Video: Bessie Smith, “St. Louis Blues”
. Josh Jones writing for Open Culture says of this scene: Released in 1929, the “flawed, but absolutely essential” film St. Louis Blues frames Bessie Smith’s character through the lyrics … Continue reading
Joanna Bock: My Trouble With #MeToo
We are limiting the potential of this campaign if we insist that everyone get in a box and become one of three things: perpetrators, victims, or allies. I was a … Continue reading
Richard St. John: Abhorrent Things
You shall not eat any abhorrent thing….of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cleft you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, … Continue reading
Laura Bridgeman: What Whales Have to Teach Humans About Capitalism
Any accounting of the commons without acknowledging the presence and interests of others will lead to their continued destruction, to our human detriment as well. The International Whaling Commission meets … Continue reading
John Atcheson: How the Deranged Took Over America
And why they may be here to stay. It’s not news to most people that the US is no longer a true Democracy. Gilens and Page proved it in 2014, … Continue reading
Audio: Rosanne Cash Reads “Power” by Adrienne Rich
Living in the earth-deposits of our history
Video: Amid crime and blight, Natalie Thomas plants peace and community
. Since 2011, Natalie Thomas has been the caretaker of the Unified Positive Effect Community Garden at the corner of Climax Street and Estella Avenue in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of … Continue reading
Video: Breath
. A film about the invisible life-force. Breathing is at the essence of being human, but not just because it keeps us alive. Like laughter and facial expressions, breathing is … Continue reading
Fred Rogers: On Strength, Love, and Heroism
When I was very young, most of my childhood heroes wore capes, flew through the air, or picked up buildings with one arm. They were spectacular and got a lot … Continue reading
Jessica Corbett: ‘Ecological Armageddon’ — Warnings From Scientists as Flying Insects Disappear
As new report shows flying insect population plunged by 76 percent, author predicts “our grandchildren will inherit a profoundly impoverished world.” A new study published Wednesday, revealing populations of flying … Continue reading
Robert Okaji: Snails
How convenient to carry a home on one’s back, I think, disregarding heft and plumbing and the shape of rooms too hollow to feel. Yesterday a box of African chapbooks … Continue reading
John S. Tieman: Instead of Nostalgia
When you swam in the Meramec the sky dry and the shore rust colored and the bridge hovered like a dragonfly, a bargeman smiled and the women thought about fishing … Continue reading
Leah Samberg: World hunger is increasing thanks to wars and climate change
Around the globe, about 815 million people – 11 percent of the world’s population – went hungry in 2016, according to the latest data from the United Nations. This was … Continue reading
UN: Ignore Trump on Climate
Three senior UN officials urge the world to redouble efforts to tackle climate change in a powerful rebuff of the scientific illiteracy of President Trump. LONDON, 16 October, 2017 – … Continue reading
