Rebecca Gordon: I Had an Abortion and Now I’m Not Ashamed
At this moment in the age of Trump, it’s long past time for people like me to go public about our abortions. Efforts to deny women abortion access (not to mention contraception) have only accelerated as the president seeks to appease his right-wing Christian supporters.
Video: Dark Chocolate and Artery Function
What do studies not funded by the chocolate industry show about the effect of cocoa on arterial health?
Mayeta Clark: When Fracking Companies Own the Gas Beneath Your Land
Natural gas companies have cut down forests and paved over farms on West Virginia private lands, calling it “reasonably necessary” to access subsurface gas they own the rights to. A legal battle with property owners has ensued.
Video: An Ode to Envy — Parul Sehgal
What is envy? What drives it, and why do we secretly love it? No study has ever been able to capture its “loneliness, longevity, grim thrill” — that is, says Parul Sehgal, except for fiction.
Video: The Office of Missing Children
Nearly 15,000 unaccompanied minors currently are detained in the U.S.; they’re held in places ranging from tent cities to trailers and shelters, some of which have a history of mistreatment, including forced drugging, sexual assault and physical abuse.
David Korten: 8 Essential Steps to Radically Transform Our Economy
An economic system that serves everyone and the planet is necessary for our survival. Here are some guiding principles to get us there.
Luray Gross: If Two People Are Aware of the Rising Moon
When his mind grew empty
and his heartbeat slowed to a vague stutter,
our father no longer walked the fields at night.
Video: We are built to be kind
Human nature is often portrayed as selfish and power hungry, but research by Dacher Keltner finds that we are hard-wired to be kind.
The Origin of Strawberries
She sat down, but the longer she waited the stronger became her desire for her husband, and at last she gathered a bunch of the finest berries and started back along the path to give them to him. He met her kindly and they went home together.
Jose Padua: It Was the Summer After the Summer of Love
it’s the first time in my life
that I’ve ever had an image
or maybe it just an idea
(which was still bad enough)
of my parents doing it,
having sex, grabbing each other
David Huddle: The Watermelon Sutras
In the act of eating watermelon no one
ever pulled a trigger, spoke harshly
to a child, swatted a butterfly out
of the sky, or told a lie for money.
Molly Fisk: The Fox Laughs at the Hounds
voices chorusing woods and fields, ringing
off the stone walls she runs beside, light
and fleet, silent as new snow falling through
Amy Goodman, Denis Moynihan: Abolish Migrant Child Jails Now
Debating the fate of jailed migrant children is important, but the life-and-death crisis that they have been thrown into demands immediate action.
Meg Pokrass: Puppy Breath
I had his phone number, the guy from the A.A. meeting. I held it in my hands. I was terrible on the phone, but he would never call me. He said he couldn’t approach women. It was up to me.
