Some infrastructure concerns go far less discussed than others including, notably, the issue of wastewater and sanitation. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the country’s wastewater treatment plants are functioning at an average of “81 percent of their design capacities,” and 15 percent have “reached or exceeded” that capacity. Drinking water service Read More
The January pick for our “Now Read This” book club was a book of essays exploring many aspects of American culture through the prism of the internet and social media. At age 32, author Jia Tolentino has gained acclaim as one of its most astute observers. She’s a also a staff writer for The New Yorker and “Trick Mirror” is her first book. Jeffrey Brown spoke to Tolentino to Read More
As the number of cases in the U.S. continues to rise, so too do questions about how the virus spreads and how the average person can protect themselves. Health officials are simultaneously trying to understand the virus while improving they way they identify cases and contain those that are known — and encouraging people to just practice good hygiene (and to be cautious, Read More
Five years ago, Egyptian security forces opened fire on a protest tent city in Cairo, killing at least 800. What led to that day was an extraordinarily tumultuous few years in Egypt: the Arab Spring, the coming to power of a Muslim Brotherhood president, a coup, and the emergence of a new soldier strongman. Nick Schifrin talks with “Into the Hands of the Soldiers” author Read More
When artist Trevor Paglen looks up at the night sky, there's beauty and wonder, but also a planet completely transformed by humans into a "landscape of surveillance." His new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, “Sites Unseen,” offers a new way to look at very familiar landscapes. Jeffrey Brown reports on Paglen’s latest obsession: how artificial intelligence Read More
The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said it would resume accepting renewals for DACA, the Obama-era program that protects young immigrants from deportation. This follows last week’s decision by a federal court blocking the Trump administration’s plan to end the program. Josh Gerstein, a POLITICO reporter who has been following the DACA story, joins Hari Read More
California this week joined a growing list of states and the District of Columbia where it is now legal to sell marijuana. But on Thursday Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from bringing charges in places where marijuana is legal under state law. John Hudak, of the Brookings Institution, joins Hari Sreenivasan Read More
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