Alexander Russo

You're Fucked, But You're Free: A Message To The Class Of 2013

deadspin.com — It's May, which means it's time once again for actors and writers and politicians and whatever Thomas Friedman is to hit the graduation circuit and hold senior classes hostage for hours and hours in 85-degree heat. These grad speeches are little more than TED talks in funny hats.

College Is Going Online, Whether We Like It Or Not

theatlantic.com — The United States has a problem: rapidly rising student debt. It also has a solution: online education. The primary reason for spiraling student debt is the soaring costs of a college education at a physical college. Online education strips away all of those expenses except for the cost of the professor's time and experience.

Lyndon Baty and the Robot That Saved Him

dallasobserver.com — If he has his act together, Lyndon has already powered on in the copy room by the time the bell for first period rings, and has already begun the long, slow trek down the school's single hallway, arriving at his first c

The three types of specialist

kottke.org — The three types of specialist  From a passage of Kurt Vonnegut's Bluebeard, the three types of specialists needed for the success of any revolution. Slazinger claims to have learned from history that most people cannot open their minds to new ideas unless a mind-opening teams with a peculiar membership goes to work on them.

Afternoon Video: Meet John & Laura Arnold

scholasticadministrator.typepad.com — Afternoon Video: Meet John & Laura Arnold "A young Houston couple is planning to give away $4 billion-but only to projects that prove they are worth it. Can they redefine the world of philanthropy?" The New Science Behind Philanthropy (WSJ via @mikepetrilli)

The New Science Behind Philanthropy

online.wsj.com — LIKE ANY POPULAR food writer, Gary Taubes gets more than his share of e-mails about his work. So he didn't give it much thought one day two years ago when he got a five-line comment about a podcast he'd given the week before. It was plainly signed "John."

Charges dropped against Florida teen over amateur science experiment

tv.msnbc.com — The Florida teenager who was arrested two weeks ago for causing a small explosion on the campus of her high school will not be charged with a crime. Kiera Wilmot, 16, was arrested by police in Bartow, Florida, after conducting an unauthorized science experiment which lightly damaged an eight ounce plastic water bottle.