I’ve just read–two years after everyone else–Katherine Boo’s powerful book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It won the 2012 National Book Award, and a blurb
Category: Literature/Arts/Film
The progressive way to peace
Yoruba Richen has a unique worldview. As an African-American woman, she sees a distinct correlation between the civil rights movement and the modern day
Dirty Wars
Last week, I watched a documentary shown by the St. Louis Peace Economy Project and Instead of War. It was called Dirty Wars and was based on the
A Sliver of Light: Hiker hostages tell their story in an amazing new book
I’d almost forgotten about the three friends who, while hiking in Kurdistan in 2009, were lured across the Iraq/Iran border and then held prisoner
Chris Christie, paperback villain
I am addicted to the Chris Christie bridge scandal. In trying to figure out why this story has resonated so deeply with me, I
The devolution of feminism
It saddens me that feminism has come to be associated with elderly Cat Ladies condemning the oppressive institution of matrimony in their solitary existence,
Socio-political messages from an unlikely place: “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
I’ve just spent two hours I’ll never get back watching “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” We had intended to go to a showing of
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”–a story worth knowing in a movie that should have been better
Last night, I saw “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” with a group of 22 high-school students. It was not a class assignment—they all showed
Waiting for the next revolution: What “The Chicago 10” taught me about modern America
I was 17 and skeptical when I saw the movie poster for Chicago 10 at the Missouri History Museum where I work. The exaggerated
Captain Phillips: The pawn hypothesis
Directed by Paul Greengrass, and starring Tom Hanks, with outstanding performances by a group of Somali actors, Captain Phillips can be viewed and enjoyed purely as