Every culture a responsibility to care for its warriors. Working with soldiers suffering from PTSD, Edward Tick believes the United States can do better.
In the September-October issue of Utne Reader, Tick wrote warrior societies in different cultures and how those ideas can help returning U.S. soldiers.For the latest episode of the UtneCast, editor in chief David Schimke sat down with Edward Tick to talk about PTSD, warrior cultures, and the burdens carried by soldiers.
You can listen to the interview below, or to subscribe to the UtneCast for free through iTunes, click here.
In his book The Roma Journeys, photographer Joakim Eskildsen documents the lives of the Roma people, an oppressed and misunderstood minority often known as gypsies. The September-October issue of Utne Reader features Eskildsen’s lush color photographs and explores the lives and history of the Roma people.
For the latest episode of the UtneCast, Eskildsen sat down with senior editor Keith Goetzman to talk about the stereotypes that surround the Roma, how he immersed himself in their culture, and what he admires about them.
You can listen to the interview below, or to subscribe to the UtneCast for free through iTunes, click here.
Copyright Joakim Eskildsen. The Roma Journeys by Joakim Eskildsen published by Steidl
(www.steidlville.com)
From health care plans and investments options to the small choices of what to have for lunch, Cass Sunstein wants to help people make better decisions. Sunstein, a professor at Harvard Law School, is the coauthor, along with economist Richard Thaler, of Nudgeabout the subtle ways that government can push (or nudge) people into making better decisions.
For the latest episode of the UtneCast, I sat down with Cass Sunstein to talk about the benefits and dangers of using nudges in government and business. And since Sunstein is also an informal advisor to presidential candidate Barack Obama, I asked him about the ways in which both candidates are nudging voters.
Moneyland, the new album by bluegrass legend Del McCoury, is a scathing indictment of the rampant corruption and greed in America today. The album features both classic bluegrass standards and newly recorded songs, with guest appearances by Merle Haggard, Tim O’Brien, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, Bruce Hornsby, and Gillian Welch.
Having grown up on a farm in Pennsylvania, McCoury has witnessed the decline of traditional rural life in America, but as the consummate gentleman, he isn’t trying to influence people’s politics. He’s just calling attention to the fact that “many working folks all across America are in a tough spot.”
You can listen to the interview above, or to subscribe to the UtneCast for free through iTunes, click here.
This Sunday, HBO is airing the first episode of Generation Kill, a darkly funny miniseries about American soldiers on the eve of the Iraq invasion. The show was produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, the acclaimed creators of the police drama The Wire. For the latest UtneCast, I spoke with Susannah White, who directed four of the seven episodes of Generation Kill. We talked about what she hopes to accomplish with the series and what it was like as a British woman directing a series about testosterone-filled American soldiers.
To subscribe to the UtneCast through iTunes, click here, or just listen to the interview at the top of this post.
And to watch a preview from Generation Kill, click on the YouTube video below.
“We will always have brands,” Lucas Conley writes in his new book Obsessive Branding Disorder, but some brand marketing campaigns are just wrong. In this week’s episode of the UtneCast, Conley sits down with Utne Reader assistant web editor Bennett Gordon to listen to a few advertisements and to talk about how brands and marketing are creating a more jaded society.
To watch the ads from the podcast, click on the YouTube links below:
For the latest episode of the UtneCast, I sat down with film director Robert Greenwald during the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform to talk about the blurring line between advocacy and journalism.
Greenwald rose to fame with his fiery polemics against Fox News in his 2004 documentary OutFoxed, and private contractors in Iraq in his 2006 documentary Iraq for Sale. Celebrated by many on the left, and reviled by many on the right, Greenwald’s production company, Brave New Films, has focused on the internet in recent months, releasing short films attacking John McCain and his allies.
Christian pop music isn’t just for evangelicals anymore. In this episode of the UtneCast, Daniel Radosh, a secular Jew from New York City and author of the book Rapture Ready!, talks about why everyone should listen to Christian music. To hear the interview, complete with samples of good Christian pop songs, click on the play button above.
Lisa Owens Viani on Old Medications and Water Pollution: Download
Getting rid of old medications and pills can be an environmental disaster. The drugs are considered hazardous waste, but many people simply flush their old pills down the toilet.
In the March-April issue of Utne Reader, Lisa Owens Viani wrote about some innovative strategies to get rid of expired medications. In the interview below, you can hear Owens Viani, senior editor of the northern California environmental magazine Terrain, talk about the problems with flushing pills down the toilet, and what you can do about it.
The Bush Administration is known for its extreme secrecy. Reports of warantless wiretapping and secret CIA prisons have made big news, but overall, it’s hard to know how deep the government cover-ups go. In 2006, the political website Talking Points Memo started the “insanely ambitious” project to record “every significant instance of this administration stifling government information.” An excerpt of the list was published in the March-April issue of Utne Reader.
In a noisy sidewalk café in New York City, I had a chance to sit down with Paul Kiel, deputy editor of Talking Points Memo to talk about the list, the Bush Administration’s trend of secrecy, and what people are doing about it.
Every two weeks, the UtneCast brings you interviews with visionary thinkers, authors, artists, and activists who are working for a greener and kinder world. Plus reviews of new music and movies from independent artists and filmmakers.
Every culture a responsibility to care for its warriors. Working with soldiers suffering from PTSD, Edward Tick believes the United States can do better.
In his book The Roma Journeys, photographer 
From health care plans and investments options to the small choices of what to have for lunch, Cass Sunstein wants to help people make better decisions. Sunstein, a professor at Harvard Law School, is the coauthor, along with economist Richard Thaler, of 
Moneyland, the new album by bluegrass legend 
This Sunday, HBO is airing the first episode of 
For the latest episode of the UtneCast, I sat down with film director Robert Greenwald during the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform to talk about the blurring line between advocacy and journalism.
Christian pop music isn’t just for evangelicals anymore. In this episode of the UtneCast, Daniel Radosh, a secular Jew from New York City and author of the book Rapture Ready!, talks about why everyone should listen to Christian music. To hear the interview, complete with samples of good Christian pop songs, click on the play button above.
Getting rid of old medications and pills can be an environmental disaster. The drugs are considered hazardous waste, but many people simply flush their old pills down the toilet.
The Bush Administration is known for its extreme secrecy. Reports of warantless wiretapping and secret CIA prisons have made big news, but overall, it’s hard to know how deep the government cover-ups go. In 2006, the political website 
