Category Archives: The Scoop

Mary Travers' obit, in the New York Times and other newspapers nationwide, features a black-and-white photo of a lissome young blonde flanked by two handsome hipsters. Peter, Paul and Mary were an early '60s sensation—affixing  the nascent counterculture's political edge … Continue reading →

Just hours after George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy, expressed a “sense of urgency” about the Middle East peace process, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let slip that he would not freeze West Bank settlements—thus defying a key U.S. … Continue reading →

Jerry Falwell never betrayed an iota of irony, reflexivity or doubt. In the decade I spent covering the Religious Right, Pat Robertson once admitted that he didn't really hear God's voice and Jimmy Swaggart would plaintively ask if I still … Continue reading →

Last week, with the advent of new semester, I inadvertently (or not) waded into THE J-school issue of the day: whither journalism? But rather than whither, my gaze focused on why—which is how I came to recommend an exemplary story … Continue reading →

If you read nothing else this Labor Day weekend, dig into “Trial By Fire” in the current issue of the New Yorker. (Yes, that's for all of you planning to pounce on Levi Johnston's Vanity Fair tell-all.)  David Grann's story … Continue reading →

The Scoop's mission is to lift up creative coverage at the intersection of religion, ethics, culture and society. But sometimes the coverage itself is the story—especially when it raises ethical issues. This weekend's news on former vice-president Dick Cheney is … Continue reading →

by Andrea Tabor This morning, as I waited for the barista to brew my morning latte, I browsed the shelves of coffee mugs. One was emblazoned with my favorite Abe Lincoln quote. “Folks who have no vices have very few … Continue reading →

Flaks say that any publicity is good publicity, but let's ask J.C. Penney to be the judge of that. The Texas-based retailer hit the mother lode when Cintra Wilson penned a “Critical Shopper” column on the retailer's new midtown Manhattan … Continue reading →

“The Cartoons That Shook the World,” Jytte Klausen's forthcoming book on the Danish cartoon controversy, won't include the images that sparked the 2005 uproar. But the news that Yale University Press chose not to print the illustrations has barely been … Continue reading →

In 1969, advance sale tickets for Woodstock cost $18. Eighteen is the Hebrew number signifying life, and 40 years later Woodstock's legacy is not just alive but thriving. You can read about parts of that heritage in Steve Rabey's piece on … Continue reading →