Joseph Turow— It’s said that a frog placed in a boiling pot of water will escape, but if the water is slowly heated the frog will habituate and eventually die. Although scientists dispute the accuracy of this statement, no one in the audience of marketers objected—or even said it was
Charles M. Peters— The traditional method of farming used throughout the tropics is called shifting cultivation, roza, tumba y quema, or slash and burn agriculture. A small plot of forest is felled and burned, and corn, rice, cassava, or a variety of other crops are planted in the ash. These
Niall Kishtainy— If you study economics at university, you mainly learn about those basic economic principles. They’re powerful and useful but you should use them with care. Some people think they’re not really ‘science’ at all. They say that underneath economists’ equations is a conservative political ideal that says that
What events have shaped Iran as we know it today? What lies at the foundation of Iran’s culture and society? Where does it see itself on the global stage? Abbas Amanat discusses modern Iran’s past and present. Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud
Niall Kishtainy— A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of communism.’ This is the first line of The Communist Manifesto, which was written in the middle of the nineteenth century and is perhaps the most famous political pamphlet ever. The spectre – something scary and menacing – was the threat to
Franck Salameh— Middle East specialists of a hundred years ago have traditionally been philologists trained in a dozen or more Middle Eastern languages, including Latin and Greek, but also the obligatory Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian among others. Today, many of the luminaries of this venerable area of inquiry
What does a leftist foreign policy look like? Is it on the right track now or is it time for a change? We have Michael Walzer on to discuss. Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud
Joseph Turow— “Bricks and mortar is dead; long live bricks and mortar!” This was the surprising theme that emerged from the sprawling 2014 Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition, reported Laura Heller, editor in chief of the online trade magazine FierceRetail. Everybody in retail had previously been emphasizing only the tremendous advantage that
Gary Dorrien— Martin Luther King Jr., at the end of his life, fixed on three reform objectives, a movement ambition, and something bigger. The policy objectives were to terminate racial discrimination in housing, establish a minimum guaranteed income, and end America’s global militarism. Sometimes he put it in ethical terms,
Lynne Vallone— I see big people. I also see small people. My body tells me who is big and who is small and signals the circumstances when I am larger or littler than someone or something else. I enjoy being big in some situations and small in others. Cuddling a