Mary Harris

Robert Frost marked the beginning a new tradition when he read "The Gift Outright" at President John F. Kennedy's 1961 Inaugural. In both of his inauguration ceremonies, President Bar...

At The Takeaway, we think poetry was built for the digital age — and this inauguration could use a People’s Poem. So we invited noted poet Kwame Dawes to start us off with a first lin...

Temitayo Fagbenle is sixteen-years-old, and like a lot of teenagers, she sees a lot of images online that fall squarely under the definition of sexual cyberbullying; or in layman’s te...

Part of the growing effort to make healthcare more efficient is making it more digital. Some call this new industry "M-Health" or mobile health, others call it Health IT. But whatev...

For decades, Microsoft Research's Bill Buxton has been tracking innovation through history — online, Buxton maintains an archive of interactive devices, tracking how technology evolves. He's a firm believer that the seeds of our most innovative ideas and products have been around for years, just waiting for the perfect storm of conditions that can turn a good idea into something more potent.

Mohammed Adnan al-Bakkour, the attorney general of the central province of Hama in Syria, appeared in a video announcing his resignation on Wednesday in protest of government brutality. But the Syrian government denies al-Bakkour's claims and refuses to accept his resignation, saying he was kidnapped and forced to give the statement. Bloody uprisings started more than five months ago in Syria and Amnesty International says ten times more people have been killed in Syria than Libya. So why aren't we hearing more about it?

Forty years ago, E.B. White – the author of "Charlotte’s Web," "Stuart Little", and many other beloved children’s books – wrote a letter to the children of Troy, Michigan, at the request of a librarian in Troy’s new public library. "A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered." White was just one of the famous authors and public figures who responded to librarian Marguerite Hart’s request for letters to urge the children of Troy to read.

We kicked off our summer book club last week with a discussion of what makes a good summer read. Today we discuss our first pick from Senior Producer Mary Harris. Her choice for the summer is Daniel Wilson's "Robopocalypse." From "The Jetsons" to "Star Wars" to "Wall-E," robots have long been part of the American imagination. We talk to Daniel Wilson, a trained roboticist, about how "Robopocalypse" fits into this American tradition.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that California's overcrowded prison system violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Court ordered California to transfer or release thirty thousand inmates over the next two years. But California isn’t the only state with a high rate of incarceration. The U.S. has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Peter Moskos thinks that Americans are in denial about the brutality of our prison system. And he has a provocative idea about how to change it. He's the author of the new book "In Defense of Flogging" and an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

There are approximately 80,000 chemicals at play in some form or another in the marketplace today. How much do we know about the effects that these chemicals have on our health? They're technically supposed to be regulated under the Toxic Substance Control Act, which was passed in 1976. But a policy statement out today by the American Academy of Pediatrics is arguing that the act is ineffective in protecting children and pregnant women from lots of toxic chemicals in our daily environment. How do we avoid negative effects? 

It's been a year since the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill and many questions remain about the long-term impact that the disaster will have not just on public policy, but on the fragile ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. To mark the one year anniversary of the disaster, two of our regular contributors reflect on what the future looks like one year later. Lisa Margonelli is the Director of the Energy Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation and David Biello is an editor at Scientific American.

The Egyptian revolution has transformed more than just the government. For decades, freedom of the press was out of reach for most of the Egyptian media, but the revolution has changed all that — to an extent. Some topics such as the military are still left unreported by most traditional outlets. Blogs like "Tahrir Diaries," a website run by 25-year-old writer and activist Mona Seif, are one of the few sources reporting on military trials and violations. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew to Cairo yesterday for the first official U.S. visit to Egypt since Hosni Mubarak stepped down from power. During the visit, she emphasized the continued support being offered by the Obama administration to the people of Egypt as they transition into a new government. "To the people of Egypt, this moment belongs to you," Clinton said. "You broke barriers and overcame obstacles to pursue the dream of democracy."

Imagine a search for identity on an epic scale, and you’ll have some idea what the novel "Pym" is about. It tells the story of Chris Jaynes — a professor who becomes obsessed with finding a mythical black homeland referenced by Edgar Allen Poe in his only full-length novel, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket." But "Pym" is more than a novel; it’s a biting satire of how Americans see race, and see themselves, in the 21st century.

In Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Obama discussed his plans for job creation and increased American competitiveness in the global market during his next two years in office. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) delivered the official response on behalf of the Republican Party and stressed the need for spending cuts and his party’s skepticism about further “investments.” And there was a new feature to the evening: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) spoke on behalf of the Tea Party in their united response to the president.

Former USC football coach Pete Carroll has at times been likened to a god in California for his wildly successful nine year run. But during his time in Los Angeles, questions arose o...

Mary here at the Futures Desk to give you a taste of what's on our agenda next week.

Terrorism expert Jessica Stern has been helping Americans understand the complexities behind the causes of terrorism in the 21st century. However, it took her many years to understand her own fascination with the subject. At age 15 she was attacked and raped in her own home. The crime was not immediately investigated. Stern explains how writing about her own experience with terror led her to better understand the relationship between terrorists and their victims.

Mary Harris here with a look at the upcoming week on The Takeaway.

MONDAY, JUNE 28^TH: Supreme Court scheduled to release its final decisions today before breaking for the summer. Senate Judiciary Committee begins considering Elena Kagan’s nomination to the high court. TEDX oil spill event kicks off in Washington, DC.

WEEKLY AGENDA: Marcus Mabry of The New York Times joins our own economics editor, Charlie Herman to take a look at the week's news and events. Tell us, what are you looking at next week and what’s your word of the week?