Josiah Duran

In political news, Congress continues its attempt to restrict NSA bulk data collection. At the same time, this article describes Facebook's hopes to use phone microphones for data collection of…

In recent news, an E. coil scare has caused a massive beef recall in New England. Also, this story reports on Wal-Mart's recent successes in online retail. This piece offers…

This article reports on the efforts of one English group to prevent a local pub from becoming a supermarket. Meanwhile, The Atlantic offers a lengthy perspective on the GMO labeling…

A change in livestock rules in the State of Michigan could cause trouble for some small farmers. At the same time, this piece reports on how small farmers have capitalized…

In political news, the House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill to restrain NSA surveillance. Meanwhile, according to this piece, scientists are attempting to create heat-proof farm animals. And in…

In political news, President Obama is facing low approval rating. Meanwhile, this piece describes the growing popularity of urban rooftop farming. In other news, Pope Francis has captured further attention…

According to this piece, the White House has received a  petition to "abolish the capitalist mode of production." Meanwhile, Los Angles experiments with preset park kits. In this article, an…

This article bemoans the modern teenager's inability to engage in conversation. Meanwhile, this piece describes a community garden effort in Wisconsin. This article tries to explain why large corporations fail…

This piece talks about the trend towards urban beekeeping, specifically in London. Meanwhile, this article worries about the shortage of farmers in America. At the same time, food prices are…

This article makes an interesting connection between place and politics. Specifically, it claims that sprawling cities favor Republican politics, while compact cities favor Democrat ideas. Meanwhile, this piece examines an…

This article attempts to trace the history and acceptability of greed. Meanwhile, this piece give an interesting perspective on the lack of moral framework faced by younger generations in today's…

This piece reports a intriguing study indicating that walkable neighborhoods lower the risk of diabetes. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court made a ruling yesterday that loosened limits on campaign donations. And…

This interesting piece explains that small government conservatives (the author mainly has libertarians in mind, it seems) cannot work together with neocons. Meanwhile, Wendell Berry (and some others) will be…

This piece from The Economist attempts to argue that narcissism can be good. Meanwhile, this piece asks whether rural America is a thing of the past. Ostensibly, social media is…

This piece offers some interesting data about the proclivities of young adults. Apparently, there are tendencies away from religious affiliation, political identification, and early marriage. Meanwhile, this piece invokes research…

Pope Francis has recently been invited to address the U.S. Congress, according to this piece. Meanwhile this piece has a pessimistic projection of the fate of that institution (specifically the…

The news has been abuzz recently with the story of a teen suing her parents to pay for her education. Meanwhile, this piece discusses the practice of Ash Wednesday "selfies."…

The Food and Drug Administration has recently unveiled plans to revamp the nutrition labels on packaged food, as explained in this piece. Also, according to this article, the U.S. Department…

This piece is an interesting interview about the importance of philosophy. The interviewee appears primarily concerned with the idea that philosophy is obsolete--she contends strongly against this notion. In other…

According to a recent study, loneliness is actually a cause of death. On a less macabre note, this article discusses the implications of local news agencies using camera-equipped drones. Meanwhile, this piece describes…

This piece describes a new line of hotels designed with millennials in mind. It's interesting to see what the company sees as the preferences of their target generation. Meanwhile, this…

Now that the congressional drama regarding the farm bill is over, this piece offers some less-than-optimistic thoughts on the process and results. According to this piece, Rand Paul is apparently…

Apparently, physical activity combats depression. It's nice that we have studies to tell us these things. Meanwhile, this piece describes the downfall of corporeal toys. And this piece describes the…

Apparently, small-scale chicken farms in Utah have been shut down by meat inspectors recently. The reason appears to be that multiple farms shared a single processing facility. Meanwhile, the author…