Barnegat Bay, a small brackish arm of the Atlantic Ocean, was under threat. Suburban sprawl and over-development prompted Governor Chris Christie in 2010 to direct the NJ Department of Environmental […]
Arsenic and Old Lakes: A River Rerouted
In Cumberland County, the Maurice River flows. It flows through farmlands, forests, and suburbs, ultimately emptying into the Delaware Bay. In 1983, a wastewater lagoon at a pesticide plant near […]
Cancer Alley or the Garden State?
It’s time to talk about the environment in New Jersey, but it’s definitely not a new discussion. Land use from 400 years ago still impacts our health and land today. […]
Envisioning New Jersey
The Garden state, the Crossroads of the Revolution, the Suburban State, The Sopranos State, the Sandy State, the home of the Toxic Avenger: what is New Jersey? In this illustrated […]
Springsteen and his Layered Lyrics
Bruce Springsteen expects attentiveness of his listeners. How do we know this? Over the past 50 years, Springsteen has written songs and created music that have been experienced by countless […]
American Made, From Burgers to Mark Twain
What makes something American? To explore this concept, it’s important to look at artifacts and cultural productions of all kinds to see what is American about them. From paintings of […]
What’s funny about the Jersey Joke?
New Jersey has long been the whipping boy of New York City (and maybe Philly too). Decades ago, Woody Allen movies and Saturday Night Live amplified Jersey’s inferiority complex. This […]
Go, van Gogh!
At one point, Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother that since he had no children, he viewed his paintings as his progeny. A painter and pastor, van Gogh produced […]
From Revolution to Solutions: Informed Cinema & Conversation about Newark
Newark, the largest city in New Jersey, has a complex and rich history. Clips from three acclaimed, award-winning documentaries by filmmakers Marylou & Jerome Bongiorno – Revolution ’67 (explores the […]
My Phone, My Love?
What if someone said to you that using your cell phone is like being in love or like having a religious experience? Over the past two decades, cell phones have […]
