Hacking. Satellites. Espionage. Disasters. No, it is not the NSA, but rather the upcoming science-fiction film Geostorm. The film’s plot revolves around a network of satellites designed to control the earth’s weather, which (spoiler alert) does not exactly work as planned. While this technology might seem far-fetched or alarming, similar processes are quickly becoming a … Read more
Paula White, a wealthy televangelist and longtime friend of Donald Trump, has become an unlikely leader of American Christianity. The first clergywoman to pray at a presidential inauguration, White now serves as the head of Trump’s Evangelical Advisory Board, acting as his ambassador to the Religious Right. Trump and White are perfect for one another—both … Read more
Georgia Tech’s campus in downtown Atlanta. It’s a little after 11 p.m. the evening of September 16 on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Situated in the heart of Midtown, Georgia Tech is a lively campus composed of rustic red brick buildings that stand alongside modern architecture, with vast green spaces around each … Read more
On September 7, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced plans to reverse several Obama-era Title IX guidelines regarding sexual assault investigations at U.S. colleges and universities. Since then, Harvard students have received little assurance from their administration that protections for Harvard’s sexual assault victims are here to stay. DeVos specifically revoked the Department of Education’s 2011 … Read more
Vocalized Expressions of Humanness “Iktsuarpok” is a word with no direct English translation. From Inuit, it best translates to “the frustration of waiting for someone to show up.” It is a word imbued with special meaning, and a word that may now be threatened. The Endangered Languages Project classifies the Inuit language as “vulnerable,” with … Read more
On September 19th, the Harvard College Open Campus Initiative hosted a panel entitled “Are We Killing Free Speech?” The panelists–– Dave Rubin, Bret Weinstein, and Steve Simpson–– were intelligent, articulate, and thought-provoking. It was an attentive but quiet crowd; no protesters, no walk out. That the event was open only to Harvard ID holders became … Read more
Across the West, anxieties about immigration have begun to play an increasingly central role in popular discourse and politics. During his first few months in office, Donald Trump has twice tried to restrict entry of Muslims into the United States, only to be thwarted by the judiciary both times. The surge of refugees entering Western … Read more
Every week-day since around the time Donald Trump took office, my morning routine has included watching Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers’s monologues from the night before. I load both clips on YouTube and, as I fill my coffee machine with water, I listen to Colbert conversationally recall Trump’s most recent actions and blunders – a … Read more
Massachusetts has a budget crisis, and Medicaid is the primary suspect. Since 2010, prescription drug costs have increased by 13 percent every year, and the state’s Medicaid program, MassHealth, makes up nearly 40 percent of the state’s budget. In a September letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Marylou Sudders, Massachusetts Secretary of … Read more
In October 2016, New York governor Andrew Cuomo made it illegal to rent New York City homes on Airbnb for stays of less than 30 days. In fact, the bill went so far as to make it illegal to advertise such homes for rent. Similarly, San Francisco lawmakers attempted to curb the usage of Airbnb … Read more