Given the speed at which modern news operates, it’s a miracle that anybody ever gets to have any fun. No sooner had Comedy Central announced that biracial South African standup comedian Trevor Noah would be taking over The Daily Show after Jon Stewart than the social media vetting began. First with the ubiquitous “Who is Trevor Noah?”…

Season 5, a bounce-back season for The Walking Dead, ends this Sunday with a 90-minute finale. The Walking Dead has had its ups and downs but really hit its stride this season, finally becoming the thrilling and complex show all of us who read the comics hoped it would be. But there is still one…

Imagine the president of the United States calls you and asks that you reform more than 17,000 independent government agencies throughout the country, with no oversight, no federal authority and not much of a budget. And, by the way, you have to do it in 90 days. That’s essentially what happened when President Barack Obama…

Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay was praised across the nation when he was photographed on New Year’s Eve holding a sign that said, “I resolve to challenge racism @ work #EndWhiteSilence.” It provided stark contrast to the incompetence of cops in Ferguson, Mo., the belligerence of police unions in New York and the hostility that many departments were…

It’s not news that there’s often a racialized black tax associated with “black-sounding” names. You’re more likely to get called back for a job interview if you apply as Sarah Jones than you are as Tasha Jenkins. Some people try giving their kids less black-sounding names, but the reality is that latent racism can activate…

One of the hidden secrets behind the Great Recession is the role different generations have played in the downturn. There are about 78 million baby boomers and about 82 million millennials tweeting away, but Generation X? A paltry 58 million. In other words, the generation now in its prime earning years is too small to keep…

A few insults, an illegal invasion—throw in a visual jab involving bananas and a spanking—and the relationship between Russia and the United States has seen better days. At first glance, many Russians seem to delight in attacking President Barack Obama personally and racially in a way that is shocking even for a people known for…

There is no middle-of-the-road opinion about 19-year-old Rachel Jeantel, writes Jason Johnson at HLN, arguing that demographics play a large role in how critics and supporters have perceived her testimony and courtroom demeanor. Jeantel, the last person to speak to Trayvon, testified as a witness for the prosecution in George Zimmerman’s second-degree-murder trial. If you…