Racketology
The means of reproduction: How copying fuels creativity and sparks innovation.
Legal scholar Christopher Sprigman explores the upsides of copying – from increased innovation in technology and fashion, to kickstarting developing economies – and explains why America went from ignoring international copyrights to imposing them on the rest of the world.
Christopher is co-author (with Kal Raustiala) of The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation.
A reporter walks away from the Financial Times and into the heart of global capitalism.
Journalist Matthew Kennard tells his story of abandoning a prestigious job at a consent factory and discovering capitalism’s silent rulers working beyond democratic restraints, then surveys the vast apparatus dedicated to consolidating money and power in the hands of the global elite.
Matthew wrote the book The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs the Masters of the Universe.
Prophet motive: Dissecting the myths of capitalism that the rich are selling the rest of us.
Sociologist Nicole Aschoff dissects the ruling class’s dominant narratives about capitalism – from the market-based philanthropy of the Gates Foundation, to Sheryl Sandberg’s corporatized feminism – and warns that their attempts to soften the harsh edges of capitalism only strengthens and prolongs it.
Nicole’s new book is the highly recommended The New Prophets of Capital.
How racism entered mainstream politics and turned the middle class against itself.
Law professor Ian Haney López explores the history of racism in the modern political process, from Nixon’s Southern Strategy to the cynicism of Clinton’s welfare attacks, and explains why fear and racism succeed in getting Americans to vote against their own interests.
Ian is author of the book Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class.
The coal industry ghostwrites letters supporting legislation the coal industry ghostwrites.
Journalist Steve Horn reports on a series of identical letters sent by government and industry officials supporting a coal-friendly policy, and explains why this copy-paste job mirrors a larger, incestuous relationship between the energy industry and politicians.
Steve just wrote the DeSmog Blog article “Carbon Copy”: How Big Oil and King Coal Ghost Write Letters for Public Officials, Business Groups.
