South Africa Freezes Tuition Fees After Student Protests

NORIMITSU ONISHI The New York Times
Protests have erupted across many of South Africa’s public universities this year, with anger focusing on the deep-rooted economic and racial cleavages remaining a generation after the end of apartheid.

ColoradoCare Backers Collect 156,000 Signatures for Single-Payer Plan

Joey Bunch Denver Post
She said supporters will attempt to dispel the impression it's government-run health care — the insurance program eventually would be run by an elected 21-member board — and claimed it would provide more help for more people, by cutting bureaucracy, waste and unreasonable profits.

Higher Ed for Bernie

Adolph Reed Jr., Heather Gautney Common Dreams
The 2016 presidential race can be our opportunity to turn the tide. The Bernie Sanders campaign is committed to a clear and emphatic reassertion of the importance of public goods and the public sector that provides them, including public higher education in particular.

Where to look

Jane Spiro Playing for Time
The UK poet Jane Spiro, a seasoned traveler and keen observer, reminds us that pleasure, wisdom and all good things depend on knowing "where to look."

Inoculating Against Science Denial

John Cook The Conversation
Ironically, throwing more science at science denial ignores the social science research into denial. You can’t adequately address science denial without considering the root cause: the ideology driving the rejection. The way to inoculate people against anti-scientific myths is to explain the fallacy employed by the myth. Once people understand the techniques used to distort the science, they can reconcile the myth with the fact.

Minimum Wage 2016: Here It Comes

Lydia DePillis The Washington Post
Labor unions are working to build tools at scale to support the spate of ballot initiatives voters will face next year.

Could We Actually Live on Mars?

There's a lot of talk these days about when and how we might all move to Mars. But what would it actually be like to live there? 

Medea Benjamin on System Change

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, discusses her personal journey; how corporate and militarist forces keep the U.S. in a state of perpetual war; and how social movements can develop a genuine alternative. 

Documentary: India's Daughter

India’s Daughter is the powerful story of the brutal gang rape on a Delhi bus of a 23 year old medical student. Udwin got exclusive, first time on camera interviews with the rapists and defense attorney, none of whom express remorse. Read a review. Now in theaters.