Summer 2014
Table of Contents
The Storytelling Issue
In Depth
Explore SectionFrom the Editors
How Stories Shape Our World
This issue of 大象传媒 looks at the ways new voices are being heard, and at how their stories are transforming our culture.
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Comic: How Big Media Drowned Out the Rest of Us
Today, six corporations own most of our media鈥攂ut we could be poised to take it back.
Symbolia
Can We Keep the Internet Free?
The struggle to save the world's greatest communication network.
Candace Clement
From Stand-up to Twitter, A New Generation鈥檚 Fresh Take on Storytelling
Today's storytellers show that each of us can be part of something more powerful, diverse, and creative than we might have imagined.
Sarah van Gelder
Change Is Divine: How Sci Fi Visionary Octavia Butler Influenced This Detroit Revolutionary
鈥淭he ideas in Butler鈥檚 fiction challenge us to contend with our own choices and take responsibility for our own power.鈥�
adrienne maree brown
The Young Turks on YouTube: Keepin’ It Real and Beating Out Corporate News
With over one billion views on YouTube and counting, The Young Turks prove that successful, independent, online news is possible.
Kali Swenson
These Native American Filmmakers Are Telling Their People’s Stories鈥擳heir Way
Longhouse Media helps indigenous artists step behind the camera and document their lives.
Christine St. Pierre
Zydeco and Justice: Louisiana’s Hyperlocal KOCZ Builds Community and Self-Reliance
Low-power FM radio stations bring a much-needed focus on local issues and culture.
Christine St. Pierre
Protecting the Truth: The Japanese American Legacy Project
Many Japanese Americans were incarcerated in concentration camps during World War II. Densho is preserving their stories and the cultural knowledge that comes with them.
Kali Swenson
The Eerie Beauty of Landscapes Devastated by Industry
Edward Burtynsky documents the environmental effects of oil extraction through striking landscape photography.
Christine St. Pierre
Fear of a Brown Planet: Watch This Stand-Up Comedian Explain ‘Reverse Racism’
Bullying, police brutality, and everyday insensitivities are regularly lampooned with Australians Aamer Rahman and Nazeem Hussain's weapon of choice: comedy.
Kali Swenson
This East LA Band’s Rebel Version of “La Bamba” Speaks Out Against Racism
Las Cafeteras uses acoustic instruments and punk attitude to spread their message of social justice and equality.
Christine St. Pierre
11 Years After Her Death, This 23-Year-Old Peace Activist Keeps Inspiring Us
Rachel Corrie was killed in 2003, but her passion for peace lives on in her writings.
Kali Swenson
First He Came Out as Undocumented. Then As Gay. Here’s What It Means For Immigration Debate.
Felipe Matos told his story in three words: "I am undocumented." It was an act of desperation鈥攂ut it gave him a sense of agency and power.
Kristin Moe
Return of Hometown News: Old-School Reporters and Citizen Journalists Unite to Bring it Back
Filling a void left by big city newspapers, online projects combine community news, journalism, and conversations with our neighbors.
Dan Kennedy
Talking Cows Take on Factory Farms鈥擬atrix Style
The viral success of "The Meatrix" shows how a good story trumps a mountain of facts.
Jonah Sachs
Solutions We Love
Explore Section
Infographic: Why Social Security’s Not Going Broke
Making Social Security solvent in the long run isn't that hard. But who should bear the cost?
Doug Pibel
The Boomers “Failed” Us: Climate Activist Tim DeChristopher on Anger, Love, and Sacrifice
First the anger, then the love鈥攐vercoming generational anger to find the courage required for the difficult work ahead.
Sarah van Gelder
FabLabs, Time Banks, and Other Hidden Treasures You Didn鈥檛 Know You Owned
Self-organized commons are undergoing a renaissance today as one of the most robust alternatives to modern-day capitalism.
David Bollier
These Craftivists Are Making A Statement鈥擶ith Knitting
Craftivism: 鈥渁 way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper, and your quest for justice more infinite.鈥�
Kali Swenson
The Page That Counts
The Surface Areas of Russia and Pluto Are Extremely Similar
And 25 other facts you should probably know.
Christine St. Pierre & Kali Swenson
Culture Shift
Explore Section
Gar Alperovitz on Why the New Economy Movement Needs to Think Big
His new book, "What Then Must We Do?" imagines how a new economic system might actually emerge, from the bottom up, in the next few decades.
Scott Gast
The Seed-Saving Farmers Securing the Future of Food
The problems of鈥攁nd the solutions for鈥攐ur industrialized food system start at the most basic level: the seed.
Erin Sagen
How Mischief-Makers Built Australia Through Pranks and Protests
In his new book "How to Make Trouble and Influence People," Iain McIntyre offers readers an alternative version of Australian history.
Madeline Ostrander
Too Many Political T-Shirts? 6 Ways to Repurpose Them
The messages may be eternal, but T-shirts aren't forever. These DIY projects can give them new life.
Christine St. Pierre & Kali Swenson
Also
Explore Section