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Taking on the Big Boys: Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business and the...
In her book, <i>Taking on the Big Boys</i>, Ellen Bravo shows that ordinary women can effect change, and when they do, everyone benefits.In 1992, a dozen Chinese seamstresses were laid off...
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One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding
Pre-World War II, many couples got married in clothes they already owned. Today, they spend thousands. In her new book, <i>One Perfect Day</i>, Rebecca Mead shows how the wedding industry...
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Are Men Threatened by Funny Women?
Comedy isn't just about laughter -- it's about power."Comedy is so unfeminine," says comedian Judy Gold. "It's so powerful. I mean if you think about it, it's you and a microphone and a bunch of people...
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How the Luxury Industry Went the Way of McDonald's
Even a Louis Vuitton handbag isn't much different from a Big Mac.Today's $157 billion luxury industry outsources production to Chinese factories, dresses celebrities for red-carpet events, fights...
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The Commercialization of Christmas: What Would Jesus Buy?
A camera crew followed the Reverend Billy across the country as he preached against our shopping-hungry culture. His message is just in time for the holiday frenzy.Bill Talen, known as Reverend Billy,...
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Iraq's Insurgents Are Ordinary People
A new film delves inside Iraqis' reasons for getting involved in the violent resistance movement.Molly Bingham says the information most people in America are getting about the insurgents who oppose...
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Self Help: $10 Billion for What?
Self-help is everywhere, but does it work? One writer immersed herself in the industry for a year to find out.When performer, rock musician and writer Beth Lisick woke up Jan. 1, 2006, and the only New...
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Kenya in Translation: An Interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Ngugi wa Thiong'o was imprisoned for writing in his own language. He speaks to AlterNet about the importance of language in battling oppression.Kenya's recent political upheaval and news of brutal...
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"She Became the Poster Child for Torture": An Interview with "Standard...
In his new documentary, Errol Morris revisits Abu Ghraib, asking tough questions about what was and wasn't revealed in those famous photographs.In his first documentary, Gates of Heaven, which critic...
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"They Used Pat for Public Consumption, Just Like Jessica Lynch": An Interview...
The official cover-up of football star-turned-soldier Pat Tillman's death by "friendly fire" has led his family on a four-year mission for justice.After the Sept. 11 attacks, football star Pat Tillman...
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The Pornography of Power: Lust for Empire Has Weakened America
Veteran journalist Robert Scheer on the media's complicity in war, the rise of the neocons and how even Nixon got some things right.Robert Scheer has been a journalist for 30 years, over which time he...
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Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are
Rob Walker, author of a new book on consumer culture, explains how consumers embrace brands as part of their identities -- often without knowing it.Conventional wisdom says that today's savvy consumers...
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Will Cities Soon Be Able to Feed Themselves?
A growing interest in urban farming is sprouting all kinds of new ideas -- including growing food in high-rises.Skyrocketing food costs, worries about food security and an urge to do things ourselves...
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How Compulsive Hoarding Can Threaten Your Health and Take Over Your Life
The inability to part with possessions is often a symptom of psychiatric disorder -- and it's on the rise in America.For some people, it’s Civil War memorabilia, for others old newspapers and...
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Former Black Panther: "There Are Political Prisoners in America as Well"
What an Irish hunger striker and a former Black Panther can teach us about prisoner resistance.Prisons are, or can be, places to raise political consciousness, says Dennis O'Hearn, the author of...
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Barbara Ehrenreich: The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has...
The author talks about how a plague of positive thinking is permeating our society, from medicine to business, and is even contributing to our financial crisis.When Barbara Ehrenreich went to be...
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'Precious': How a Film About an Obese Harlem Teenager Turned the Tables on...
The success of this harrowing new movie undermines the conventional wisdom about what audiences want to watch.In Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, Gabourey Sidibe plays the title role of...
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Portrait of a Jihadist: New Documentary 'The Oath' Reveals 'Human Side' of...
Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras discusses her new film about Salim Hamdan's brother-in-law, Abu Jandal, a Yemeni taxi driver who was Osama bin Laden's bodyguard.The Oath opens in New York on...
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Inside Job: Film Brings Us Face to Face with the People Who Nearly Destroyed...
Director Ferguson makes the case that the meltdown wasn't just an unfortunate accident, it was totally avoidable.Inside Job, the infuriating and compelling new documentary from Charles Ferguson, tells...
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Politically Active Filmmaking: A Conversation with Director Jy-Ah Min
How a former activist/organizer parlayed her politics and hip-hop background into a compelling 'remix' of Godard's 'Masculin/Feminin.'Filmmaker Jy-Ah Min grew up in Southern California. In college she...
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Selling Out to Prove a Point: Morgan Spurlock on His New Film, 'POM Wonderful...
The 'Super Size Me' director discusses the making of his corporate-sponsored documentary about the nefarious presence of corporate sponsorship.Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who ate...
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Turning Stories Into Communities: Interview with Playwright Anna Deavere Smith
The groundbreaking playwright speaks about her latest work.Actor, playwright and professor Anna Deavere Smith says her solo shows, where she interviews her subjects and uses their exact words and...
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Songs in the Key of Strife: Michael Rapaport on His New Documentary
The actor/director and Tribe member Phife Dog discuss "A Tribe Called Quest," a new documentary about the fabled rap group.Actor Michael Rapaport, a longtime fan of A Tribe Called Quest, says he always...
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Man Beats His Girlfriend With a Bullwhip and Molests Her Children -- And She...
Speaking with Debbie Peagler's lawyers and documentarian about getting her out of prison for a second chance.Oprah Winfrey has probably brought more attention to the issue of domestic violence than...
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Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries: Talking with Vanessa Roth, Director of New...
A new documentary, narrated by Matt Damon and based on a book by Dave Eggers and Nínive Calegari, shows another facet of the troubles teachers in the US face.The new documentary American Teacher,...
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A Disappointing Daughter? Interview with Acclaimed Comic Shazia Mirza
Speaking with the Pakistani-British comedian about her journey from biochemistry to cracking jokes.Shazia Mirza was raised in a strict Muslim household in Birmingham, UK, by Pakistani parents, who...
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Listen, Whitey! Talking With Author Pat Thomas About the Black Panthers
The writer of a new book on Black Panther culture speaks on researching his project, Occupy, Huey Newton, and moreAfter moving to Oakland in 2000, Pat Thomas started reading about the Black Panther...
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The Human Face of Student Debt: A Conversation With the Filmmakers of 'Default'
A documentary on the student loan crisis lends a much needed perspective on the cost of educational debt.If you want to experience the real impact of student loan debt on human lives, look no further...
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The Huge Growth of MOOCs Threatens America's Great Public University System
Online courses will create a two-tiered system, with the wealthy taking classes face-to-face and making social connections, and middle-class and poorer students learning remotely.In a college-level...
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What It's Really Like to Be a Black Student at an Elite Private School
A conversation with the makers of the new documentary, 'American Promise.'How do race and class affect education in the United States? That’s the question at the heart of American Promise, a...
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Educators at Rural School Suspected of Targeting Native American Students for...
California's Department of Education has agreed to investigate allegations of unfair treatment of Native American youth.California’s Humboldt County, a mostly rural forested area that sits on the...
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What Made the Chicago Teachers' Strike a Success? Their Commitment to the...
The dramatically victorious strike showed it's possible for unions to fight back and to win. In a newly published book, Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity, Micah Uetricht offers a...
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'Pretty Much a Catastrophe': Anna Deavere Smith and the Disaster of the...
The playwright takes to the Yerba Buena stage on July 17 to unmask zero-tolerance policies.In the last 20 years, there has been a shocking rise in the number of schools that embrace zero tolerance...
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Why This Man Left His Hip Hop Group to Become a Cop
He thought about his decision for a long time, and in 2010 enrolled in the police academy.On Jan. 1, 2009, a white transit officer, Johannes Mehserle, shot a 22-year-old black man, Oscar Grant, at the...
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Actress Anna Deveare Smith Gives a Crash Course in the School-to-Prison...
Her latest show explores how poor minority kids are being pushed out of school and into the criminal justice system. In her latest solo show, “Notes From the Field: Doing Time in Education, the...
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Why There Are High Rates of PTSD In This Teacher's Classroom
Children in some communities have higher rates of PTSD than veterans. Here's what one teacher is doing to help them thrive.In his 22 years of teaching high school English to East Oakland’s teenagers,...
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New Program Takes Rare Approach of Treating Homeless People Like Human...
A new program moves homeless encampments into a safe, clean space with food, laundry, showers and case workers who care. Alan Nethe, who spent 15 years on the street, answers succinctly when asked what...
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The Problem with the 'Failing' Schools Label
The measures that lead to a school being designated"failing" can have little to do with what's actually happening in the classroom.With the implementation of state standards and assessments to measure...
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How Ethnic Studies Programs Boost Academic Performance of At-Risk Youth
It's proven: Instead of focusing on the dominant culture, programs that reflect a more diverse world can help keep teens in school.What does it take to keep at-risk teenagers engaged in school?...
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