How Doctor Who became Nurse Rory
RORY: Just point and think. AMY: But what do I think? — Doctor Who, “Let’s Kill Hitler.” It’s usually hard to pinpoint the exact moment when a beloved TV series goes off the rails. Fans...
Month: August 2011
Review: Esi Edugyan’s Half Blood Blues
Esi Edugyan’s Half Blood Blues (Serpent’s Tail, 2011) is one of the more outstanding entries on this year’s Booker Prize longlist. A lyrical, complex, layered narrative of friendship, betrayal,...
Welcome to the Herd: A Feminist Watches My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
I admit it, I was skeptical when I first the buzz about the new My Little Pony show. I like a My Little Pony as much as the next fully grown woman--usually if it’s been modded to look like Star...
Fighting to stay middle-class: The Verizon strike
If you live in a northeastern state, you have probably seen picketers clad in red over the past couple of weeks. These were union members who were on strike against their employer, Verizon. That...
As Tripoli falls, cautious optimism about Libya’s future
There was much celebrating yesterday as rebel forces, aided by increased NATO surveillance, moved into Tripoli. Though fighting continues in pockets throughout Tripoli—most notably over Gaddafi’s...
Review: The Red Market by Scott Carney
It sounds like the stuff of nightmarish urban legends: in rural India, men desperate for money or a meal are promised both, then held captive in “blood farms” where their blood is siphoned...
Egypt six months after revolution
In February, the world watched in awe as Egyptians converged on Cairo’s Tahrir Square to peacefully overthrow the autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak. The previous overthrow of Ben Ali in Tunisia...
The Pot Republic: California’s Marijuana Industry
Last month, Frontline in association with KQED and the Center for Investigative Reporting produced a half hour special, 'The Pot Republic,' probing into the state of marijuana in California. Their...
Why it matters that Michele Bachmann is a submissive wife
The 2012 American election is a long way away. And yet, feminists are already tired of pointing out that people have been sexist in their treatment of Michele Bachmann. The relationship of feminists...
Jobs, not cuts: Moveon.org’s American Dream movement flounders
Yesterday, 255 affiliates of the progressive organization, Moveon.org, held rallies throughout the United States to protest recent debt ceiling deal cuts and call for “jobs not cuts.” Most of...