Contents
January-February 2011
FEATURES
Pride at Work
The value of treating the employed and the jobless with respect
by Bette Lynch Husted, from Oregon Humanities
Doing the Limbo
In Middle America, the middle-aged struggle to stay middle class
by Andy Kroll, from TomDispatch.com
It’s the Unions, Jack
Why America’s working class would fare better in a social democracy
by Thomas Geoghegan, from Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?
Time to Get Paid
Americans don’t need jobs, they need good jobs
by Peter Dreier, from The American Prospect
Cutting Class
What we talk about when we talk about work
by Brad Zellar
Everybody Counts
A guy goes door-to-door for the census and discovers democracy
by Brad Edmondson, from The American Scholar
Birds Not Bombs
An Iraqi American works to restore his native country’s valuable marshlands
by Samiha Shafy, from Der Spiegel
The Dude Abides
Jeff Bridges riffs on meditation, laziness, and his “groovy” Buddhist beliefs
interview by Katy Butler, from Tricycle
The Conspiracy Channel
With a larger staff than Fox News, a worldwide Russian TV network spreads a unique brand of anti-American propaganda
by Sonia Scherr, from Intelligence Report
EMERGING IDEAS
Humanoid Rights
The ACLU studies science fiction by Adam Serwer, from The American Prospect
The Secession Solution
A plea for the Independent States of America by Kirkpatrick Sale, from Chronicles
Genetic Engineering for Good
A researcher modifies crops to feed the hungry by Erik Vance, from Conservation
GLEANINGS
Larry King Is the Future
And other signs of the coming apocalypse by Jack Pendarvis, from The Oxford American
Things That Went Bump in the Night
A grieving mother hangs on for a haunting by Anna Belle Kaufman, from Calyx
Learning from White Castle
A Brooklyn vegetarian gives grease a chance by Dave Kim, from The Brooklyn Rail
MINDFUL LIVING
You Gotta Believe
America‘s addiction to blind faith by Brian Trent, from The Humanist
Ten Things to Do When You’re Feeling Hopeless
Step One: Give up hope by Dave Pollard, from How to Save the World
Romancing the Random
What makes us long for the unexpected? by Akiko Busch, from American Craft
Power to the Parents
Radical childcare collectives give activists a break by Heather Bowlan, from make/shift
So Many Gods, So Little Time
The majority believes. They’re just not that interested in the details. by Keith Goetzman
MIXED MEDIA
Art’s Subterranean Disneyland
An audacious new “unmuseum” in Tasmania by Cristina Ruiz, from The Art Newspaper
This Is How They Roll
Physically integrated dance companies cross barriers by Josie Byzek, from New Mobility
Spray Tips
How Rusto lost its luster for street artists by Caleb Neelon, from imprint
Music: A World of Music, Down to the Roots, A Beast for the Senses
Film: Black Power Generation, Banksy Strikes Again, Creative Destruction
Books: Architecture for All, Failing the Right Way, A Walden State of Mind
Editor’s Note
The Defense Refuses to Rest
by David Schimke
Forward
Android Nightmares
by Eric Utne
Dispatches from:
Foreign Policy, Yes!, Indypendent, High Country News, Ode, Free Inquiry, The Oxford American, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Wired, Psychology Today, Governing, New Humanist, New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review
