Column

Rising temperatures could drive coffee to extinction Each day brings with it damning forecasts of the consequences of global warming:  intense and prolonged droughts, rising sea levels and stronger storms. And each day, this data falls on deaf ears as we struggle to understand how to incorporate it in our daily routines: How can I […]

Division and cognitive dissonance often stem from religious institutions Religion can be a saving grace for some — a gleam of hope, a source of comfort, enlightenment and guidance. But it can also be the source of guilt, division and cognitive dissonance — which is derived from the organization of religion. Ironically, for a system […]

The far-right news site manipulates readers with outrageous headlines From an ecological perspective, Breitbart News and President Donald Trump have enjoyed an extraordinarily healthy symbiotic relationship over the past several years. Many people might argue that this is because “both are racist” or “both are sexist” or “both are homophobic.” With both Trump and Breitbart […]

Pushing beyond social media testimonials I’m 19 years old, and I can’t stop talking about #MeToo. Understand, this is not a confession or a testimonial of any sort. The lines between right and wrong, between equality and sexism, are not drawn clearly, as they usually are. They’ve been blurred, erased, even redone, in the midst […]

Global warming threatens all areas of life, future generations On Dec. 27, 2017, President Donald Trump posted a tweet implying that the extreme cold weather blasting the eastern U.S. stands as further proof against the existence of climate change, noting that the North sure could “use a little bit of that good old Global Warming.” […]

Why playing video games isn’t a bad thing You’re skydiving; you’re free-falling at top speeds until your parachute deploys. Except, once you land, panic sets in, as you need to find a gun before someone kills you. It’s called “Fortnite,” and everyone’s playing it. Imagine if someone took “The Hunger Games” and turned it into […]

Why bad stories are so good I wanted a word that describes a story that’s so bad it’s good. I can think of stories from my own life that fit this definition. But words shape our understanding of the world. If a certain word doesn’t exist, how can the idea exist? I noted a few […]

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s film reaffirms that details matter After years of #OscarsSoWhite and in the throes of the #MeToo movement, it wasn’t surprising when the Academy of Motion Pictures nominated a diverse group of actors, producers and directors in 2017. A persistent and vocal public has begun to shape the course of […]

Pack your journal and leave the rest behind At this moment, as I scramble to finish this piece by a generously extended deadline, a coffee-colored journal lies on a desk shared with a cup of lukewarm tea and and a bunch of free Russian newspapers. It hasn’t moved in a few weeks, which seems to […]

How broader culture has grown to love cartels This article contains major spoilers for the Netflix show “Narcos.”   Television and news have consistently been complacent in glorifying and packaging narco culture for viewer consumption. This is most readily evident in “Narcos,” the popular Netflix series, which glamorizes drug use and cartel violence and at […]

An argument for no climate boundaries across nations and race Reflecting on my childhood, I realize that my relatives and friends all showed the same level of disinterest in climate change. In fact, I don’t remember discussing climate change in school very much, either. In my lifetime, I’ve noticed environmentalism used to be a concern […]

Foreign commentary on America’s strengths and flaws Fish need water, and we need the news. There was a point in my life when I hated the news. News bookmarks on Chrome were deleted; political pages on Facebook were unliked; Sunday newspapers at coffee shops went unpurchased. That attitude thankfully changed — and with it came […]