If we’ve all lost our minds together, can we really know what’s happening? Illustration by Jameela Wahlgren Interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Occasionally, a great reckoning will sweep through a culture, unveiling a world that will be shocking to some and unsurprising to others, but forcing change nonetheless. Take, for instance, the election of Donald
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America’s workplaces, and the policies that serve workers, are in need of renovation. Do we have the political will for an overhaul? Interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee We’re awash in news accounts of workplace sexual harassment, the “fight for $15,” cities vying for the Amazon HQ2 bid, and Congress debating which public policies they claim
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Creatives, wealthy homeowners and anchor institutions in liberal cities need to do more to share the wealth Interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Richard Florida’s 2002 book, “The Rise of the Creative Class,” chronicled how cities could redevelop their cores by attracting knowledge workers—a rising tide that would lift all boats. But instead of gains trickling
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Why do we still not see black Americans as having a connection to the environment? illustration by Abayomi Louard-Moore Interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Carolyn Finney’s book “Black Faces, White Spaces” is a must-read for anyone who wants to better understand all of the ways in which African-Americans have been prevented from owning, accessing and
MoreIllustration by James Heimer To Eat or Not to Eat Meat? interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Philosopher Andrew F. Smith wasn’t prepared for PETA and an army of committed fellow vegetarians to go on the attack when he released his last book, “A Critique of the Moral Defense of Vegetarianism.” But they did—and he’s still
MoreIllustration by Corey Schumann Trees of Life interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee When historian Jill Jonnes sat down to write her book “Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape,” it was with the intention of looking at our past relationship with trees in order to see into the future
MoreAre the Golden Arches a Golden Ticket? interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Journalist David H. Freedman, a skeptic of the first order, has a lot to say about those he calls “the Pollanites,” by which he means devotees of food writer Michael Pollan. Freedman thinks that an unfounded belief that farm stands and unprocessed food
MoreIllustration by Corey Brickley Goodbye to All That interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee According to landscape planners Claudia West and Thomas Rainer, we should all be saying “goodbye to the real estate industry, good taste, designers’ egos, eco-evangelism and the horticulture industry.” Their book, “Planting in a Post-Wild World,” is a joyous ode to the
MoreIllustration by Chris Bernhardt Insider Art interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Museum activist Nina Simon is an electrical engineer by training who hails from Los Angeles—she now runs the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History in California. Her own outsider status when it came to the hallowed halls of an art gallery is one of
MoreIllustration by Lynn Scurfield The Long (Long) View interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Elizabeth Kolbert’s book “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History” is a great read for anyone who is in need of a little perspective about our place as humans on an ever-changing planet. It was 1705 when the first mastodon tooth was discovered
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