We spend months developing these stories, which we publish with no ads and at no charge. To keep up with our work, please join our newsletter list below (unless you’ve done so already). Thank you!
Grace Rubenstein is a journalist and media producer specializing in public health, behavioral health and immigration. Her stories — told variously in words, photos, audio and video — have appeared in TheAtlantic.com, New York Times, Boston Globe, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco’s Bay Citizen, and Parenting and Edutopia magazines. She is the multimedia editor for TED Books and a contributor at KQED radio and the Center for Investigative Reporting. Grace speaks fluent Spanish, can’t resist a good salsa beat, and has lived in Mexico and reported stories across languages. She is a fourth-generation San Franciscan. www.gracerubenstein.com.
With U.S. student debt nearing $1.6 trillion, the news is full of outcries for student debt forgiveness and low-cost or free college programs. How do such programs work? @RobinRoenker takes us to @bereacollege, which has been tuition-free since the 1890s:...
Craftsmanship Quarterly
“The High Art of the Mask”: No other place has taken these toys for grown-ups to greater extremes, both elegant and diabolical, than Venice. Tour the world of handmade Venetian masks, and their starring role in the annual mega-party called...
Craftsmanship Quarterly
Organic, recycled, or synthetic? In the increasingly unsustainable fashion industry, what's the future of cotton? In this week's feature story, "The Human Cost of Recycled Cotton", @AldenWicker explores some of the newest possibilities (and dilemmas): https://t.co/wj48cUb0IH
“The Soul of French Invention”: An American woodworker’s love affair with “the best” (and perhaps least-known) sculpture museum in Paris, the Musée des Arts et Métiers, and what the affair taught him. Read Story: https://t.co/VidutSEaXbhttps://t.co/8R0ho6Jsor
Craftsmanship Quarterly
As our environmental challenges mount, a growing number of sustainable design and building experts are championing an unlikely-sounding material: straw. Listen to the audio version of "Straw Bale: The Ultra-Ecological House", written by M.E.A. McNeil: https://t.co/n2BD5uZqgbhttps://t.co/CeXzPRRR1B
Craftsmanship Quarterly
“Mezcal’s Dance with Extinction”: As popular as “the grandfather of tequila” has become, a similar explosion of authentic mezcal is impossible, for reasons @GraceRubie discovers when she goes to Oaxaca to learn how hyper-local spirit can be sustained. https://t.co/Ryf25PZoabhttps://t.co/WpBHe3mcYq
While wildfires and other “natural” disasters mount globally, a growing number of experts have found remarkable, untapped opportunities to limit these troubles. Read the full story by environmental author @judithdschwartz in "The New Water Alchemists". https://t.co/xK5fVswiudhttps://t.co/JHg7MBRhif
Craftsmanship Quarterly
“Tomorrow’s Library”: In a simple, residential San Francisco neighborhood, a former Christian Scientist church has been transformed into the library of the future. Behold the @internetarchive, the world’s only repository of its 279 billion web pages. https://t.co/BCpCSE8thXhttps://t.co/Qh5fu5cMDk
Craftsmanship Quarterly
"Could Small Still Be Beautiful?", written by @brycetbauer, explores the legacy of E.F. Schumacher, a German-born, British economist who argued that the push for endless growth was destroying the foundations of meaningful work. @Center4NewEcon Read Story: https://t.co/FrMQSghaShhttps://t.co/YhbJn0uled
Craftsmanship Quarterly
“Cuba: Madres (y Padres) of Invention”: No cultural trip to Cuba would be complete without acknowledging the artists, craftspeople, and self-taught engineers who have helped keep the country running while technological time stood still. Read Story: https://t.co/KFmFzZ28JKhttps://t.co/wMMeoNIC6L
