On September 8th 2018, I participated in a panel discussion organized by the NYU chapter of the Platypus Organization, on the topic of “What is Socialism.”  Here’s the description of the proposed discussion that the organization posted beforehand: “The term ‘socialism’ appears to be enjoying a resurgence of public interest – both favorably where it […]

This past summer, our three-generation family took a vacation trip to Costa Rica.  Upon our return, I began doing some research into the country and its history.  This is a first draft report about what we saw and what I have learned.  I welcome additions and corrections. We did all of our travelling across the […]

This is, in its earliest moments, a Brooklyn story—more precisely a story of growing up Catholic in a working class Brooklyn neighborhood in the 1950s.  I grew up in Sunset Park, a neighborhood made somewhat famous by Hubert Selby’s novel Last Exit to Brooklyn.  It is also a story of education—in high school and college, […]