Michael Pollan, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

New York: Penguin, 2013

US: $27.95, CA: $29.50

I have to confess that I committed an error of critical thinking in conceiving this review: I came up with my thesis before I read the book.

In my defense, I’ve read a fair chunk of the rest of Pollan’s ouvre, and I had read some other reviews of Cooked, so I had a fairly good idea of what to expect from it. But the thesis crystallized…

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Dr. James Doty is Chair of the Dalai Lama Foundation Board of Directors, and serves on the International Advisory Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Photo: Festival of Faiths

A Many Splendored Jewel

By Dr. Jim Doty

Why, in a country that consumes 25% of the world’s resources (the U.S.), is there an epidemic of…

The Women’s Task Force at the Parliament of the World’s Religions submits perspectives on female leadership in religion, the implications of religion on women, and the promotion of the status of women in the world. Phyllis Curott, Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees to the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions recommends this interview from Women Without Borders surveying the power of mothers in the work against extremist violence and radicalization.

Can Mothers Stop…

Dr. Mary Nelson, a-cofounding Board member of Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, was honored for her years of leadership at a June 12 gala at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The Fleurotica Runway show parades models clothed in handmade designs created with living flora from the conservatory.

Jetting from one runway to another, June 12 was a whirlwind for…

Dr. Mary Nelson, a-cofounding Board member of Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, was honored for her years of leadership at a June 12 gala at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The Fleurotica Runway show parades models clothed in handmade designs created with living flora from the conservatory.

Jetting from one runway to another, June 12 was a whirlwind for…

Dr. James Doty is Chair of the Dalai Lama Foundation Board of Directors, and serves on the International Advisory Board of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Photo: Festival of Faiths

A Many Splendored Jewel

By Dr. Jim Doty

Why, in a country that consumes 25% of the world’s resources (the U.S.), is there an epidemic of…

Nature is a wonder, but viewed in isolation its complexity and very existence is inexplicable because it is spirit manifested in flesh. Darwin’s genius was to see that the existence can only understood in the context of its interaction with other living things and, its evolutionary…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/10/nelson-mandela-life-in-focus

Associate Pastor of Congressional Life Joyce Shin of Chicago’s Fourth Presbyterian Church delivers a prayer at the 20th Anniversary Celebration Kickoff of CPWR, May 11, 2013 at the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago

Taking time to mark twenty years of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions, on May 11, the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago opened…

You may have heard about the young man, a valedictorian in Liberty, SC. I've been following the story somewhat closely, because it's close to home in more than one way. More abstractly, issues of church and state have always caught my attention. But more concretely, it took place in a county that borders my own home county. It happened in my "neck of the woods."

Essentially, the Pickens County School Board, touchy over religion in public places as a result of a few lawsuits that the…

FAITHS AGAINST HATE PREMIERING PUBLIC TRAINING DAY IN NEW YORK

• In partnership with the Interfaith Institute of the Islamic Center of Long Island, CPWR Executive Director Dr. Mary Nelson and Chair Imam Malik Mujahid will join Long Island and New York City’s leaders of interfaith action against hate to deliver frontline training on hate crime and hate culture. On Saturday, June 22, 2013 – we welcome all participants to share training, inspiration, free meals, and action planning…

“Religious Freedom Under Attack” headed a recent L.A. Times editorial. With tunnel vision squarely focusing on the status of turbulent nations, the column exposed merely the harshest facts in a new government report which also shines a little light on world interfaith development.

Of course, it would be neglectful of the media to ignore the current religious climate. One ongoing crisis in this camp is the  Bahai’s worldwide protest efforts amping up against Iranian courts for…

Slamming undocumented immigrants in the United States, the Federation for American Immigration Reform purchased a priceless time spot on Pandora Internet Radio the Southern Poverty Law Center says breed hate. Standing up to the messaging can cut deep into a budget, but Sojourners, the progressive Christian organization issued a…