by Brutus, who writes at The Spiral Staircase, where he specializes in reviews, armchair social criticism, diatribes, rants, and jeremiads. This essay is cross-posted here. Prior to the 20th century, the specter of early death was never far from people's…
I started exchanging physical labor for fiat currency when I was about 12 years old. Nine-month stints spent within indoctrination facilities were interrupted by summers spent clearing fields of woody debris: Small landowners converted forests to fields and other youngsters…
by Dan Allen, a high school Chemistry teacher in New Jersey, as well as a concerned father, organic farmer, and community garden organizer. “The spent fuel stored in pools holds between 5 and 10 times more long-lived radioactivity than the…
Audio I was interviewed for The Refreshment Center's radio show on Friday, 1 February 2013. The interview is embedded here, although most of my interview was lost to a techno-disaster. I'm scheduled for another visit in a few weeks. ______________…
En route to Tucson for a two-day visit last month, I retrieved my mail from the local post office. Included was one of the few Christmas/New Year letters to appear this year. Apparently you have to write them to receive…
by Geoffrey Chia, a cardiologist in Brisbane, Australia My favourite author, the much loved and much missed American Humanist, dear old departed Kurt Vonnegut, was a masterful practitioner of the poignant and ironic turn of phrase. His essay "Cold Turkey"…
by Emily Stewart For most of us, it's hard to imagine a world and a life without toilet paper. But actually, less than a third of the global population uses toilet paper daily. And as it turns out, foregoing the…