The Values Divide

The Values Divide

There’s a lot of talk about how polarized the country is today. Sometimes that polarization is more than about partisan politics — it’s about real differences in values. Take the House Republicans’ recent votes to deny food and health care to...
Too High a Price for Courage

Too High a Price for Courage

Berta Cáceres, an internationally respected leader of the movement for indigenous rights, is now living as a fugitive. The Honduran government ordered this soft-spoken dynamo imprisoned on September 20. From her undisclosed location, she emailed me and a few others....
Citizens United, the Sequel

Citizens United, the Sequel

Did you get sick of that barrage of attack ads during last year’s elections? Brace yourself: It could get worse. One deep-pocketed Alabama donor named Shaun McCutcheon, joined by the Republican National Committee, will soon ask the Supreme Court to let him put...
Faster Chicken Processing, More Injured Workers

Faster Chicken Processing, More Injured Workers

Oscar was good at his job. He folded chicken wings at an Alabama poultry plant. As bird carcasses zipped by on the processing line, he twisted the wings into position, folding fast enough to meet a quota of about 40 chicken wings per minute — roughly 18,000 wings per...
Our Road to Elysium

Our Road to Elysium

The Hollywood blockbuster film, Elysium, depicts a polarized Los Angeles in the year 2154. The vast majority of inhabitants live in overpopulated and polluted slums, toiling in grinding poverty. Meanwhile, a wealthy elite live on Elysium, a space station modeled after...