A Crude New Year

ST Frequency

Just two days into 2008, the price of crude oil hit a record $100 a barrel. Could this milestone cause a crucial shift in the petroleum economy?(more)

Atlanta's Drying Lesson: Building Community from Crisis

ST Frequency

Atlanta residents were recently inundated by reports of a crippling drought that threatened their water supply. But in-depth information was hard to find and often confusing. Enter Mickey Mellen – "a schmoe who knows nothing, talkin' about water" – with a blog and some questions. (more)

Is the Internet Killing Culture?

ST Frequency

In his new book The Cult of the Amateur, British author Andrew Keen argues that the Internet is fatally undermining our culture. But hasn't free market capitalism done that already? (more)

Choose Your Illusion

ST Frequency

A new Internet-only documentary called Zeitgeist is making major waves, with elaborate conspiracy theories that link Christianity, 9/11, and the Federal Reserve. While far-fetched and often misleading, this movie succeeds in capturing the "spirit of the time" – a culture where truth and reality are no longer absolutes, but products of our own imagination.

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Discontinuing Democracy

ST Frequency

On May 9, 2007 the White House announced a new security directive that empowers the President with autocratic authority over widespread aspects of American life, public and private, upon the declaration of a national emergency – as observed and proclaimed by the President. How did a common instrument of executive decree grant such sweeping powers to a single person? This directive has received little attention, with only a handful of newspapers and firebrand blogs speculating on what it means. (more)