Kirk Nielsen
Kirk Nielsen is an independent journalist based in Miami Beach. For the past decade, he has tracked presidential and congressional candidates through the political swamps of southern Florida and written extensively on the persistent Cold War conundrum known as Cuban politics. His articles have also appeared in The Progressive, The Village Voice, and Poder magazine and on Salon.com. As a staff writer for Miami New Times, he and his colleagues won the John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest Magazine Journalism for a series on poverty in glamorous greater Miami in 2002. In the 1990s, Nielsen filed radio and print reportage from all over the Caribbean region and southern United States for Monitor Radio and The Christian Science Monitor.
Autumn of the Republic?
Three books suggest America has slipped into a polarized state of undermined self-government. None convincingly suggests how we can slip back out.
The Peacemaker and the Pragmatist
Oscar Arias and Bill Clinton on the burning issues of Latin America, from unrest in Honduras to charcoal in Haiti.
Chest Pains in the USA
Our correspondent reluctantly returns to the trenches of the health care cost debate and reports back, with heart.
Canard d’Etat: Honduras and the U.S. Press
Think the fallacies in America’s health care debate are slippery? Try catching the red herring that’s fouling up U.S. press coverage of the Honduran coup.
Why Spy for Cuba?
Analysis: The 2001 trial of five Cubans caught spying in Florida might provide some insight into the case of Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers.
Trading With the Enemy Update
While legislation about improving trade ties to Cuba grabs headlines, a lot is going on under the embargo’s radar, say tipsters at a Miami trade expo.
Fainting in America
Kirk Nielsen takes the pulse of the nation’s emergency health care costs by passing out and getting gouged.
The Winter Reading of Our Discontents
What the vacationing wonk might take to the beach, courtesy of the Miami book fair and the Bush administration.
Socialist, Hell — Make Him a Full-Bore Commie
Why a Cuban Democrat can’t win in South Florida: It’s the Communism, Stupid.
Immigration Pathway Still Looks Uphill
Even with Democrats controlling Congress, ImmigrationPAC’s goal of a pathway to immigration reform faces tough going.
Path to a Pathway
ImmigrationPAC hopes to leverage the Hispanic faith community and help elect federal candidates who support “an earned pathway” to citizenship for undocumented migrants.
Cuba Libre?
Democrats are challenging Republican incumbents in three “Cuban” congressional districts in South Florida. Could the campaigns foreshadow a shift in presidential politics or Cuba policy?
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Gender Wage Gap Skewed By Survey Flaws
The wage gap between the sexes in America has been closing much faster than anyone realized, but that’s tempered by learning it’s been much wider than measurements had shown.
‘Orcas as Slaves’ Argument Sinks
An effort to identify five performing orcas as slaves failed in part, argues one scholar, because there’s no legal precedent establishing them as persons.
The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
New research finds listeners judge symphonic music differently when they’re told the conductor is a woman.
House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire
Transportation used to be one of the few guaranteed areas of agreement when ideology trumped pragmatism in D.C. But that’s no longer the case.
Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity
New research suggests less-creative people do more innovative thinking when they are told individualism is the norm, and instructed to conform.
Better Super Bowl Makes for Better Ads
A lot of people say they watch the Super Bowl mostly for the ads. But it turns out a good game surrounding those ads makes them seem better.
Overseas Troops Finally Get Fair Shot at Voting
After decades of obstacles hindering the voting process, new laws will allow overseas and military voters to submit their votes in time for the 2012 election.
Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected No More?
World health leaders announce coordinated push to eradicate or control neglected tropical diseases.
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A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.
Traffic Solution: Make Drivers Less Lonely
Rather than moaning about too many cars on the road, the Ridesharing Institute says the real key to battling traffic congestion and pollution is filling empty passenger seats.
