The power of big data—why so many corporations and government agencies and political pollsters and baseball teams are after it—is that it can reveal things we might otherwise not see. But statistics alone can't do that. We need to transform those statistics into stories. One artist doing that is Brian Foo, aka the Data Driven DJ. He takes large data sets and turns them into music. His first song, "Two Trains," amplifies a dire but often ignored truth about our country: income inequality.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Anne here. My conversation with Turkish writer Elif Şafak back in April still sticks with me as the year comes to a close. In many parts of the world, 2016 was the year of the populist leader—especially in Turkey, where Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a crackdown on free speech and all forms of opposition. 120 journalists have been jailed, more than 2,000 academics have been dismissed from universities, and more than 100,000 public workers have been fired. How did Turkey—once a model of new democratic nations—become such a different place? Not only did Şafak see this coming, she warned that the West should not consider itself immune.
Author of "Crazy Like Us" argues that American versions of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders are spreading around the world.
Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard recommends a chilling read: "The Flame Alphabet" by Ben Marcus.
Dominique Browning tells Anne Strainchamps that after her divorce, she took a perverse pride in letting her house fall apart. Eventually, she came back to life and started taking care of things again.
Great Britain is one of the first countries to create "a gross national happiness index" - thanks largely to Lord Richard Layard. He says economics should focus on what makes people happy.
Celia Brooks Brown is an American who lives in the U.K. and is making a reputation as a high-brow vegetarian chef. Her books include “Party Food for Vegetarians.”
Most people think of conflict as something to be avoided, but there's another way to view it -- as creative and generative. In his book "The Art of Rivalry," Boston Globe art critic Sebastian Smee explores how intense conflicts, broken friendships and personal reconciliations fueled some of the most dramatic breakthroughs in Modern Art. He tells Steve Paulson that the rivalry between Picasso and Matisse contributed, in part, to cubism.
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