Truthdig Original

Joseph Stiglitz on Recession

James Harris / Truthdig Jun 4, 2008 Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist and co-author of "The Three Trillion Dollar War," shares his insights into America's economic woes and explains why things are probably going to get worse. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

Tim Robbins on Orwell, Obama and the Media

Kasia Anderson / Truthdig 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. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

Sirota Takes On Colbert … or Is It the Other Way Around?

Staff / Truthdig May 31, 2008 Author and columnist David Sirota braves the Colbert treatment to talk about his (Sirota's) latest book, "The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington," and to brazenly assert that, "People are angry with the status quo -- they think the establishment isn't working for them, and frankly, it's not." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Amy Goodman Talks to Robert Scheer About ‘The Pornography of Power’

BLANK May 31, 2008 "Democracy Now!" host Amy Goodman sat down with Truthdig Editor Robert Scheer on Friday to discuss his new book, "The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America." Watch as Scheer explains the metaphor behind the title, how the U.S. government spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined, and how some key players in Washington took 9/11 as a "license to steal." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Scott McClellan’s Disillusionment

Staff / Truthdig May 30, 2008 Scott McClellan appeared on the "Today" show Thursday to discuss his memoir, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," and the "two defining moments" that caused him to become "increasingly dismayed and disillusioned with the way things were going in Washington, DC". Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Utah Phillips Has Left the Stage

Amy Goodman / Truthdig May 29, 2008 "Utah" Phillips died this week at the age of 73. He was a musician, labor organizer, peace activist and co-founder of his local homeless shelter. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

McCain Cornered by the Elephant in Ellen’s Room

Staff / Truthdig May 23, 2008 Sen. John McCain toed his party line well in his appearance Thursday on "Ellen," where he managed to appear excruciatingly uncomfortable as he listened to host Ellen DeGeneres' explanation of her pro-gay-marriage stance and as she quizzed him about his own decidedly different opinion on the subject. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Nixonland, Then and Now: Q&A With Rick Perlstein

Jon Wiener / Truthdig May 19, 2008 "Nixonland" -- that's Rick Perlstein's term for the political world where candidates win power by mobilizing people's resentments, anxieties and anger, where politics destroys its victims. Do we still live in Nixonland, and if so, when will we leave? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Truthdigger of the Week: Adrienne Kinne

Staff / Truthdig May 18, 2008 Truthdig tips its hat this week to former Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne, who has defied her one-time higher-ups by speaking out about how military officials knew that a target list in April 2003 contained the name of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, which was shelled by a U.S. tank on April 8 even though embedded reporters were staying there. Two journalists were killed in the attack; one of them even filmed his own death. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Douglas Feith Defends Bush on ‘Daily Show’

Staff / Truthdig May 14, 2008 Is some of what we now consider common knowledge about the run-up to the Iraq war wrong -- for example, that we were deceived about the U.S.'s reasons for invading Iraq? Former Pentagon official Douglas Feith, who has been harshly criticized for his involvement in that process, thinks so -- and he has a new book to make his point. Here he faces Jon Stewart and his "Daily Show" audience to talk about it all. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

‘Colbert Report’: Arianna Huffington on McCain’s ‘Viagra’

Staff / Truthdig May 11, 2008 Stephen Colbert is a feisty one, but he might have met his match in Huffington Post editrix Arianna Huffington, who came to his Thursday show sassy in lace and camera-ready with quips like, "You know what it's like for John McCain to be endorsing torture? It's like you becoming the president of the Grizzly Bear Fan Club." In the nick of time, Colbert stole the show back from Huffington with his comeback to her best McCain zinger. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pico Iyer on Tibet, China and the Dalai Lama

BLANK May 10, 2008 As opening day of the Beijing Olympics approaches, the Chinese government and official media have intensified their attacks on the Dalai Lama, blaming him for the recent violent demonstrations in Tibet. Pico Iyer, whose new book is "The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama," talks with Truthdig's Jon Wiener about this intercultural conflict and about the Dalai Lama himself. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )