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
MoreIllustration by Sam Cardelfe The Pitch interview by Alex Mulcahy There’s more to life than baseball, but it didn’t feel that way on the night of Oct. 29, 2008, when Brad Lidge let loose the pitch that made the Philadelphia Phillies World Series champions, delighting the city and rewarding an ecstatic fan base. However, just
MoreIllustration by Corey Schumann The War on Climate Change interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Bill McKibben, environmental advocate, author and proud Vermonter, is still feeling the Bern—but he’s adamant about going to the polls this month to cast a vote nonetheless. In the lead up to one of the most contentious presidential contests in history,
MoreIllustration by Chris Bernhardt A New Era of Civil Disobedience interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In the book “This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the Twenty-First Century,” brothers Mark and Paul Engler explore how the strategies and tactics of nonviolent action are actually more effective than armed conflict, and why they are
MoreIllustration by Carter Mulcahey The Eagle Has Landed interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee If you’ve just arrived in Philadelphia, you might not know that along our famed Boathouse Row, athletes were once advised to have tetanus shots to safely compete. Industrial waste and municipal sewage sullied our waters, and you were more likely to see
MoreIllustration by Kailey Whitman Whitewashing History interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee For centuries, Americans have conflated whiteness with cleanliness. It’s so thoroughly ingrained in our culture that even during the 2007 presidential election, Joe Biden tried—and failed spectacularly—to compliment presidential candidate Barack Obama by describing him as “clean and articulate.” In his book “Clean and
More
Illustration by Carter Mulcahy The Body Politic interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In her book “The Wrath of Capital: Neoliberalism and Climate Change Politics,” scholar Adrian Parr explores the interconnected nature of capitalism, political power and the systemic abuses foisted upon people and planet when the accumulation of money, power and possessions is our primary
MoreCompassion Project interview by Alex Mulcahy Wrapped in a brown robe and exuding a disarmingly calm manner, the Tibetan-born Venerable Losang Samten does not act like someone with a looming deadline. In a small building on the campus of the Plymouth Meeting Friends Center, Samten is working on a sand mandala, quietly arranging brightly colored
MoreIllustration by Corey Brickley Learning to Forget interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee It’s unlikely that any particular college degree would prepare you to become a “futurologist.” But that’s exactly what polymath Jack Uldrich calls himself. His breathless recitations of game-changing inventions and ideas that entrepreneurs and environmentalists should be on the lookout for run the
MoreIllustration by Mike L. Perry Hell on Earth interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In “Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World” abolitionist Kevin Bales uncovers the fact that, absent the rule of law, the environment is devastated and slavery flourishes. Many slaves are tricked into thinking they are getting
MoreIllustration by Kathleen White Time to Waste interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Modern products—from store-bought soap to paper plates—are a reflection of the shift from a time when handwork ruled to our age of mass manufacturing. That change in the kind of work we do in our daily lives has also ushered in a time
More