Focal Point | Big Think

Spencer Soper Wins Sidney Award for Exposing Brutal Conditions at Amazon.com Warehouse

Lindsay Beyerstein — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:12:21 -0400

Business reporter Spencer Soper of The Morning Call has won the October Sidney Award from the Sidney Hillman foundation for his expose of Dickensian conditions in Amazon.com's warehouse in Pennsylvania. Temperatures inside the "fulfillment center" soared to over 100 degrees over the summer and ...

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Bachmann's Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric is Bad Science and Bad History

Lindsay Beyerstein — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:10:09 -0400

Hey, Michele Bachmann, you know who was really, really pro-vaccination? The Founding Fathers. Read all about it in my new article at The Nation. George Washington argued for mandatory inoculation of citizens against smallpox and mandated the inoculation of the Continental Army, under the ...

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Confessions of a Pro-Social Psychopath

Lindsay Beyerstein — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:22:54 -0400

Neuroscientist James Fallon is fascinated by the brains of murderers, especially in light of his own family history. His father's side of the family was full of notorious murderers. So, he compared his family's PET scans to those of known psychopathic killers: "And I took a look at my own PET ...

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"ALEC: Exposed" Wins September Sidney Award

Lindsay Beyerstein — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:58:21 -0400

The Center for Media and Democracy and The Nation magazine have won this month's Sidney Award for excellence in socially conscious journalism, the Sidney Hillman Foundation announced Tuesday. The winning project, "ALEC:Exposed" is a groundbreaking print and multimedia expose of the American ...

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Jay Smooth on Rick Perry and Superman, a Great American

Lindsay Beyerstein — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:51:36 -0400

Presidential hopeful Rick Perry told a little kid that if he were a superhero, he'd be Superman, a great American. Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine thinks that's a great idea. Watch. [Photo credit: Dunechaser, Creative Commons.]

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My New Blog, Duly Noted, Launches at In These Times

Lindsay Beyerstein — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:38:22 -0400

My new blog, Duly Noted, is live at In These Times. Check it out.

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Dealbreakers

Lindsay Beyerstein — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:36:05 -0400

Labor Day is about two things: freedom and respect. So, in that spirit, I thought I'd weigh into the discussion of romantic dealbreakers. Here are mine: 1. Picky eaters and the food-indifferent. I'm a good cook. You've got to eat what's put in front of you and like it. 2. Beards. Unless ...

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NYT Misses the Mark on Bloomberg, Goldsmith, and Domestic Violence Arrest

Lindsay Beyerstein — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:05:33 -0400

Now here's a backhanded way to normalize a mayor covering up his deputy's arrest for domestic violence: "Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s management style has its hallmarks: unwavering loyalty to aides and a deep distaste for exposing private lives to public scrutiny." That's Michael ...

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Guilty Pleasures

Lindsay Beyerstein — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:43:24 -0400

Amanda Marcotte, Matt Yglesias, and Atrios are debating the concept of "guilty pleasures" in pop culture. Here's my theory of what guilty pleasures are. For people my age, taste is a personal aesthetic code. Good taste can be idiosyncratic, in fact, it's expected to be. You're supposed to like ...

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Obama's Pick to Head Council of Economic Advisers Billed as "Jobs Expert"

Lindsay Beyerstein — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:02:37 -0400

Interesting fact about Alan Krueger, Obama's pick to head the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan B. Krueger. His research showed that raising the minimum wage doesn't destroy minimum wage jobs, it helps fill job vacancies: Mr. Krueger is best known for his studies testing widely held economic ...

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