T.J. Raphael

Do you know what's happening from Washington to Hollywood to Pyongyang? Be smarter than your pals. Prep your dinner party factoids. Gauge your knowledge about what happened this week,...

The midterm elections aren't until November, but the stakes are high. Republicans are feeling confident that they can win back control of the Senate, which would put them in control o...

In yet another clash between the Republican leadership in the House and Tea Party representatives, a spending measure aimed at addressing the crisis along the southern border may be i...

What do you see when cancer becomes a mirror for a lifetime of self-examination, self-scrutiny and self-reflection? We check in with the three women profiled in “Under Her Skin.”

On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency wrapped up two days of public hearings on its proposed climate rule that would curb carbon emissions from the nation's powers plants....

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on Twitter, "Sharknado 2: The Second One" hit the small screen last night. The film is the sequel to the cult film and Twitter phenomenon ...

While The New York Times editorial board has enthusiastically endorsed legalizing marijuana across the country, not everyone is so sure. Communities neighboring states where the drug ...

Political firebrand, musical innovator, Nigerian folk-hero, rebel, and global icon: Fela Kuti was a figure eminently of his time and also someone who was entirely ahead of his time. T...

This week, The Takeaway's partner The New York Times launched "High Time: An Editorial Series on Marijuana Legalization."  Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor for The New York...

As Operation Protective Edge continues into its fourth week, Israel stands firmly behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A recent poll found that more than 90 percent of Jewish Isr...

The violence rages on in Israel and Palestine this week. Amid the escalating humanitarian crisis, The Takeaway hears from a woman who was born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza.

The daughter of a Palestinian father and a Jewish mother, Claire Hajaj's expertise on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is personal. Her new novel is based on the story o...

The last member of the U.S. crew that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II has died. Theodore Van Kirk was 93-years-old. As a 24-year-old, Van Kirk was the navigat...

Even though the pressure is mounting from both Europe and the United States, it's possible sanctions may not go far enough. What’s taken the U.S. and E.U. so long to reach consensus o...

The online matchmaking service this week revealed that it had manipulated the information users received about potential matches. Co-founder Christian Rudder says this sort of testing...

We continue our game of Texas Hold'em —Senate elections style—and take a look at how the battle for the United Sates Senate might go. Today the deck is stacked with races with open se...

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." That has become something of a motto for the National Rifle Association. But according to a new report by...

After six weeks of negotiations, Congress has finally reached an agreement on how reform the veteran healthcare system. A key part of the proposal lets veterans bypass the VA system i...

Democrats have held the majority in the Senate for almost eight years now, but as the November 2014 elections approach Republicans are feeling confident they can take it back. This we...

Musician and programmer Colten Jackson is getting some use out stuff most of us call trash. With six hard drives and an old keyboard number pad, Jackson put together his first e-waste...