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2008

Revenge of the Nerds

The kingdom of the geeks, thriving in an old factory in Downtown Brooklyn.

Can Public Assistance Be More User Friendly?

The Human Resources Administration isn't interested in measures that officials and advocates are proposing.

Genetically Modified Hawaii

New varieties of genetically engineered crops thrive in the world's most isolated landmass.

Mixed Media: Efforts To Increase Access For All

City residents face changes to Internet availability, television reception, radio ratings and computer access -- some more welcome than others.

The Mysterious Life and Death of Queenie the Bull

A Queens woman's eye-witness account of something a little out of the ordinary on her morning commute: a bull running down Atlantic Avenue.

The Meat of the Matter

A conversation with Scott Gold, blogger and author of the meat lover's manifesto, The Shameless Carnivore.

Selling Tap Water

A New York City entrepreneur is selling water from his city's municipal pipes -- and he's counting on green consumers to buy it.

HIV Prevention, Treatment Hit by Local Funding Cuts

Numbers showing the city's AIDS epidemic rages on worse than thought arrived in tandem with state cuts for AIDS-fighting measures. In a climate with plenty of needs and ever fewer resources, this is the first in an ongoing series looking at reduced social services funding.

A Beer for the Ageing

The inner-circle of beer geeks is moving beyond anything on offer in stores to brews less easily acquired, and more rare. They’re learning, like the most dedicated oenophile, that patience is a virtue.

Fueling the future? The hunt for a sustainable biofuel.

The wind blowing through LaBelle, Florida was soft and warm. Large, billowy clouds hung above Mark Dalton's 10-acre field, dappling it with shadows.

Last Night a Beat Box Saved My Life: Pitch Perfect and the strange allure of a cappella

When I heard that GQ editor Mickey Rapkin was writing a book about college a cappella, I was thrilled.

In Far Rockaway, Pretty Beach Meets Housing Bust

The Rockaway Peninsula's tortured development history enters its latest chapter, with ill-fated spec buildings disintegrating next to successful new housing development, and a rezoning belatedly attempting to instill order.

Do People Only Use 10 Percent Of Their Brains?

The human brain is complex. Along with performing millions of mundane acts, it composes concertos, issues manifestos and comes up with elegant solutions to equations.

Views of the Race From Across the Atlantic

American voters are not the only ones taking a closer look at the field of contenders for the presidency.

Why Does China Care About Tibet?

Buddhist monks and other Tibetans began protesting in and around Lhasa on March 10, the anniversary of a major uprising against Chinese rule.

Consider the Kumquat

As a young girl growing up on a California vineyard, I passed the long summers outdoors, and when I wasn't catching lizards or squeezing grapes into fizzy water in order to make "wine spritzers", I was foraging.

Making Testing Accessible

Zachary Westcott knows that he should get tested for HIV. As a 27-year-old sex worker who serves both women and men, he is especially at risk. But the lines at clinics are long and the staff can be callous, so he tends to put it off.

Full Brownstone Nests

The kids are moving back home in Brooklyn—because they need to (and they want to!). But what about when they start families of their own? Or when the boyfriend wants to sleep over?

Ballet as a Reality Show

On a wintry Wednesday afternoon, thousands discovered that New York City Ballet principal dancer Maria Kowroski wears flared purple legwarmers.

History's Storyteller

Public historian Richard Rabinowitz prefers the storytelling of history to lecturing on its particulars.