Tylenol’s Dangers Revealed Thanks to Investigative Journalism

ProPublica’s series on the dangers of the acetaminophen found in Tylenol highlights the importance of investigative work; a poem written by an Alexandrian poet in 1898 about the government’s idleness is extremely relevant these days; meanwhile, research shows apologizing, even for something outside your control, establishes trust. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

These Journalists Spent Two Years and $750,000 Covering One Story In recent weeks, ProPublica has published a major—and scathing—investigative series on the dangers of Tylenol’s main active ingredient, acetaminophen.

Where is George Grosz? Of course, George Grosz “still resonates today.”

Artist-Technologist Re-Animates Extinct Species “New media” is actually middle-aged.

At ArtPrize, What the F is ‘Art’? Grand Rapids is a two hour drive due west of the state’s bankruptcy carnival that is Detroit, the hometown of President Gerald R. Ford, and the first city in the U.S. to add fluoride to its drinking water. It is an easy-to-visit city located on the banks of the Grand River whose early citizens were primarily of Dutch and German origin.

“Waiting for the Barbarians” and the Government Shutdown We like to think that all great poetry has perennial significance, is “for the ages”; but “Waiting for the Barbarians,” written in Greek in 1898 and first published, in Egypt, in 1904, seems particularly prescient this week.

Malcolm Gladwell: ‘If My Books Appear Oversimplified, Then You Shouldn’t Read Them Malcolm Gladwell is in his natural habitat – a cafe in New York’s West Village, down the street from his apartment – engaged in a very Gladwellian task: defending Lance Armstrong.

Graphic Scores: Lively Alternative Ways of Writing Down Music Music notation is at best a compromise, at worst a lie.

The Public Intellectual as Provocateur It used to be that public intellectuals were a rare breed.

The Value of Apologizing Extends to the Blameless New research suggests “superfluous apologies,” such as expressing sorrow for bad weather, builds trust.