archives: Cultural Criticism

Panhandlers: Where Does Your Spare Change Go?

  9 Comments

When you stop to ask yourself what homeless people spend money on, why not ask yourself how you're spending your own money?  More »

Interview with Jeff Zimbalist, Director of “The Two Escobars”

  2 Comments

The documentary opens this weekend in San Francisco.   More »

Sebastian Junger doc to bring soldiers’ hardships back into spotlight


"[B]oth of us were almost killed in various ways by the Taliban."-Sebastian Junger  More »

How to Adopt a Tiger or a Lesson in Indian Bureaucracy

  7 Comments

Neha Puntambekar becomes a human yo-yo at an Indian government office.  More »

Favela Painting Project: Can a little paint change entrenched poverty?

Popular  15 Comments

Methinks not, but I'm willing to hear other opinions.   More »

Mexican Prison Hosts “Miss Captive” Beauty Pageant

  6 Comments

Is a beauty pageant at a prison in Juarez a move forward or backwards?  More »

5 Dangerous Places to be a Blogger

  2 Comments

Blogging is dangerous in many parts of the world. Alexander Sehmer ranks the worst countries to be a blogger.   More »

Some thoughts about violence on International Women’s Day

Popular  10 Comments

We should celebrate women's accomplishments. But let's not forget the forces that prevent women from achieving their goals.   More »

Tracing oil profits: Oxfam asks, “Where does all the money go?”

  2 Comments

Big oil has big profit losses. But people in the communities where oil is extracted have long wondered where *their* profits are.   More »

How to evaluate an organization’s claims

  6 Comments

What starts out as a feel-good assignment leads to important lessons about evaluating an organization's claims about its work.   More »

Cartoon: U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision

Popular  12 Comments

Kate Sedgwick responds to a cartoonish decision with... a cartoon.   More »

5 Reasons Why Last Week’s Supreme Court Decision Means The End of Democracy As We Know It

Popular  14 Comments

The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, No. 08-205 is a serious threat to American democracy.   More »

The Dark Side of the 2010 Olympics

  8 Comments

The Olympic Games have rarely been without controversy, but it can be difficult to focus on social justice issues raised by the Games when pride and p  More »

From the Editor: How Twitter helped me care about the Burj

  8 Comments

The Burj is more than snazzy graphics and a gasp-inducing fireworks show.   More »

Ugandan Minister of Ethics & Integrity to Gays: “Forget about human rights.”

  8 Comments

The man who tried to ban mini skirts is now on a bender to make homosexuality not just illegal, but punishable by death.   More »

Celebs plan Kilimanjaro cake walk to raise money for clean water

  6 Comments

I may not have Jessica Biel's body, but even I know Mt. Kilimanjaro is no cake walk.   More »

Death Row inmate’s final words: Reason to rethink the death penalty

  6 Comments

" I'm not only saddened, but disappointed that a system that is supposed to protect and uphold what is just and right can be so much like me when I ma  More »

If the government won’t help New Orleans, Dave Eggers will.

  3 Comments

Eggers donates film option fee to New Orleans rebuilding efforts.  More »

Restaurant Critic Wastes Baboon for “Naughty Fun”

Popular  11 Comments

What next? Sex with a praying mantis?   More »

Coke’s Campaign to Set the Travel World A-Twitter

Popular  15 Comments

The Coca-Cola Company is sending a team made up of three young explorers on a year-long quest to find out what makes people happy. Which makes Tom Gat  More »

Man Has Lived 9 Years Without Money—Social Rebel or Simply a Mooch?

Popular  84 Comments

What do you think of the "freegan" movement?  More »

White Privilege – Can You See it?

Popular  45 Comments

When is being "color blind" simply a cop out?  More »

Is Holier-Than-Thouism the Biggest Obstacle We Face in Creating Change?

  9 Comments

Photo: aussiegall If we each think we’ve got a monopoly on the “right” way to create change, how will we ever work together? A coup  More »

Steal This Idea: Give Away Your Creations

  2 Comments

Connection with others begins when you give a part of yourself to them.  More »

La Caminata: Mexico’s Immigrant Immersion Tour


Alberto, Mexico finds an unusual solution for its migration and economic problems.   More »

Laugh Your Way to Social Consciousness

  2 Comments

Is becoming socially conscious as simple as laughing at a good joke?   More »

A “Whites-Only” Pool in 2009?

Popular  14 Comments

Kids' treatment during visit to a Philadelphia pool suggests that, no, the US is NOT in a post-racial phase.   More »

How to Write About Plights Without Falling Prey to “Plight Syndrome”

Popular  4 Comments

5 tips for writing about the world's social problems more effectively .   More »

Open Debate: Can the Internet Really Solve the World’s Problems?

Popular  7 Comments

Could Twitter have prevented the Rwandan genocide? That's what Gordon Brown thinks.   More »

How to Evaluate Claims About Big Oil

Popular  3 Comments

If you're skeptical of the claims we've been making, here are some tips for fact-checking us.  More »

Prop 8 Prompts Question: What Should America Become?

Popular  6 Comments

Prop 8 isn't just about gay marriage. It raises bigger questions about America's philosophy about people.  More »

NYC’s Underbelly Tour

Popular  2 Comments

Is this the developed world's version of slum tourism?   More »

“Hispaniola”: Short Film Explores Race in Haiti & the Dominican Republic

Popular  3 Comments

Freddy Vargas's film, "Hispaniola," conveys a lot in just 12 minutes.   More »

Is There a Statute of Limitations on Our Sins?

Popular  4 Comments

A former Nazi guard and Khmer Rouge official, both elderly, are finally being held accountable for crimes committed decades ago.  More »

Isaac Mizrahi’s Salmon Skin Dress

Popular  1 Comments

Is the fashion designer going green, or is the salmon skin dress not quite as sustainable as it sounds?   More »

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