As busy adults, we all have long lists of responsibilities that leave little time for idle dreaming. Yet dreaming is exactly what public policy expert Cameron Smith is suggesting in this July 2014 column from Alabama.com. He isn’t talking about just any dream though; it’s the American Dream. Read it here: Smith, "Keeping the American Dream …
Continue reading The responsibility of dreaming: Cameron Smith on the American Dream
When philosophy professor Daniel Campos decided to attend the World Cup in Brazil, he knew there were complications, but he didn’t expect to care so deeply. In this June 2014 essay in the New Republic, he proposes a plan for ethical fandom. Read it here: Campos, "Towards an ethic of World Cup fandom” Campos describes …
Continue reading The ethical spectator: Daniel Campos on World Cup fandom
Does the “unambiguously crass behavior” we encounter daily in popular media necessarily lead to a worse society, as some have suggested? In this October 2013 essay in Time magazine, Libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie suggests that it doesn’t-—and what’s more, that as a society we’re getting better! Read it here: Gillespie, "Society is coarser but better” …
Continue reading The benefits of “skankitude”: Nick Gillespie on popular culture and social trends
Is Coca-Cola better for you than water? That depends on whether you’re the one drinking it or the one selling it. Nutritionist and health advocate Andy Bellati discusses a Coca-Cola campaign that was not promoted in public media; his essay was published in November 2013 on the blog Civil Eats. Read it here: Bellati, "Coca-Cola’s assault …
Continue reading Coca-Cola cares: Andy Bellati on Big Soda’s doublespeak
Plenty of data support the financial benefits of a college degree, an argument that’s unlikely to change. Does that mean that the status quo, which favors standard four-year colleges and ever-increasing rates of student debt, is acceptable? Nationally syndicated columnist and former White House policy advisor Michael Gerson argues the urgent need for new policies …
Continue reading Changing course(s): Michael Gerson on the state of U.S. higher education
Sports fans can be very passionate. Many strongly identify with their favorite team; they rejoice in its victories, suffer its defeats. What fans seldom get to do, though, is make actual decisions about the team or share directly in its earnings. With ownership of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team likely to change hands soon, …
Continue reading The people’s Clippers: Bob Katz proposes a sterling solution
The calls to change the name of the Washington NFL team are growing more raucous every day. U.S. senators and congress members, Native American tribal leaders, athletes, journalists, and even President Obama have added their voices to the debate. Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts makes his position clear in this April 2014 essay. Read it …
Continue reading The Washington Racial Slurs: Leonard Pitts on the NFL team name controversy
It’s a sandwich that replaces the bread with two pieces of fried chicken. It’s “hand-breaded and cooked in store!” It’s available for a limited time only. It’s KFC’s Double Down, and it appalls New Yorker business writer Ian Crouch. He explains why in this article from April 2014. Read it here: Crouch, "Fast Food Doubles Down" …
Continue reading Doubling down on KFC: Ian Crouch on fast food trends
Everything must change, so why should the American Dream be any different? Still, Time Magazine financial writer Dan Kadlec suggests some cause for alarm in the aspirations of young adults today, as he describes in this February 2014 article from the magazine. Read it here: Kadlec, "Millennials put their surprising stamp on the American Dream” The …
Continue reading Not your father’s American Dream: Dan Kadlec on the aspirations of Millennials
With 95% of its surface area devoted to the cultivation of crops, the state of Iowa is often called “the breadbasket of the world.” Amidst all this bounty, one might think that Iowa residents would have easy access to excellent food. Mark S. Edwards, retired conservationist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, presents a …
Continue reading The breadbasket is hungry: Mark Edwards on food choices in Iowa
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