How did it get to be April without my realizing it’s the International Year of the Potato, declared so by the United Nations? Food prices are soaring worldwide, driven by fierce competition for reduced international supplies of wheat, maize and rice, and other agricultural commodities. As concern grows over the risk of food shortages and…
Developing Dora
As a Latina (ok 1/2 Latina, whatever that means), I definitely want my kid to learn Spanish and be exposed to positive Latino role models in media. So, I was fascinated to read about the research and thinking that went into the development of one of his favorite characters: Dora the Explorer. [Producer Brown] Johnson……
To Everything There is a Season
It seems we’re all getting in touch with the seasonality of our vegetables, thanks to folks like Michael Pollan. (You mean tomatoes and zucchini taste better in summer?) But have you ever thought about the best times of year for other foods? Zoe Brickley at cheese-mecca Murray’s has written a wonderful treatise on the seasonality…
Beauty – And the Appreciation of It
My colleague Bill Brazell turned me on to this amazing Pulitzer Prize-winning piece from the Washington Post. It starts with a very simple premise — what would happen if a world-class violinist posed as a street musician in the D.C. Metro? — and manages to explore profound questions of beauty and priorities. The bit that…