Politics

Now that you know How to Be a Black Genius, members of the 2009 class of MacArthur fellows give some insight into the way they live and think. RACKSTRAW DOWNES Age: 69 Hometown: Pembury, Kent, England Current Location: New York Occupation: Artist 1. What four adjectives would your first best friend use to describe you?…

Now that you know How to Be a Black Genius, members of the 2009 class of MacArthur fellows give some insight into the way they live and think. LYNSEY ADDARIO Age: 35 Hometown: Westbury, Connecticut Current Location: Kabul, Afghanistan Occupation: Freelance photojournalist for National Geographic magazine, The New York Times and the New York Times…

Renegade, Renaissance, Radiance and Rosebud, better known as the Obamas (Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha, respectively), were off on Marine One, which meant Kristen Jarvis could relax, briefly. Moments after the first family were whisked off to their vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Jarvis, special assistant for scheduling and traveling aide for the first lady, took…

Now that you know How to Be a Black Genius, members of the 2009 class of MacArthur fellows give some insight into the way they live and think. Age: 33 Hometown: Rome, Georgia Current Location: State College, Pennsylvania Occupation: Professor of Biology 1. What four adjectives would your first best friend use to describe you?…

Now that you know How to Be a Black Genius, members of the 2009 class of MacArthur fellows give some insight into the way they live and think. Age: 54 Hometown: Miami, Florida Current Location: Los Angeles, California Occupation: Law professor 1. What four adjectives would your first best friend use to describe you? I…

One early morning five years ago, Calvin James walked outside the Jersey City apartment, where his girlfriend and 6-year-old son slept, to put the trash on the street for pickup. As soon as James, then 45, walked outside, he was greeted by four people jumping out of a black SUV. Dressed in uniforms with “ICE”…

Now that you know How to Be a Black Genius, members of the 2009 class of MacArthur fellows give some insight into the way they live and think. Age: 48 Current Location: New Haven, Connecticut Occupation: Professor at Yale University 1. What four adjectives would your first best friend use to describe you? Enthusiastic, passionate, adventurous, nerdy 2. What…

To hear conservative critics tell it, the United States had everything in Afghanistan under control until President Barack Obama took office and messed with George W. Bush’s ingenious combination of open-ended warfare and diplomacy-by-silent treatment. Unchastened by the hasty run-up to the Iraq War, for a solid month, an assortment of foreign-policy players has tried…

President Barack Obama had more homework than usual this week. In the wee hours of Monday morning, Obama surprised administrators at Washington’s Sidwell Friends Academy, where his two daughters attend school. He and his wife showed up for the quarterly ritual known as the parent-teacher conference. After hearing about Malia and Sasha from their teachers,…

Cornel West, distinguished professor in the Princeton Center for African American Studies, and author of best sellers such as Race Matters (Vintage, 1994) Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism (Penguin, 2004) and Keeping Faith: Philosophy and Faith in America (Routledge, 1994),has a new memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud (Smiley Books) in…