Society Highlights

From politics to business affairs to space flight, women are taking center stage. The old image of the farm wife is a bit worn. In the 21st century, count many women among the movers and shakers in agriculture’s corporate offices, federal bureaus and down on the farm. Women in agriculture play as many different roles as their male counterparts.

Last year alone, 5,000 people died in drug-war-related incidents in Guatemala. Corrupt police do little to protect Guatemalans, and Guatemala’s corrupt court system convicts only 5 percent of arrested criminals. In Guatemala City, private security guards outnumber police officers five-to-one. This past May, Reason.tv’s Paul Feine spoke with “Miguel” about what it’s like to live in a city controlled by drug gangs and corrupt cops.

Traditionally, we trust doctors with confidential information about our health in the knowledge that it's in our own interests. Similarly, few patients object to the idea that such information may be used in some form for medical research. But what happens when this process is subject to scrutiny? How explicit does our consent have to be? Jeffrey Rosen discusses the controversial concept of familial DNA surveillance.

At least the Amazing Kreskin knows who will win the GOP primary. He says he also knows who will be our next president.

UNICEF correspondent Rob McBride reports on the state of disaster risk reduction after damaging floods in Kyrgyzstan.

Sander van der Leeuw talks on the long view verses the short view when talking on innovative technology to help combat climate change. He believes going into the unknown too quickly will not give us time to rectify and learn from our mistakes along the way.

Fritjof Capra, physicist and author, demonstrates how Leonardo da Vinci used nature as a model and mentor, and solved problems from the perspective of systems thinking.

Environmental leader, Vandana Shiva explains what we can learn from traditional systems of soil building regarding water usage and conservation. "It's in the soil that water enters agriculture."

Taking the long view on what we can learn from the Trayvon Martin case.

According to environmental leader Vandana Shiva, the idea of privatizing the Ganges River or any water goes against the recognition that "anything that serves the common good must stay in the commons".

Environmental leader, Vandana Shiva explains that there are two Gangas in the minds of modern Indians: one for clearing your sins and one for carrying your trash. This split thinking is a result of consumer culture and modern ideas of progress. "There would be no consumerism if consciousness of your actions was part of what you do when you buy."

Environmental leader, Vandana Shiva asserts that because survival, not money, comes out of water harvesting, governments are not preparing for the potentially catastrophic consequences of climate change.

Environmental leader, Vandana Shiva believes that until we bring back the sacredness of water, civil society won't have the power to change its behavior and government policy will never act. "I think the most pressing issue is really to bring back the culture for respecting water, for recognizing its value."