What Our Words Don’t Tell Us

Robin Lakoff

New York Times Op-Ed columnist David Brooks maintains his conservative credentials by offering readers distillations of recent social science research that suggest that Americans are falling into one or another liberal-based malaise. His column of May 21, “What Our Words Tell Us,” is a case in point.

Brooks’ charm, style, and … More >

A reader weighs in on:

More services means longer recoveries

Michael Finn said:

Do not forget about the specialization of jobs either. It isn't as easy as it used to be to switch service jobs. Nurses and aides now require many years of schooling and levels of certification to get approved. In many many ways this is much better, they are ... More >

Why it’s important that we know we’re at 400 ppm of CO2

Eric Biber

A major (and unfortunate) milestone has been crossed this past week.  Measurements of atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide passed 400 parts per million, the highest in millions of years.  Others have commented  on how worrying this milestone is for the planet. But what I want to focus on here … More >

The case for cultivating gratitude at work

Jeremy Adam Smith

Why should anyone thank you for just doing your job? And why should you ever thank your coworkers for doing what they’re paid to do?

These are common questions in American workplaces, often posed rhetorically—and sometimes with hostility.

Elsewhere in American life, we say “thank you” to acknowledge the good things we … More >

Is Google reading your bMail?

Chris Hoofnagle

Both users of bMail and the campus itself have never received a clear answer to a simple question: Is Google subjecting data in Google Apps for Education to data analysis or mining for purposes unnecessary for technical rendition of service?

A recently-filed lawsuit suggests that Google is indeed applying analysis to … More >

Coal power and climate denial

Steven Weissman

What causes certain political figures either to deny the potential for climate change, or deny that human activity is a major cause?

That question came to mind while reviewing a new report issued by Ceres entitled Benchmarking Air Emissions for the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States. The … More >

Playing it safe will get you nowhere

Steve Blank

Here is the text of the speech I delivered May 10 at the University of Minnesota College of Science & Engineering:

I am honored to be with you as we gather to celebrate your graduation.

This school has a distinguished roster of graduates… Earl Bakken, the founder of Medtronic, was an Electrical Engineering … More >

Building connections (not more walls) along the U.S.-Mexico border

Michael Dear

As the immigration debate heats up in Washington, D.C., and around the country, various interest groups are lining up to make sure they get what they want from reform, whether it’s more fences, protections for American workers, visas for qualified high-tech workers, or increased immigration quotas for specific nations.

One important … More >

The triumph of progressivism: Graduation 2013 and 1968

Robert Reich

Many of you soon-to-be college graduates are determined to make the world a better place. Some of you are choosing careers in public service or joining nonprofits or volunteering in your communities.

But many of you are cynical about politics. You see the system as inherently corrupt. You doubt real progress … More >

Lessons from the ‘sordid decades’: Miscarriages of justice in NY’s ‘War on Crime’ in the ’80s and ’90s

Jonathan Simon

Any reader of the paper of record will be impressed with the series of impressive features dealing with various aspects of county level justice in the five boroughs that make up New York City.  While not all of them have cast their gaze backwards (for instance the superb recent series on delay … More >