Independent Media Institute

The worker-owned collective ChiCommons helps Chicago residents find local mutual aid-based organizations. By Damon Orion In July 2024, the Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) reportedthat Chicago, Illinois, was witnessing a struggling job market, a decrease in multifamily housing starts,…

How coders are working on creating community participation and democratic design. By Damon Orion The webzine ShiftMag points out that 80 percent of software developers worldwide are unhappy with their jobs, yet 68 percent code outside the workplace as a…

The broad consensus is that many species are sentient. By Marjorie Hecht Humans have had relationships with their pets for thousands of years, talking to them, coddling them, and imbuing them with human attributes. But are these animals “thinking,” and…

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA) helps organizations restructure for greater equity. By Damon Orion In 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America reported that one in 1,000 Black men in…

The stigma of a criminal conviction can be a major barrier to community reentry for recently released prisoners. A December 2021 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics highlighted the employment barrier faced by the more than 50,000 who were…

Our investigation of the disastrous society-wide collapses of four premodern polities, China’s Ming Dynasty, the South Asian Mughal Empire, the High Roman Empire, and Renaissance Venice led to the discovery of an unexpected historical pattern. This revelation was not evident…

Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, a new study suggests. By Marjorie Hecht Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of…

To end U.S. support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, cold, hard calculations about war spending versus domestic programs could have greater resonance in an election year. By Sonali Kolhatkar What will it take to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza? That’s…

Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge regarding the two crashes of 737 Max airplanes that caused the death of 346 passengers on two flights: a Lion Air flight out of Indonesia in October 2018 and…

Time banking is easing financial strain and promoting societal health. By Damon Orion In an economy driven by competition and self-interest, it’s easy for societal problems like unemployment, substandard quality of care in retirement facilities, and food insecurity to worsen.…