May/Jun 2017
June Eric-Udorie's Appetite for Fighting Injustice
At 18, Eric Udorie's written about gender rights-related topics for major publications including the Guardian, New Statesman, Fusion.
Revolutionary Objects: The Surprising Origin of the Cell Phone
The technology has its roots in 1950s Soviet Russia.
Anthony Lee Zhang's Stock of Human Knowledge
"Being an academic requires the courage to stand behind good ideas despite opposition," says Zhang, who is on our list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.
Thomas Tasche's Steady Inquisitiveness
Tasche's work directly challenges a lot of the reductionist narratives that swirl around politics and, by extension, the media that covers it.
Alexis Toliver's Advocacy for the Voiceless
"I honestly think that it will take a person with autism to find the 'cure' to autism, so that the world understands that autism doesn't need to be cured," Toliver says.
Revolutionary Objects: The Woman Behind the World's First Bra
Although inventing the bra was barely an adolescent pit stop on Mary Phelps Jacobs' glamorous trajectory, it did suggest what she would get up to next.
Revolutionary Objects: The Real Story Behind the Chocolate Chip Cookie
Ruth Graves Wakefield, the woman who invented the chocolate chip cookie, was something closer to the Martha Stewart of her day.
Field Notes: Dinner at a Prison in Lira, Uganda
Lira, Uganda: Prisoners, many of whom claim to be juveniles, line up for dinner at Lira Prison. Poor birth records make it difficult for Ugandan prison officials to remove younger prisoners from adult facilities.
Peng Shi's Human Approach to Data
If the world is a global marketplace, Shi's research tries to help make it more efficient and equitable by applying mathematics to assess and improve the way we make decisions.
Revolutionary Objects: The Transcontinental Railroad System That Almost Wasn't
Boats were, in fact, a proposed alternative solution.
Boyan Slat's Plan to Clean Earth's Oceans
When asked whether he feels people doubt him more because he's young, Slat says, "Yes, but I never felt youth to be a disadvantage."
Field Notes: Watching Over the Korean Demilitarized Zone
Goseong, South Korea: A South Korean soldier looks over the DMZ from a guard position on top of Observation Post 717, on the edge of the North Korean border.
Erin Schrode's Plan to Run for Congress
"We have a gaping hole, a desperate need for young women in government," says Schrode, who is on this year's list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.
PS Picks: The Buried Aggression in Lady Macbeth
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Hannah Safford's Push for Environmentally Sustainable Policies
Safford is committed to applying her talents and work ethic to a noble and necessary goal: using policy to change the way we think about human existence.
Objects That Matter: Party Plates
Public support for criminal registries has grown despite inconsistent evidence that they reduce crime, which social scientists attribute to a human need to feel a sense of control over threats.
PS Picks: Exploring Mass Incarceration as a Societal Problem in 'The Prison in Twelve Landscape'
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Overheard: The Conversation, in Context
"No one wants to have to explain to their children why Santa was put out of work."
Annie Ryu's Blueprint for a Non-Exploitative, Global Supply Chain
The 26-year-old's social entrepreneurship centers around jackfruit, a large, green, studded fruit native to Southeast Asia.
PS Picks: Zeynep Tufekci's 'Twitter and Tear Gas'
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Aviva Rosman's Fight For the Well-Informed Voter
Rosman co-founded BallotReady, a non-partisan online voter guide with a mission to make it easier for voters to make informed choices throughout an entire ballot, not just the top-ballot race that gets the most media coverage.
Victoria M. Rodríguez-Roldán's Transgender Activism
Rodríguez-Roldán's efforts center on engaging with policymakers throughout Congress and various government agencies to help promote policies that will benefit the trans community.
Jesse Reising's Perseverance in the Face of Adversity
"Education can help harness veterans' patriotic energy in ways that improve our nation," says Reising, who is on our list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.
Sam Pressler's Cathartic Comedy
Pressler founded the Armed Services Arts Partnership, a non-profit that provides free arts programming for veterans and their families to express their experiences.