$15 Music Video
Popular singer Sarah McLachlan asked what her video budget could buy, and found the answer in unexpected places. The result was this unique video, highlighting with graphics and music the normal costs of producing a contemporary video and alternate ways that money could be spent. For instance, the hair and makeup expenses for a video shoot would cost about $5,000 for a day in Los Angeles. Or, that... posted on Feb 25 2007, 4,274 reads

365 Days, 365 Plays
Some writers are congenitally prolific. But even Suzan-Lori Parks sometimes thinks she's taken that tendency a little too far. In 2003, Parks decided to write a play for every day of a year, and went on to craft more than 365 miniscripts that ranged in length from three lines to three pages. And then the dramatist made another decision: Persuade theater communities nationwide to produce all 365 sc... posted on Feb 23 2007, 2,015 reads

Motivation Maintenance
Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the University of North Carolina, researches something interesting: motivation maintenance. In a recent study, his subjects were a group of paid fund-raisers who solicit money via telephone for a university -- money that supports undergraduate scholarships. A randomly selected subset of the fund-raisers had an opportunity to meet an undergraduate stude... posted on Feb 18 2007, 3,325 reads

The Man Who Moved a Mountain
Years ago, a frail, landless farmer decided to move a mountain. The challenge for Dashrath Manjhi was formidable -- a 300-ft-high rocky hill stood between his village and vital resources. With most of the cultivable land and shops across the treacherous hill, villagers were forced to cross it many times a day. Not waiting for help from the Indian government, Manjhi chose to go at it alone, selling... posted on Feb 11 2007, 3,106 reads

Creating A Web Of Giving
Thanks to San Francisco-based nonprofit Kiva.org, with just a few clicks of the mouse, most everyone can become a microfinancier. At Kiva.org, a schoolteacher in Kansas can partner with, say, an expert seamstress in countries like Kenya, Mexico and Ecuador to jump-start a tailor shop. And that's only the tip of the possibility iceberg. Founders Matthew and Jessica Flannery came up with the idea fo... posted on Feb 10 2007, 2,442 reads

Doctor Who Treats Patients -- At Any Cost
By salary standards, Dr. Bob Paeglow may be the least-successful doctor in America. Paeglow takes absolutely no salary and survives mostly on donations. Every penny he makes goes back to his patients in one way or another. Fortunately, Paeglow didn't go into medicine for the money. He went into it -- pretty late in life -- because he kept having a vision of himself in old age that he didn't like: ... posted on Feb 07 2007, 3,007 reads

America's Nicest Homeless Shelter
A space defined by its generosity, the Wellspring House near Boston is 350 years old -- and beautifully restored. "The floorboards are original, the fireplace is original, the central beams are original," says Nancy Schwoyer. "In some ways it is a bed and breakfast, isn't it? It's just that it's a bed and breakfast for homeless families." Schwoyer runs Wellspring -- easily America's nicest homeles... posted on Feb 03 2007, 2,098 reads

49 Up: Ongoing Portraits of Life
"49 Up" is the latest installment in Michael Apted's long-running 'Up' Series. In 1964, Apted began this documentary project with an intriguing concept: he interviewed 14 British children, all age seven, representing diverse classes and backgrounds. Then, at seven year intervals, for the remainder of the century, he would seek out those same 14 people and spend a day catching up with them. Togethe... posted on Jan 31 2007, 2,917 reads

Diversity Makes A Difference
Arguments for equal opportunity are often based on moral reasons; Sociologist Cedric Herring recently decided to take things one step further. Given that discussions about morality are often divisive, he decided to take a more scientific approach. In other words, beyond the question of whether diversity is a good thing, is there evidence that it makes a difference? Herring found that companies tha... posted on Jan 28 2007, 2,035 reads

The Challenge of Our Moment
As the unpredictable forces of change transform every sector of planetary life and culture -- societal, technological, environmental, geopolitical -- the terrain of our global village is morphing beneath our feet, bringing with it an increasingly complex, interwoven web of problems requiring our attention, demanding a response. But what sort of response will truly meet the tests ahead? What are th... posted on Jan 25 2007, 1,979 reads