Mother Jones Takes a Peek at the Economy: “It’s the Inequality, Stupid”

We all know that the U.S. economy is hobbling along, and it’s also no surprise that some segments of the population are better off than others. Yet the tables and charts compiled by political journalists Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot for Mother Jones demonstrate with painful clarity the disparities between the rich and the un-rich …

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Your Brain on Media: Steven Pinker’s “Mind Over Mass Media”

Steven Pinker, distinguished Harvard University professor, is one of very few linguists known outside of the discipline, and his five books written for a general audience have all been big hits. How the mind works was a New York Times bestseller in 1998 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, as was his 2003 book, …

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David Nasaw – “Giving Season”

David Nasaw, professor of history at the City University of New York, specializes in the cultural history of wealth (among other themes). While our current U.S. body politic wrestles with tax cuts and public spending, Nasaw’s article is particularly relevant, since he asks some questions that we are not accustomed to hearing (and provokes us …

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