A sensitive, personal and varied account of Aaron Swartz’s life, filled with excerpts from his blog and statements made by friends and family, offers more insight into the personality of the 26-year-old programmer and political activist who killed himself under pressure from federal prosecutors earlier this year.
President Obama has called on Americans to volunteer in their communities, but the economic meltdown makes civilian service a tough sell. In this interview, Russ Finkelstein, associate director of idealist.org, argues that “we all have something to give,” even those of us without much time and money.
A legendary South African journalist calls himself “appalled” at the way America’s policies of wiretapping and torture are beginning to resemble those of apartheid Cape Town. (Video available.)