Author: Serena Dai

What Are They Saying About Obama's Victory?

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

Obama won a second term! And just as with every other point in the election, the nation's pundits are already telling us what it means. Here are all their takes as they come in.

By Serena Dai

Oct 18, 2012

Jon Stewart on How Obama Allowed Romney to Proceed into a Wall

Jon Stewart reviewed Tuesday's debate last night on The Daily Show, and with Libya attack, the one spot Mitt Romney could've had "an ace in the hole," Romney flubbed and ended up looking like Wile E. the Coyote to Barack Obama's roadrunner.

Comments | 22,415 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 17, 2012

Chart of the Day

Urbanization Does Not Necessarily Mean More Wealth

The standard line of thought is that movement to cities correlates with more wealth, but while that works for developing countries in Asia, it doesn't apply to Africa, as these charts from the World Bank's World Development Report show. 

Comments | 1,031 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 17, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Cass R. Sunstein on the conservative Constitution, Steven M. Davidoff on Dodd-Frank, Jeffrey A. Meyer on privacy and drug-sniffing dogs, Steve Kornacki on the debate impact, and Ruth Marcus on solitary confinement.

Comments | 2,912 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 17, 2012

Jon Stewart Is Tired of Being Emotionally Manipulated

Jon Stewart is sick of the campaign. Case in point? The Paul Ryan dish washing scandal, as he explained last night on The Daily Show.

Comments | 6,156 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 16, 2012

Chart of the Day

How Fat Is Your State Getting?

Yes, Americans are getting fatter, but not all of us are, right? Now you can see in this interactive from Scientific American of the changing rates of obesity, heavy drinking, and tobacco use by state.

Comments | 1,031 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 16, 2012

Dinesh D'Souza Caught Not Divorcing Quickly Enough

Dinesh D'Souza, who when not touting conservative documentary 2016: Obama's America or being the president of upstart Manhattan Christian school King's College, was caught by evangelical news magazine World introducing a young blonde woman to attendees at an evangelical Christian conference as his fiancée—even though he was still married to his wife of 20 years.

Comments | 13,265 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 16, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Ramesh Ponnuru on protectionism, David Brooks with rules for lawmakers, William Pesek on "Gangnam Style" economy, Dana Milbank on Harry Reid, and Jo Ellen Chatham on the conservative argument for PBS.

Comments | 2,622 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 16, 2012

Jon Stewart on How Fox News Spun Biden's Debate Performance

While liberal pundits reprimanded Barack Obama for his ghost-like debate performance against Mitt Romney a couple weeks ago, Fox News took a different tactic after the VP debate. Jon Stewart examined it last night on The Daily Show

Comments | 5,345 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 15, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Chart of Plaid on 'Parks and Recreation'

Have you ever noticed that the characters on Parks and Recreation wear a lot of plaid? The obsessive blogger at Parks and Plaid noticed and made this amazing pie chart to show which characters wear the most.

Comments | 2,743 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 15, 2012

Glenn Beck Reinvents Blue Jeans

You know what's wrong with America? Its jeans. Glenn Beck denounced Levi's last year after the company featured global protests and revolutions in their ads, and now he's put denim where his mouth is and launched his very own jean line at 1791 Supply & Co.

Comments | 11,167 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 15, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Bill Keller on sexual predators, Jackson Diehl on Obama and Syria, Paul Krugman on health care, Tim Judah on the EU's Nobel Peace Prize, and Lawrence Summers on the vicious economic cycle. 

Comments | 2,540 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 12, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Chart That Says the War on Drugs Isn't Working

The controversial war on drugs not only costs a lot, it has done almost nothing to curb the drug addiction rate since 1970, according to this stunning chart by documentary filmmaker Matt Groff comparing the cost of drug control to the drug addiction rate.

Comments | 50,983 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 12, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

David Brooks on the VP generation war, Dana Milbank on Biden framing the campaign, Iain Martin on the EU peace prize, Kathleen Sharp on EPO culture, and Laura Ling on North Korea.

Comments | 1,268 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 12, 2012

Todd Akin Headlines the Daily Show's Congressional Crazy Tour

The candidates for president and vice president are actually the cream of the crop compared to the awful candidates for House and Senate, as Jon Stewart examines last night on The Daily Show.

Comments | 2,104 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 11, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Positive Take on the Cost of Air Travel

In spite of baggage fees and rising oil prices, air travel is actually cheaper overall than it was in the past, according to this chart by Mark J. Perry of American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. 

Comments | 2,435 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 11, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Gary E. MacDougal on poverty, Ezra Klein on campaign hope and promise, Dana Milbank on outing the CIA, Laura Bush on Malala Yousafzai, and Noliwe M. Rooks on standardized testing.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 11, 2012

Jon Stewart to Obama: Drop the Big Bird Thing

After Romney said he'd get rid of Big Bird, the Obama campaign simply has not let go of it, and Jon Stewart had some advice last night on The Daily Show: it's time to let it go, guys.

Comments | 2,682 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 11, 2012

Media Diet

Will Tracy: What I Read

The editor of The Onion Will Tracy checks Twitter so that the satirical newspaper doesn't use your jokes and checks newspaper sites so that The Onion responds to more current events.

Comments | 2,564 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 10, 2012

Chart of the Day

Tolkien's Middle Earth Didn't Have Many Female Hobbits or Elves

J.R.R. Tolkein put a lot of detail into the world of Lord of the Rings, and one avid fan has cataloged all of those details to produce lots of charts, like this one of Middle Earth's population by race and sex.

Comments | 1,752 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 10, 2012

China's Black Market for Sperm Is as Creepy as It Sounds

Some entrepreneurial gentlemen are generously offering to help couples cope with a sperm-donor shortage in China, according to the Global Times, by having sex with the wives. 

Comments | 1,897 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 10, 2012

Lance Armstrong Ran the 'Most Sophisticated' Doping Ring Ever

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is going big with its charges against embattled cyclist Lance Armstrong: Not only did Armstrong dope, the agency says, he "ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen." 

Comments | 8,641 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 10, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Jack Welch on the jobs report, Maureen Dowd on Obama on his own, Clive Crook on "elected autocracy," Ross Douthat on liberal failure, and Dana Milbank on the campaign's Snuffleupagus. 

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 10, 2012

Jon Stewart Tackles Romney's Real Proposed Policy

Now that Mitt Romney has an "insurmountable, unblowable lead" in the election, Jon Stewart decided to actually look at what he's been saying about policy last night on The Daily Show.

Comments | 3,706 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 9, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Map of the World Based on Book Publishing

When it comes to book publishing, not all countries are created equal, as this distorted map of the world by the International Publishers Association based on publishing market size shows. 

Comments | 20,493 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 9, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Joe Nocera on campaign finance, David Rothkopf on Iran, Dana Milbank on Romney's brainwash, Jonathan Cohn on a delayed pivot, and Andrew Sullivan on Obama giving up.

Comments | 1,391 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 9, 2012

Jon Stewart Investigates What's Wrong with Sesame Street

After Mitt Romney said he'd end Sesame Street in last week's debate, conservatives started railing on the Public Broadcasting Network. Why do they hate it so much? Jon Stewart checked it out last night on The Daily Show. 

Comments | 4,013 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 8, 2012

Chart of the Day

How the Last Undefeated NFL Team Does in the Playoffs

Does being the last undefeated NFL team make a difference in playoffs? Yes, according to this chart by reddit user Tripp Jones.

Comments | 1,773 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 8, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

E. J. Dionne Jr. on the moral hole, Bill Keller on end-of-life care, Mark Buchanan on social influence and the market, Eric Posner on drone wars, and Buzz Bissinger on voting for Romney. 

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 5, 2012

Chart of the Day

What Are New Yorkers Complaining About Now?

Yes, okay, New Yorkers love to complain—but what are they complaining about? You can now see who's whining about what in this interactive map of New York 311-complaints by media artist Dietmar Offenhuber.

Comments | 1,244 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 5, 2012

Spatwatch

Is D.C. a Terrible Sports Town?

Sports talking heads Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post, ESPN anchor Bram Weinstein, and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon get in a spat about whether Washington, D.C., is a "terrible" sports town.

Comments | 2,075 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 5, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Dana Milbank on Obama's evasiveness, Paul Hodgson on bank clawbacks, Timothy Egan on the idiot undecideds, Jonathan Weil on hedge funds from prison, and Thomas J. Espenshade on affirmative action.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 5, 2012

How the Democrats Spun Victory from the Jaws of Debate Defeat

The consensus among pundits was that Obama did poorly in the debate Wednesday night, so Democrats had to find a way to "polish that turd," as Jon Stewart explained last night on The Daily Show

Comments | 1,020 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 4, 2012

Chart of the Day

80% of Americans Live Within 20 Miles of a Starbucks

Ah, Starbucks: You know you're in civilization when you're near one, and now, you can see just how ubiquitous it is with this map of the U.S. based on Starbucks locations by If We Assume's James R. A. Davenport

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 4, 2012

Panties Become Public Issue in County Prosecutor Race

Ohio county prosecutor Laina Fetherolf wants to clear things up with voters: She did not drop her panties onto a judge's bench and say "problem solved." Did not.

Comments | 2,449 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 4, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Ezra Klein on Obama and Romney's differences, Matt Miller on Romney's audacity, Karen L. Cox on being gay in the South, Sudhir Venkatesh on guns and gangs, and Chloe Angyal on the contraception debate.

Comments | 1,654 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 4, 2012

Jon Stewart Is Not impressed with Tucker Carlson's Race-Baiting

Jon Stewart was not impressed with Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson "racially charged" video of Barack Obama from 2007 that turned out to be a widely reported speech. In fact, Stewart pointed out last night on The Daily Show that Obama sounded just like a "notorious black liberation theologist": George W. Bush.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 3, 2012

Chart of the Day

An Overly Elaborate Visualization of Everything That Happened in 'Lost'

Remember Lost, that lengthy show with tons of characters and a sprawling narrative? If you still like dissecting it, designer Santiago Ortiz has created an elaborate interactive of all 115 episode scripts, visualizing the anatomy of dialogue and character relations in an overly elaborate way that, well, is just very, very Lost.

Comments | 2,242 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 3, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Wednesday Columns

Newton N. Minow on debates, Dana Milbank on zingers, Peter Orszag on progressive entitlements, Michael Kinsley on gaffes, and Josh Ozersky on meat supply.

Comments | 2,430 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 3, 2012

Jon Stewart Can't Find Fraudulent Voters Either

The Pennsylvania court ruled that its controversial voter ID law would not go into effect this year, and Jon Stewart looked at why last night on The Daily Show. 

Comments | 1,902 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 2, 2012

Matt Yglesias' Economic Ideas Are Often Out to Lunch

Slate Moneybox writer Matt Yglesias, we're on to you: Your economics ideas are coming to you on your lunch runs.

Comments | 1,172 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 2, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Stunning Map of How Foreclosures Ate America

We've all heard that the housing bubble's pop led to thousands of foreclosures, but it's interactives like this from WNYC that really show how prevalent the problem was—and still is.

Comments | 19,738 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 2, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Tuesday Columns

Eugene Robinson on which Mitt will debate, Todd Moss on Obama's Africa failure, Roger Lowenstein on high-frequency trading, Jeffrey Goldberg on Obama's Middle East policy, and Mallory Factor on public union "official time."

Comments | 2,192 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 2, 2012

Jon Stewart Looks at Debate Prep

The first debate airs this Wednesday, and last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart looked at how the two camps are prepping.

Comments | 3,967 Views

By Serena Dai

Oct 1, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Monday Columns

Tariq Ramadan on Arab democracy, William D. Cohan on the SEC's craziness, Richard Sander and Stuart Taylor Jr. on affirmative action, Howard Kurtz on Romney's negative narrative, and Noah Feldman on human rights law. 

Comments | 2,530 Views

By Serena Dai

Sep 28, 2012

Chart of the Day

How Republican or Democratic Is Your Name?

You'd think there would be one politically-neutral area of our lives, but no: Even our names tend to be more Republican or Democratic, according to this interactive chart from Yahoo News

Comments | 25,175 Views

By Serena Dai

Sep 28, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Friday Columns

Mickey Edwards on power of political parties, Timothy Egan on public land, Jonathan Weil on bank regulation, Eugene Robinson on "skewed" polls, and Craig Unger on Karl Rove. 

Comments | 2,272 Views

By Serena Dai

Sep 28, 2012

Jon Stewart Gets to the Bottom of What's Wrong with School Lunches

Students are protesting their lunches. What's exactly the problem? Jon Stewart looked into it last night on The Daily Show.

Comments | 2,600 Views

By Serena Dai

Sep 27, 2012

Chart of the Day

A Real-Time Map of Global Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks are happening constantly across the globe, and now you can see what that looks in real-time with this map by the Honeynet Project that shows so many attacks, it looks and feels like it's straight out of an apocalyptic war movie.

Comments | 7,904 Views

By Serena Dai

Sep 27, 2012

Today's Best

Five Best Thursday Columns

Michael Doran and Max Boot on intervening in Syria, Ezra Klein on the undecided voter, Debra Saunders on the myth of Obama's obstacles, Charles M. Blow on what is known, and Steve Coll on football's future.

Comments | 2,242 Views

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