top story in Moving Pictures
A Masterful Look at Anti-Apartheid
South Africa’s painful journey from white minority domination to democracy, and the roles played by the rest of the world, is chronicled in a five-part documentary airing on PBS.
Two Russian Films Give Differing Views of Motherland
“Khodorkovsky” and “Hipsters,” two wildly different films currently making rounds of U.S., suggest that each step forward in Russia is greeted with one step back.
Searing Look at Rio’s Homicidal Police
As Brazil prepares to host two high-profile global events, filmmaker José Padilha suggests that while improving security is a worthy goal, its methods and rationale are deeply flawed.
Reintroducing Paul Goodman, the ‘Public Intellectual’
A new documentary film, “Paul Goodman Changed My Life,” tells the at-times risqué story of the seminal public intellectual of the American left whose impact evaporated after his death in 1972.
‘American Teacher’ Argues for Increasing Salaries
“American Teacher” argues the best prescription for the United States’ ailing public schools is paying the educators a better salary.
Film Recalls U.S.’s First Overseas Guerilla War
The latest headlines from Afghanistan repeat the old stories Americans first heard from the Philippines, suggests the newest movie by independent filmmaker John Sayles.
‘Sky Island’: Climate Change and an Alpine Oasis
A documentary film airing on PBS looks at New Mexico’s Jemez range, and gently and sparely shows how changing climate affects these unique “sky islands.”
What a Chimp Teaches Us About Humans
“Project Nim,” a documentary film examining the story of Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who learned to communicate with people using sign language, reveals more about people than other primates.
The Last Mountain: A Scary Movie About … Coal
In his film review of “The Last Mountain,” Lewis Beale describes a horror flick about environmental degradation and predatory capitalism.
archive
Lessons Learned From School and War
Reviews of two serious feature films examining true occurrences: the uplifting “The First Grader” and the brutal “City of Life and Death.”
Documentary Tells Story of Art Saved from Stalin’s Fury
The documentary ‘The Desert of Forbidden Art’ tells the story of the Igor Savitsky Museum, a remote refuge for Soviet-era art that ran afoul of Stalin’s diktat.
‘Making the Boys’ Examines Controversial Gay Play
Documentary film “Making the Boys” recounts the rise, fall and redemption of the groundbreaking and controversial play, “The Boys in the Band.”
A Hiding Place for Nuclear Waste
A new film documenting Finland’s effort to seal away nuclear waste for the next 100 millennia asks how one predicts 100,000 years into the future.
Robert E. Lee Without the Halo
A new documentary finds that Robert E. Lee, the beau ideal of the Confederate officer and gentleman, also represented some of the less savory aspects of the Lost Cause.
Bhutto Soap Opera Makes for a Compelling Film
The murders, intrigues and expanses of Pakistan’s first female prime minister seem made for the big screen, and a new documentary is a game first step in that direction.
Eliot Spitzer’s Rise and Fall, and Potential Return
Eliot Spitzer, the shooting star of New York state politics, takes part in the documentary “Client 9,” which looks at the sex scandal that doused his light.
Mixed Report Card for ‘Waiting for Superman’
New documentary on schools shines a spotlight on the plight of low-income and minority children, but the film flops when it comes to solutions.
‘Carlos’ Brilliant Look at Real Terrorist
“Carlos,” a monumental feature film about the 1970s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, covers the bases historically and still provides a crackling good experience cinematically.
Zuckerberg Rules!
“The Social Network” is a film about Facebook’s founding, true, but in many ways it’s also a story of American meritocracy trumping European-style aristocracy.
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business
- The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
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- A Perennial Epicenter, Now for Same-Sex Marriage
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science
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culture
media
- Bitter About Your Life? Blame Facebook
- Miller-McCune’s Top Stories of 2011
- Pop Charts Still Dominated by Men
- Two Russian Films Give Differing Views of Motherland
- Searing Look at Rio’s Homicidal Police
legal affairs
- A Perennial Epicenter, Now for Same-Sex Marriage
- Prop 8 May Be Same-Sex Couples’ Least Worry
- Five Orcas, Five Slaves or Five Persons?
- California’s Medical Marijuana Morass
- The FCC and Indecency: Here We Go Again
environment
- Quake Rescues Reserve, Shakes Baja Fishing Town
- Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
- Conservation’s Earnest Message Could Use Levity
- Traffic Solution: Make Drivers Less Lonely
- Street Makeovers Put New Spin on the Block
health
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most viewed
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Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
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Casual Sex: Men, Women Not So Different After All
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Prop Planes: The Future of Eco-Friendly Aviation?
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Are Some Airlines Just Too Dangerous to Fly?
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Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity
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Japan's Earthquake: Deciphering the Fury
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Five Orcas, Five Slaves or Five Persons?
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The Real Science Gap
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Learning to Read When a School System Falters
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The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
from the source
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.
Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
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.
Hall of fame
Slugging — The People’s Transit
In Washington, D.C., commuters have taken thousands of cars off highways via a homegrown rideshare system known as “slugging.” Can the government create more slugs — without stepping on any?
Bacteria ‘R’ Us
Emerging research shows that bacteria have powers to engineer the environment, to communicate and to affect human well-being. They may even think.
A New Take on Political Ideology
An evolutionary psychologist proposes a new framework for understanding the root causes of our political beliefs.
The Real Science Gap
It’s not insufficient schooling or a shortage of scientists. It’s a lack of job opportunities. Americans need the reasonable hope that spending their youth preparing to do science will provide a satisfactory career.
Triumph of the Cyborg Composer
David Cope’s software creates beautiful, original music. Why are people so angry about that?
