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Knowledge is power
I've always disliked the proverb, “Ignorance is bliss.” If only I had the choice, I sometimes grumble to myself. I tend to believe the opposite—that paying attention matters—even if our information-saturated world has lately challenged this notion,...
Live and learn, a local guide
In the Bay Area, learning opportunities aren’t just confined to a college or high school classroom. Several East Bay organizations offer hands-on classes on niche topics: from stained glass making to urban farming and cooking. The activities...
Trump vs. Higher Ed
After waging war on public broadcasting and the arts, the Trump administration threatened last fall to cut federal funding to nine prominent colleges unless they restricted campus speech that opposed conservatives.
“Academic freedom is not absolute,” read part of a Compact for...
Fueling AI: The high cost of clean energy
Surging electricity demand from data centers across the U.S. is outpacing the supply of new clean energy sources, helping to sustain the fossil fuel industry. It’s a dynamic at play in California, where renewable energy is limited...
Hometown treasures abound in the East Bay
They arrive in my mailbox every few days—little seasonal dispatches from the wider consumer world. A department store’s curated wish list for the holidays. A home-furnishing guide urging a spring refresh. Retro patio furniture promising the arrival...
Robert Reich’s enduring lessons shape minds and movements
Most people at age 79 do not become film stars or cause the words “vigor” and “buoyant” to spring to mind. Robert Reich is not most people. Throughout his almost eight decades of life, the former U.S....
Edible ecosystems grow wildly from shoreline to forest
The Bay Area’s serene landscape is teeming with hidden, edible food. If one knows where to look, they can easily find clusters of fresh mushrooms growing in the forest or sea rocks covered in salty mussels.
Carrie Staller...
