Politics & Current Affairs

State, local, and federal government programs have been incentivizing and payrolling upgraded school security in the nearly two years since the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

A bill recently passed by California legislators would establish standards for “affirmative consent” with regard to sexual activity on college campuses. “Yes Means Yes” could be influential to other states’ legislators if it survives initial litigation.

Isn’t the internet great? It’s this remarkable and multifaceted one-stop shop for socializing, romance, commerce, and cat videos. But thanks to the revelations of Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers, we’ve […]

August 22, 1864: representatives from twelve European countries convene in Switzerland to sign the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in […]

Stefan Magdalinski, the former CEO of Multiply.com, came across this sign in Kasane, Botswana. His description: “Kasane, Botswana. All over the world cybercafes have to cater to whatever expat community […]

The human capacity for reason may be fragile and partial but it is not belied by studies in which large percentages of subjects answer a few tricky questions incorrectly.

An office apology is not like a personal apology. Saying “sorry” to a co-worker involves navigating the invisible tensions of office politics.

We know to be wary of demagoguery, but “plutogoguery” also has perils. Especially if it promotes elite psychological patterns that history warns against: 1. Demagogues are leaders (agogos = “lead”) […]

The Internet of Things is coming—are you ready? As Big Think reported recently in our interview with leading economist Jeremy Rifkin, the Internet of Things will connect everyone and everything […]

Is theage of climate change deniers over? Let’s hope so. Because we’ve got serious work to do. If we no longer need to debate whether the Earth is flat, then […]

Dr. Raymond Bearse, the interim president of Kentucky State University, cut his salary $90,000 (to a paltry $259,745) in order to raise the minimum wage on campus to $10.25. 

TIRANA – Poor countries export raw materials such as cocoa, iron ore, and raw diamonds. Rich countries export – often to those same poor countries – more complex products such […]

NEW YORK – Karl Marx famously wrote that history repeats itself, “the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” Yet when we look around nowadays, we can’t help […]

Columbia grad and former Yale professor William Deresiewicz is making waves with a sizable invective against his alma maters, as well as other Ivy League institutions.

Last year America witnessed some of the most cringe-inducing political advertising campaigns of all time, in which the Koch Brothers attempted to convince young Americans to boycott Obamacare. The videos […]

In 2010, Fatima Arjoun became the first female general in Algeria’s military. After promoting three more women this year, Algeria has risen to the top of the Arab world in including women in high-ranking military positions. 

Some say voting via the internet is the future of democracy. But Norwegians’ fears relating to security and anonymity have caused the government to end its e-voting experiment.

Are you a PATRIOT or an IGNORAMUS? Test your July 4th knowledge.

John B. Judis of New Republic argues that the United States is powerless to combat the breaking down of nonsensical Middle East borders drawn nearly a hundred years ago by colonial powers.

The president’s requested war budget is America’s lowest in a decade. The request includes over $2 billion in funds to support American interests in Syria and neighboring countries.

A new compilation of data called the Good Country Index has placed Ireland at the top of the world’s countries when it comes to contributing to humanity’s larger goals.

Pollinators such as the common honey bee contribute as much as $15 billion to the United States agricultural market. With bee populations experiencing a staggering decline, the U.S. government is taking steps to try and save them.

A new Gallup poll shows that Americans’ confidence in print and television news is at an all-time low. Losing the hearts and minds of the American people also means losing influence over the collective societal zeitgeist.

Several dozen Canadian academics have utilized a job vacancy at the University of Alberta to protest high administrator salaries. Slate’s Rebecca Schuman examines administrative bloat and the “corporatization of the University.”

Chelsea Manning, a former intelligence analyst for the US Army during the Iraq War, has penned a call for more transparency from his prison cell at Forth Leavenworth, Kansas.

Although Twitter is hailed as a democratic medium for the dissemination of marginalized political views, experts have found that it is mostly an echo chamber for the opinions expressed by elite television personalities. 

An Idaho School Board is considering a new social media policy that forbids teachers from friending, following, or posting about students and their parents. The policy change stems from an incident involving a high school basketball teacher who was fired over a controversial photo.

Under a new South Carolina law, third graders who fail a state-administered standardized reading exam will be held back starting in 2018. The policy is part of the state’s new Read to Succeed Act.

The northeast Asian nation most famous for Genghis Khan is raising its profile on the world stage by courting foreign investment, boosting its worldwide diplomatic presence, and adopting a self-sufficient energy policy.

Far from questing after the fame and fortune that often accompanies state-sanctioned power, Mujica prefers to live quietly with his wife and their three-legged dog in a farm house.