I thought long and hard about whether to go on CNN tonight and once again talk about my late friend Michael Jackson. Months ago when he died, I did a flurry of interviews, mostly on CNN and with Larry King, and got a lot of positive feedback for some of...

Here's my favorite celebrity encounter story. As residents of LA, on average we see one or two recognizable celebrities a week, most often in the Whole Foods down the street or the Starbucks a few blocks from our house. There are certain A-listers who if you time it right, you...

For the last few months, along with a few committed friends and supporters, I have attempted through blogs and articles to keep attention on the situation regarding my close friend Laura Ling and her colleague Euna Lee who were imprisoned in North Korea for the last 4.5 months. Today, because...

These days, even the good days are pretty bad. This past week, by all objective accounts, I had a great week. Two comic books that I created got picked up to be developed as television shows. I was advised to expect an “offer” on another idea I have been working...

The last time I spoke to my friend Michael Jackson was about a month ago, 3 weeks before his shocking death. He had called me late one night to ask about another of my close friends who he had read about in the news. Laura Ling, a former...

The following statement is by Grace Rwaramba:

June 30th, 2009

“Michael Jackson was an exceptional Human Being. He was gifted, deeply compassionate and brought joy to the lives of so many. He loved his family dearly, and above all, his beautiful children.

In addition to being my employer over...

When I was in my second year of college living on campus (at Columbia in NYC) with 4 suite mates, every time the phone rang, there was a race to answer it. Everyone wanted to be the guy to hear the "hello" on the other side just in case it...

On the face of it, North Korea's sentencing yesterday of Laura Ling and Euna Lee to 12 years of hard labor in one of their infamous labor camps is a devastating blow to all of those hoping for their rapid release and return home. Considering the unprecedented stakes...

For centuries Cairo University in Egypt has been the home to progressive thinkers, provocative activists, and dynamic policy-makers that have had a profound impact on the course of Human history from the days of Cleopatra to Anwar Sadat to President Obama's historic speech there today. In it, he focused on...

By Gotham and Mallika Chopra

Pay attention, please. It matters. 

Please take the time to review, contemplate, and sign the following petition:

The Petition

This Thursday, June 4^th (Wednesday Night in the US), Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists will go on...

Several years ago when I was detained by officials while trying to pass through immigration on the way out of a certain “rogue nation,” and kept in a holding cell while the officials tried to determine what to do with me, I alternatively freaked out, tried to reflect on the...

Okay, so I added that last part, but I have to assume that was the spirit in which it was uttered by Mr. President Barack Obama in response to an objection voiced by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to the president's proposal to increase benefits for low-income workers who don't owe...

I'm one of those people that like to listen to Rush, watch O'Reilly and Hannity, and troll around the internet looking for Ann Coulter's latest absurdity. It's not that I am a fan of any of the above, but there is something sort of masochistic about it, or just plain...

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to speak to Danny Boyle, the film-maker behind Slumdog Millionaire (neck and neck my favorite movie of the year with Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler – see them both right now!). What started as a conversation around Danny’s triumphant film...

Over the last few days, I have been doing my best to survey a variety of different news services and keep up on the unfolding events in Gaza and the Israeli invasion therein.

It is an invasion, right? I mean I realize I am not as close to it as...

Somewhere in Tel Aviv right now there are a couple of dozen Israelis excitedly preparing for a New Years' bash that sadly will be their last. Likewise in Gaza or the West Bank there are a couple hundred Palestinians that are huddling with their families, dodging Israeli missile attacks, but...

Let me start with this disclaimer: I loved the film Slumdog Millionare.

I’m not the only one. The indie film about a Muslim kid name Jamal Malik from the slums of Mumbai who earns his way through the popular TV show Who Wants to be Millionaire has garnered accolades from audiences and...

“We didn’t have much use for these, you know: Hindus, Muslims. You live there. I live there. We were kids, then, really just kids. And neighbors.”

I could tell from the way that Prem uncle said this, with a tight frown on his face, his neck craned, and his old...

As many already know, my father Deepak Chopra (along with thousands of others) has taken a vow of non-violence in all his actions and words. As a result, he's unable to respond that aggressively to an article written by Dorothy Rabinowitz in Monday's Wall Street Journal critical of his...

All through Thanksgiving at the Chopra house, we discussed vigorously the terrifying situation in Mumbai.

All intelligence so far points to the fact that the perpetrators of these attacks belong to Islamic militant sects. How shocking. Keep in mind that no specific organization (save for some fringe group that no...