Prerna tells anurag the truth

“I’m going straight to the White House,” John Kerry says. “I’m thrilled with where the campaign is right now.” Just 90 minutes earlier, on this warm afternoon in late September, he stood on an outdoor stage at the University of Pennsylvania campus in downtown Philadelphia and gazed out onto a sea of 20,000 supporters. The school had hosted only one other rally this big in recent memory – when Bill Clinton came through on his re-election tour in 1996. It’s heady stuff when a first-time presidential candidate draws crowds comparable in size to those of a popular sitting president. “I feel as if we have finally gotten the American people and the press simultaneously focused on the real issues,” he says. “Things I’ve been talking about for two years. George Bush has made catastrophic mistakes in Iraq, catastrophic mistakes in foreign policy. He’s shown bad judgment, made bad choices about how to proceed in a war on terror. I think he’s also out of touch with the American people on what … [Read more...] about Kerry Fights Back

Ten years ago, most people hadn’t even heard of a podcast. Now, they’re an integral part of the media landscape, and none more so than those about true crime . To rank the best, we polled true-crime aficionados about their favorite shows, then sifted through the top choices. Whether they cover a new case each episode or present a story over the course of a season, these picks each shaped the genre in their own way. Some are the results of deep investigative journalism; others are by amateur sleuths trying to help families find answers. Some focus on bringing publicity to cold cases in underrepresented communities, and some changed the way we think about crime storytelling altogether. Perhaps equally important, they’re all great listening, promising the kind of captivating intrigue that continues to draw generation after generation to true crime: tragedy, mystery, a search for answers, and always the hunger for justice. 25. CounterClock Fans of procedurals will bond with … [Read more...] about The 25 Best True-Crime Podcasts of All Time

There was a time when psychedelics such as LSD, mushrooms, and mescaline were primarily relegated to those who were wild and weird enough to brave the legal and social throes imposed by the War on Drugs. But those days are ending — if they haven’t already slipped into the past. Today these substances are increasingly embraced for their therapeutic, spiritual, and recreational value, and journalist Michael Pollan has emerged as arguably the most prominent champion of their kaleidoscopic rewards. “It’s for spiritual experience,” he explained to Rolling Stone. “It’s for self-exploration. It’s for setting priorities. It’s for breaking habits. There are all these other ways people are using them. And we have this word ‘recreation’ that we think is negative, but we should go back and think — what is that? Well, re-creation is a very positive thing and people are using them to re-create themselves. And it seems to me that’s as legitimate as any other use.” At 67, and having … [Read more...] about The Never-Ending Psychedelic Trip of Michael Pollan

There is a scene midway through Glengarry Glen Ross where Ricky Roma sits at a booth in a dingy Chinese restaurant, doing his best verbal two-step in an attempt to unload some crappy vacation property on an unsuspecting patsy. “Great meals fade in reflection,” he tells his victim . “Everything else gains. You know why? ‘Cause it’s only food. This shit we put in us, it keeps us going. But it’s only food.” Like a lot of lines in the film, it sticks with you – unlike great meals. But Roma’s right. The visceral present of a meal – its tastes, smells, sights – slips away over time. Admit it: your most memorable dining experiences likely have more to do with the circumstances surrounding the meal than the meal itself. What else fades this way? I keep asking myself that in regards to the Golden State Warriors’ historic 73 wins this season, an accomplishment that was overshadowed even as it was happening by Kobe Bryant’s historic 60-points-on-50-shots final game . And well before … [Read more...] about Are the Golden State Warriors the Greatest Team Ever?