One of the many utopian groups that started during the late 19th century and early 20th century was the House of David—perhaps the first cult to become a pop culture sensation. Their compound in Benton Harbon, Michigan had an amusement park and a zoo; they had a baseball team that once played an exhibition game against Babe Ruth and the Yankees, and they had bands—highly regarded, touring bands. Here's Henry Sapoznik—the director of the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture here at the University of Wisconsin—on the mythology and music of the House of David.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Sherman Alexie is a celebrated fiction writer who is also Spokane, and who has strong opinions about what it means to be a real Indian.
Susan Friedman maintains an e-mail correspondence with a colleague in Iraq whose messages describe the hardships and terror of life in Iraq...
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Ted Steinberg tells Jim Fleming that Americans love perfect mono-cultures and are willing to over-water and freely use chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to achieve them.
Film-maker Walter Williams created the “Mr. Bill” character for “Saturday Night Live.” He was born and raised in New Orleans and has thought a lot about the natural history of his hometown.
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