A group of people sitting on the floor, many holding signs. One after another making speeches. People milling about. Some looking at their phones. On and off, chanting, call and response. But this time the men are in suits the women mostly in skirts and heels. (No doubt some wishing they had worn pants that … Continue reading »
media
Why the media have been greasing Trump’s wheels
How to explain the indispensable role of the news media in lubricating the unfathomable rise of Donald Trump? It can’t be favoritism. I venture to say that a survey of U.S. journalists, taken at the start of the primary season, would have found but infinitesimal support for the idea that Trump was a plausible, let … Continue reading »
Using explanatory journalism to fight polarization and dysfunction
In the present-day world of media and politics, we live (as the saying goes) in the best of times and the worst of times. A motivated consumer of information on politics and policy — the ideal citizen in a representative democracy — has access to an unprecedented number of sources of excellent journalism in a … Continue reading »
Chasing ice, for now
Last night I watched glaciers more than 30,000 years old break open and crash into the ocean — disappearing in mere seconds. In photographer James Balog’s new documentary, Chasing Ice, he and a small team embark upon a multi-year “Extreme Ice Survey” to document 18 glaciers in remote regions of the world, including Iceland, Greenland and Alaska. … Continue reading »
Public protest, media, and economic justice
On September 17, a group of US citizens inspired by the successes of public protest in other countries occupied public space on Wall Street, the location in Manhattan that has come to stand for the excesses of the financial sector. Not only does Wall Street stand for the banks that fueled the ongoing “Little Depression“; … Continue reading »
Anthropology: Engaged social science in a changing world
“The purposes of the Association shall be to advance anthropology as the science that studies humankind in all its aspects, through archeological, biological, ethnological, and linguistic research; and to further the professional interests of American anthropologists, including the dissemination of anthropological knowledge and its use to solve human problems.” American Anthropological Association, Statement of Purpose, … Continue reading »