What to wear on the first day of school. Who doesn’t stress out over that decision? Novelist Laurie Frankel was stressed out plenty about her first-grader’s first day, but the child was calm and certain. This September 2016 New York Times article describes what happened. Read it here: Frankel, “’From he to she in first grade” Frankel’s …
Continue reading Clothes or costumes: Laurie Frankel on parenthood and gender choice
What do you think of when you hear the Star-Spangled Banner? Fireworks? Parades? Football? Ramparts? Recently, the silent acts of some professional athletes have led to scrutiny of the custom of playing the national anthem before major league sporting events. Journalist Zack Beauchamp explores the history of the practice in this September 2016 essay on …
Continue reading Oh, say, can we see: Zack Beauchamp on the national anthem at sporting events
Until 2007 (in June, to be exact), every human who’d ever lived did so without the benefit of a smartphone. How did they manage?!? Novelist and freelance journalist Michael Grothaus accepted his editor’s challenge to live without his smartphone for one week and write about the experience. Read about his experience in this July 2016 …
Continue reading Taking the challenge: Michael Grothaus on his smartphone-free week
How often do you check your phone? Do you feel addicted to it? According to former Google product philosopher Tristan Harris, we check our phones 150 times per day, on average, and yes, we’re addicted. He explains why and proposes a solution in this July 2016 essay in Spiegel Online. Read it here: Harris, "Smartphone addiction: …
Continue reading Your personal slot machine: Tristan Harris on smartphone addiction
Health complications, environmental problems, ethical challenges—all these and more can be results of a diet rich in meat, dairy, and eggs. What to do? Free-lance journalist Brian Kateman recommends reducing consumption, and he explains his proposal in this July 2016 Washington Post article. Read it here: Kateman, “’We can save the earth without giving up bacon. Here’s …
Continue reading Not cold turkey: Brian Kateman on meat “reducetarianism”
There may be as many reasons to not go to college as there are to go. In this 2016 commercial from San Joaquin Valley College, a jug of laundry detergent tries to convey a serious message to a potential future student. Would you be persuaded? Have a look and decide. Read it here: San Joaquin Valley …
Continue reading “What are you afraid of?”: San Joaquin Valley College on going back to school
Are granola bars good for you? If you said “yes,” you are in agreement with more than two-thirds of the general public, but with only 28% of professional nutritionists. New York Times writers Kevin Quealy and Margot Sanger-Katz conducted a survey among nutritionists and ordinary eaters about their perceptions of the healthfulness of several dozen …
Do you remember the sex scandal a few years ago about the counterterrorism expert and her lover? No? How about the affair between the decorated general and his mistress? That one might ring a bell. In fact, in both cases, we’re talking about the same two people—Gen. David Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. New York Times …
Continue reading The ‘mistress’: Jessica Bennett on the persistence of a demeaning word
If you have seen Twitter, you know that tweets can be brilliant, hilarious, informative, helpful, entertaining, and also very vulgar, threatening, and abusive. Women sports journalists are among the targets of the most vile and violent harassment. Ms. Magazine and editorial intern Jumana Bambot call attention to the situation and suggest a strategy for improving …
Continue reading #MoreThanMean: Jumana Bambot on women journalists and online harassment
There is a bill right now in the US House of Representatives that would require women to register for the military draft upon reaching the age of 18, just as men are currently required to do. This proposal is sure to ignite a firestorm of debate, and DePaul University student Danielle Harris is among the …
Continue reading Draft on tap: Danielle Harris on women and the military draft
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