In Review: Books, Music, and Film

Books, Music, and Film

Remember that Famous Study About Obedience to Authority? Here's How Stanley Milgram Got it Wrong

by Andy Lee Roth

posted Jan 23, 2014

According to conventional wisdom, psychologist Stanley Milgram's famous experiment revealed that human beings are hardwired to obey authority. But author Gina Perry looked at Milgram's data—and she's not convinced.

The Education of Bill McKibben: How the Unlikely Activist Learned to Break the Rules

by Madeline Ostrander

posted Dec 11, 2013

“Sometime in the course of the past decade I figured out that I needed to do more than write—if this fight was about power, then we who wanted change had to assemble some.”

"Escape Fire" Doc Explores the Fight to Rescue American Healthcare

by Valerie Schloredt

posted Nov 19, 2013

Beyond the Affordable Care Act, the film explores how to make a healthier America.

YES! Music Picks: What We've Been Listening to This Summer

posted Aug 21, 2013

Jake Bugg, a Tribute to John Denver, and Beethoven for Everyone.

"Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth" Is as Beautiful Visually as It Is Spiritually

by Heidi Hutner

posted Aug 21, 2013

Filmmaker Pratibha Parmar's presentation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's life will inspire you.

The Healing Journey of a Daughter of Slavery and a Son of the Slave Trade

by Lisa Gale Garrigues

posted Aug 20, 2013

Why an African American marketing consultant and a white writer took a journey to explore the effects of slavery, racism, and privilege.

A Marathon Runner’s Lessons for a Saner Civilization

by Andy Lee Roth

posted Jul 25, 2013

Long-distance running demands that athletes pace themselves and keep the future in mind. Might they have something to teach those who want to create a sustainable society?

How Two Plant Geeks Grew a Permaculture Oasis in an Ordinary Backyard

by Abby Quillen

posted May 30, 2013

In “Paradise Lot,” two residents of an inner city write about how they transformed less than an acre of their blighted yard into a thriving food forest full of mushrooms, gooseberries, silkworms, and more.

YES! Music Picks: Summer 2013

posted Apr 22, 2013

Pete Seeger, Steve Earle, Melodeego, and other inspiration while putting together the Summer 2013 issue of YES!

Why the Most Powerful Thing in the World Is a Seed

by Abby Quillen

posted Apr 04, 2013

“The Seed Underground” is a love letter to the quiet revolutionaries who are saving our food heritage.

Film Review: Ken Burns’ Dust Bowl

by Valerie Schloredt

posted Feb 01, 2013

The new documentary will bring you inside one of the worst manmade disasters of all time in powerful detail.

Book Review: Inside Will Allen’s Good Food Revolution

by Laura Kaliebe

posted Jan 16, 2013

Like growing vegetables from seed to harvest, overhauling the country's food system takes time.

Music Picks: Spring 2013

posted Jan 01, 2013

Hurricane Sandy relief, benefits for U.S.-Mexico border crossers, and other musical inspiration while putting together the Spring 2013 issue.

Can a People’s Movement Ground U.S. Drones?

by Stuart Glascock

posted Dec 18, 2012

Book Review: Killing by remote control is no game, peace activist Medea Benjamin argues in “Drone Warfare.” We know that drones kill civilians and inflame hatred against the United States—but can we stop them?

Pete Seeger: “You Stick Together ’Til It’s Won”

by Kim Ruehl

posted Dec 04, 2012

Book Review: Gleaned from letters, essays, and articles, “Pete Seeger: In His Own Words” reveals how the celebrated folk singer has considered, at every turn, what it means to sing out in a world where the din of injustice is deafening.