Kasia Anderson
Former Executive EditorDr. Kasia Anderson was Truthdig's executive editor. She worked as a web journalist in San Francisco then swapped coasts to write for the New York Daily News as an entertainment reporter. She has also...
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Portrait of an American Election
Jul 1, 2008 "Election Day" isn't a film that highlights the horse-race aspect of American politics, nor is it about red or blue states. Instead, director Katy Chevigny and her colleagues from Arts Engine Inc. aimed to capture a much more complex story -- or rather, a multilayered and interconnecting set of stories -- about an array of Americans from different states, backgrounds and political positions, all taking part in some way in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
The Truthdig Interview With Naomi Klein
Jun 27, 2008 Critics and challengers of Naomi Klein's work had better take a close look at her latest book, "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," before launching their attacks.
Tim Robbins on Orwell, Obama and the Media
Jun 3, 2008 It's usually a reliable sign that a once-original idea has been utterly stripped of its impact by the time it becomes the premise for a reality television show. Not so for "Big Brother." Several seasons of that particular televised train wreck have come and gone, and besides, Apple Computer also cashed in on the whole surveillance paranoia theme ages ago. Big Brother is watching. We get it.
If Foster’s Not Coming Out, CNN’s Coming In
Dec 14, 2007 One major price of fame is, famously, the lack of personal privacy that comes with the package. This issue gets trickier when it comes to homosexuality and the practice of outing public figures, as various media outlets have long attempted to do in Jodie Foster's case.
Purpose and Predictability
Nov 6, 2007 "Lions for Lambs" is certainly an ambitious movie. It features an ambitious starring lineup, and it plays on ambitious and timely themes: America at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, post-9/11 media complacency and individual responsibility in morally ambiguous situations. Too bad it's just not a very good movie.
Kucinich Calls Out Clinton’s Nuclear Blunder
Aug 12, 2007 In what may have been one of the most controversial (and contradictory) missteps made yet in this pre-election season, Hillary Clinton refused, however ambiguously, to rule out using nuclear weapons to combat terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Though the media at large barely registered her comment, it wasn't lost on Rep. Dennis Kucinich, who takes Clinton to task in an exclusive interview with Truthdig.
Sun Shines Again on Chez Vidal
Jul 28, 2007 Those readers who have followed the saga of Gore Vidal's bid to harness the sun may be heartened to hear that the esteemed author has emerged victorious in his green-minded mission: Vidal's solar system is back in working order. Here, he offers a wry retort to counter his detractors, along with a spirited response to a recent New York Times report about solar power that left him quite cold, it would seem.
Flynt to Capitol Hill Hypocrites: ‘Payback’s a Bitch’
Jul 12, 2007 Watch out, philandering politicos: Larry Flynt is hot on your heels. The Hustler impresario is as tenacious as an irate pit bull in his latest crusade to expose hypocrisy on Capitol Hill, and his efforts have already borne fruit in the form of Louisiana Sen. David Vitter's confession that he patronized "D.C. Madam" Debra Jean Palfrey's escort service in 2001 -- and, according to Flynt, that exposé may well be just one of many to come.Harnessing the Sun Leaves Vidal in the Dark
Jul 3, 2007 Powering his home with solar energy sounded like an enlightened idea to Gore Vidal, but after several exasperating rounds of "routine" inspections and unexpected blackouts, it seems that even Southern California's most abundant natural resource can be caught up in red tape.
Iraqi Women the Worse for War
May 18, 2007 Remember those photos of Iraqi women triumphantly raising freshly inked fingers for Western cameras after voting in their new "democracy"? They were presented to the world by the U.S. government as an indication of a policy that would liberate Iraqi women and men. Well, it didn't quite work out that way, according to Iraqi women's rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who says that the "myth of democracy has killed already half a million Iraqis."Ramadi Blast Details Diverge
Mar 1, 2007 The proliferation of conflicting, even contradictory, media accounts of Tuesday's explosion in Ramadi is reaching head-spinning proportions. The mystery deepened Wednesday, a full day after the BBC and other news outlets originally reported that 18 children were killed and 20 others injured by a car bomb as they gathered to play football in the western Iraqi city.