Mark Klempner

The first thing I discovered about Capitol Hill is that it's the human equivalent of an anthill. Throughout the day, hundreds, if not thousands, of people wend their way underground from one Congressional building to the next using subterranean passageways that reminded me of the white-tiled tunnels that once existed...

Cattle blocking traffic, bridges with no railings, crater-sized potholes: Everyone who has visited Costa Rica knows that driving can be a challenge here. As a transplanted New Yorker, I know better than most; I've been navigating the roads in my adopted country for...

When Bush was inaugurated in 2000, conservatives championed him. Our man is in the White House, they gloated, and right-wing commentators would snap at the feet of his detractors like guard dogs. This loyalty did not taper off until after it was generally accepted that Bush had made a mess...

They say that having kids changes everything, and it's true. Before becoming a parent, I never ventured into fast-food places. Actually, as a natural foods enthusiast who purchases local, organic food as much as possible, I avoided them altogether.

But a shift occurred when my mother suggested we stop at...

My wife and I do not own a car. Going car-less seems like the right thing, based on what we know about global warming.

Granted, we don't much like cars, and we chose our house because we can walk or bike to most places we need to be. Still, once...

Tracy Kidder was tired and a bit slaphappy. We laughed often and digressed frequently, though in the interview that follows I've mostly cut what was superfluous. It so happens that Kidder had hung out with Paul Farmer two nights before and was still recovering. "That guy -- he did it...

As Pete Seeger rides out his eighties with a number of awards and musical tributes, a new documentary entitled Pete Seeger: The Power of Song attempts to capture his monumental life on film. Though not yet in full theatrical release, just watching the online trailer excited me as...

I consider the Internet to be one of the world's great wonders. And also America's last hope for a free press.

When I was growing up in the 1970s, there were many people with a lot of things to say, but they generally had no platform. That's why we...

"America's been hijacked by technology," I complained into the headset, aware of the irony that I was calling my wife from the United States on a cellphone. I was only a week into my book tour and already homesick for the low-tech life we enjoy in Costa Rica.

Since I...

If you think the news about chocolate being healthful for your heart and for your brain is too good to be true, you're right: the research is less encouraging than the reporting about it. For instance, a Talk of the Nation public radio feature touted flavanols as the "magic molecules"...

If only it had been George Bush rather than Britney Spears to enter rehab and go running down the halls screaming "I'm the Antichrist!" and "I'm a fake!" Such long-awaited forthrightness would have been refreshing. Instead, the naive pop star was the one to crack, while the hardened politician...