When a religious group is distinctly sexist, why don’t women abandon it? Savvy answers from Azza Karam, a Muslim at the U.N. Population Council, and Carl Murrell, who represents the U.S. Baha’i community at the U.N. Both work for women’s equality as an expression of their religious beliefs. Faith and Feminism.  Person: Malala Yousafzai … Continue reading »

  In her 22 years as a federal judge, she became best known to civilians like me for striking down New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy. And now she can be known for this: she was gym-mates with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Great legal minds on the treadmill. Not a figure of speech.  PERSON: Ruth Bader Ginsburg … Continue reading »

  An African American, a PhD psychologist, and a former police chief, he has an interesting perspective on police reform. Citing research from Stanford, he asserts: “Mere political party affiliation, whether you’re republican or democrat, is more powerful than the whole issue around race.” We spoke about race, romance, and the healing power of a … Continue reading »

  Having led The Environmental Defense Fund for more than 3 decades, he knows its history. “The founding motto, informally, of EDF was ‘Sue the bastards,” he recalls. Today its guideline is, “Environmental problems are solvable if people would just get on with solving them and stop shouting at each other.” Has he mellowed or … Continue reading »

  Nachshon was the first Israelite into the Red Sea – before God parted the waters. So, commited activist or blind follower? Much has been said about leaders, less about what we value in the rank and file. Ruth Messenger has thought about both, as a city council member, as Manhattan borough president, in her … Continue reading »

  Rabbi Ellen Lippmann and Muslim activist Debbie Almontaser are united by their work for social justice and their affection for Kahlil Gibran. “You can’t really tell if he’s writing from a Christian perspective, a Muslim perspective, a Jewish perspective,” says Debbie. “It’s just so universal.” A conversation about common ground and the difference between … Continue reading »

  “Even when they won, they somehow inexplicably managed to lose,” he says of an outfit he’s supported all his life. Not the Democratic Party, the Boston Red Sox. Losing can teach relience and effort, he asserts, lessons he applies as head of the Anti-Defamation League. A conversation at JCC Manhattan about pursuing social justice in challenging … Continue reading »

  Are some religions more upbeat than others? Zarin Hainsworth works for the rights of women around the world as did her mother, a true optimist. “Of course she was, because she was a Baha’i.” says Zarin, who also attributes her own optimism to her Baha’i beliefs. I find her outlook baffling but her accomplishments … Continue reading »

  A past president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, she has a chilling awareness of the harm that can be done by nincompoops in power, and yet she is surprisingly optimistic. We spoke at Planthouse Gallery about Rachel Carson, climate change, and the terrifying, if unlikely, prospect of being on a spaceship with Peter … Continue reading »

   Can local government protect us from the enormities perpetrated by the White House? Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is not entirely comforting, but it is encouraging to hear a public official who is competent, honorable, knowledgeable, respected by (and respectful of) her constituents – qualities not conspicuous around the Oval Office. It’s also nice … Continue reading »