Instead of settling for a simple retired life, Aleksander Doba decided to kayak from Florida to Lisbon, Portugal. He is paddling his way across the Atlantic Ocean in a special kayak.
Tag Archives: Culture & Society
Top 5 Influences on Regional Cooking in the United States
Do you like Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, or Creole food? Check out this article about how other cultures’ cuisines have impacted food in the United States.
A Modern-Day Tale of Romeo and Juliet
A couple arrested in Yemen have sparked a major Facebook campaign. Read this article to find out about this modern-day Romeo and Juliet.
U.S. Olympic Athlete Gives Up Team Spot to Twin Sister
What sacrifices would you make for a sibling? Read this article to find out why Tracy Barnes gave up her spot on the U.S. Olympic biathlon team for her twin sister.
Groundbreaking Slavery Exhibit Opens at Tennessee State Museum
A new exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum attempts to reconstruct the lives of slaves and slaveholders to give a better understanding of that time in history.
Mixtape of the Revolution
Protest songs often document or even fuel the desire for political change. This New York Times article examines the importance of music in the revolutions of the Arab Spring.
Vicky Pryce: “Prison Clearly Does Not Work”
Fresh from jail, the economist and author of Prisonomics explains why the system costs too much, locks up the wrong people, and does not prevent reoffending.
Hemingway on War and Its Aftermath
Although best know for his fiction, Ernest Hemingway was also a war correspondent and a Red Cross ambulance driver. Read this article from the National Archives to find out how Hemingway’s wartime experiences influenced his writing.
After Chernobyl, They Refused to Leave
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster was the world’s worst nuclear accident. Thousands of people were relocated to other cities. But 1,200 people, mostly older women, came back to live in the toxic Exclusion Zone, unwilling to be displaced from their homes. Read the article and view the video to find out what bonds these women to their homeland.
Eric Whitacre: A Virtual Choir 2,000 Voices Strong
Eric Whitacre is the creator and conductor of the virtual choir, a network of YouTube-connected singers from around the world who came together to create a virtual choir. Watch this video to hear their story and their magical music.
Fairy-Tale Adaptations: It’s Ever After, All Right
Adaptations of fairy-tales are nothing new, but a few years ago, they started popping up on prime time television. What would the Brothers Grimm have thought? Check out this report to see what’s going on—and why.
Good news for teen voting
In Takoma Park, Washington, the voting age for local elections was recently lowered to 16. In the first election since the change, the teen voting rate was much higher than that of the general public.
Have Sports Teams Brought Down America’s Schools?
Why are American students falling behind those of most other developed nations? The author of this blog entry argues that one important reason is the popularity of our high school athletic programs.
India, Home of the Nonviolent Protest, Embraces More Extreme Dissent
Protesters in India are taking novel approaches to the tradition of nonviolent resistance.
That Lady With the Scales Poses for Her Portraits
Courthouses often display sculptures of Lady Justice wearing a blindfold to show that she is impartial. Read about two scholars who have researched how artists have portrayed justice in many different cultures and time periods.
Why I Gave Up a High-Paying Corporate Career to Start a Charity
Jim Ziolkowski left a high-paying job in the financial industry to start buildOn, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping teens give back to their communities through public service. Read the article to find out more.
Slavery’s Last Stronghold
The African country of Mauritania officially ended slavery in 1981; however, an estimated 10%–20% of the population is still enslaved. Read this article to find out more about the struggle to free the last slaves on earth.
The Five Percent Problem
Conflicts may be universal, but most can eventually be resolved. However, researchers estimate that about 5% of conflicts are so entrenched and complex that they seem impossible to solve. In this video series, Peter T. Coleman discusses examples of such conflicts, including how they started and what could possibly end them.
Trojan War
The tale of the Trojan War has fascinated people for centuries. Why? Check out this site to learn the story of the war, the epics that mention it, and what archaeologists have discovered over the years. While you’re there, be sure to click links to related topics, such as “Greek Mythology” and “Ancient Greece.” There’s a lot to learn.
Texting May Be Taking a Toll
Thumb cramps, sleeplessness, distractions, falling grades. . . . Is it possible that texting teens are too busy making their voices heard? Read this article to discover what some experts suspect. It may be time to turn off that phone and get some rest.