Aug. 7: Christine Emba ’10 Says Young People Need to Find Meaning

Columbia University bioethicist Robert Klitzman ’80 wrote that Louisiana lawmakers could find better ways to encourage moral education than posting the Ten Commandments in schools, and he proposed a more modern set of guidelines. — The Hechinger Report
 
Drawing from what is publicly known about health of Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Kamala Harris, Klitzman penned an op-ed posing 14 questions they could answer to help build public trust. — The New York Times

Author Christine Emba ’10 theorized that birth rates may be declining less for financial reasons than because people lack meaning in their lives: “I’ve detected a broader thread of uncertainty — about the value of life and a reason for being.” — The Atlantic 

With his background in public radio, Olympic 3x3 basketball player Kareem Maddox ’11 “is either the world’s coolest audio producer, or the world’s nerdiest professional basketball player.” — Defector Media

Nader Al-Naji ’14 is facing charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which says he perpetrated “fraud related to a cryptocurrency swindle,” taking millions from investors and then spending the money himself. — Fortune via AOL
 
As a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice, journalist Barton Gellman ’82 participated in an exercise testing the strength of America’s checks and balances, concluding that an authoritarian with little respect for legal limits holds a “structural advantage” over the laws. — The Washington Post
 
With two other prominent legal figures, Ralph Nader ’55 penned a letter criticizing the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell for screening and possibly disqualifying job applicants who made statements “triggering” to Jews during campus protests. — The New York Times
 
Matt Iseman ’93 is among the New Jersey voices covering the Olympics for NBC. He’s can be heard on Peacock’s Gold Zone segments. — Morristown Daily Record
 
The Democrats’ proposal to limit Supreme Court terms to 18 years would be “blatantly unconstitutional” if it applied to sitting justices, wrote columnist Ramesh Ponnuru ’95. — The Washington Post
 
University of Missouri at Columbia president Mun Choi *92 said the decision to disband the school’s Division for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity was made to avoid expected budget cuts from anti-DEI lawmakers. — Inside Higher Ed

“I look differently than most people in my sport. I tell a lot of kids who, like, tell me that they don’t feel like they fit into their team ... you keep being you. Your difference makes you great. Your uniqueness is an add, and it takes all types.”

— Goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson ’17, talking with NPR about being the only Black player on the U.S. women’s water polo team and how she’s grown into being a role model.

Kerry Brodie ’12 received the Advocate Award from the International Rescue Committee in Silver Spring, Maryland, for her work founding and leading Emma’s Torch, a nonprofit that trains refugees in the culinary arts. — International Rescue Committee
  
Washington Post senior critic-at-large Robin Givhan ’86 said that Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” discount the idea of empathy: “You don’t have to experience something in order to have sensitivity to it and understanding of it.” — MSNBC
 
Former first lady Michelle Obama ’85 officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race, calling her “my girl.” “This is going to be historic,” Obama said. — CNN
 
Author and screenwriter Cate Holahan ’02 researched the hotel business to write the script of Deadly Estate, a Lifetime film about murders similar to those at an infamous Los Angeles hotel.  — The Cinemaholic

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