A Grouchy Parent Learns Holiday Lesson
I must be the world’s biggest Grinch: it’s December 21, and I just pulled the federal tax form 990 off of the website of Toys for Tots, the massive children’s Christmas toy distribution charity...
Author: Mariya Strauss
Women Working Dangerously In Bangladesh’s Garment Factories: Who Will Make It Stop?
A year ago, on November 24, 2012, the garment industry's dirty little safety secret was thrust into the global spotlight: 112 people jumped to their deaths or were burned alive in a fire inside an...
Dinner Swap Clubs: Could you rotate cooking duties with your neighbors without things getting awkward?
Forget Celebrity Wife Swap. This is down and dirty neighbor-to-neighbor swapping that brings you into the most intimate recesses of your neighbors’ personal lives: the dinner co-op. Two, three,...
This Mothers’ Day, let’s celebrate by listening to mothers
Try this exercise: What’s the last thing your mother said to you? If you can’t remember, you’ve got company: I failed that exercise myself. The power of a mother's voice is undeniable; it comes...
What’s writing worth?
There's been a brouhaha on the Internet of late, over the issue of whether freelance writers for magazines, journals, and internet media outlets should be paid for their work. (No one is yet...
“Those non-silver bullet technologies make a big difference”—An interview with food sustainability activist Danielle Nierenberg
Danielle Nierenberg, co-founder of Food Tank, has more street credibility than your average environmental activist. She recently spent two full years on the road, visiting and examining sustainable...
I was a child farmworker: Norma Flores Lopez, Director of the Children in the Fields campaign
By Mariya Strauss Meet Norma Flores Lopez, director of the Children in the Fields campaign of the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, or AFOP, whose job it is to advocate for children...
What does Obama’s win mean for people with disabilities? An interview with activist Amber Smock
by Mariya Strauss I’ve known Amber Smock since we were both in grad school; since then she has trained her writing and political organizing lasers on a single target: making the world a more...
You May Ask Yourself, How Did I Get Here? Being Underemployed Leaves Time for Organizing
The New York Times recently published two of the year’s most important stories. For those who were too distracted by Hurricane Sandy or election activities to read them, allow me to sum up: The...
“We Cannot Be Afraid:” Livestock farmer and writer Shannon Hayes on making the most of meat
by Mariya Strauss Homesteaders, aspiring homesteaders, and mildly alternative-minded folks love Shannon Hayes. Her encouraging, prodding farmer’s voice has become a companion for those seeking an...