fever is back. The latest bout of this seasonal disorder has infected Hostess Twinkies and moved Starbucks to put a smidge of real pumpkin in its pumpkin spice lattes. Previously, the ubiquitous coffee purveyor used a common ploy: It evoked agrarian and...
In OtherWords: October 14, 2015

In OtherWords: October 14, 2015

This week in OtherWords, Donald Kaul, John Morlino, and Khalil Bendib weigh in on the price our country keeps paying for lax gun laws. Do you want to make sure you don’t miss the latest from OtherWords? Please subscribe to our free weekly newsletter or follow us on...
Will This Documentary Change Everything?

Will This Documentary Change Everything?

Writer Naomi Klein and her filmmaker husband Avi Lewis lucked out with the release of their new documentary, This Changes Everything. This film about why humanity must kick our fossil-fuel habit before it wrecks the planet arrived at an ideal time. For one thing,...
The Sad Fate of America’s Whistleblowers

The Sad Fate of America’s Whistleblowers

What is it about whistleblowers that the powers that be can’t stand? When I blew the whistle on the CIA’s illegal torture program, I was derided in many quarters as a traitor. My detractors in the government attacked me for violating my secrecy agreement, even...
In OtherWords: September 30, 2015

In OtherWords: September 30, 2015

This week in OtherWords, John Kiriakou, Cecilia Velasco, Jill Richardson, and I unpack Pope Francis’s whirlwind visit. The pontiff had a lot to say about climate action, justice for immigrants and the incarcerated, and making amends for the Catholic...