( Tomdispatch.com ) – As it turns out, it’s never too late. I mention that only because last week, at nearly 79, I managed to visit Mars for the first time. You know, the red planet, or rather — so it seemed to me — the orange planet. And take my word for it, it […]
Who will Inherit the Earth? The Rise of AI and the Human Future (?)
( Tomdispatch.com ) – After almost 79 years on this beleaguered planet, let me say one thing: this can’t end well. Really, it can’t. And no, I’m not talking about the most obvious issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to the climate disaster. What I have in mind is that latest, greatest human invention: […]
The Era of Great Power Victory in Wars ended in 1945 and a Wise Power would Avoid them
( Tomdispatch.com) – I was born on July 20, 1944, amid a vast global conflict already known as World War II. Though it ended with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 before I could say much more than “Mama” or “Dada,” in some strange fashion, I grew up at war. Living […]
Prophecies, Then and Now: My Life at World’s End
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Indulge me for a moment. This is how “The Prophecy” in my 1962 high school yearbook began. It was written by some of my classmates in the year we graduated from Friends Seminary in New York City. “Being an historian, I am jotting down these notes out of habit, but what I […]
The New McCarthyism and the (True) One-Party State in America
Note for TomDispatch Readers: I hate to bother you when you were so wonderful in helping keep this website afloat with contributions as last year ended, but believe me, you’re still needed! I know it’s relatively early in the year, but TomDispatch is now low on funds in a world where wasteful spending on the […]
Why the Arctic turning into a Lukewarm Puddle should be a bigger Headline than a bit of Inflation
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Let me start 2023 with a glance back at a December news moment that caught my eye. To do so, however, I have to offer a bit of explanation. First, the obvious: I’m an old guy and, though I spend significant parts of any day scrolling through endless websites covering aspects […]
Political Super-Storm: When Will Climate Change Become the Crucial Issue in American Elections?
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Believe me, it’s strange to be an old man and feel like you’re living on a new planet. On November 7th, the day before the midterm elections, I took my usual afternoon walk in New York City and I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt! That was a first for me. And […]
The Planet Earth We Grew up With, R.I.P.
( Tomdispatch.com ) – Oddly enough, I’ve read obituaries with fascination from the time I was quite young. And yet, in all these years, I’ve never really reflected on that fact. I don’t know whether it was out of some indirect fascination with death and the end of it all or curiosity about the wholeness […]
The End of Progressive Book Publishing in the Age of Monopoly Capital?
( Tomdispatch.com) – No one listened better than Studs. For those of you old enough to remember, that’s Studs Terkel, of course. The most notable thing about him in person, though, was this: the greatest interviewer of his moment, perhaps of any moment, never stopped talking, except, of course, when he was listening to produce […]
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