Earlier this week, we were tipped a document stating that an alleged Russian spy was recruiting at a “major” NYC university…perhaps Columbia? Inspired by this McSweeney’s column, our top conspiracy theorist describes the double life of a Columbia student turned secret agent. You begin preparing for your life in the shadows in the second week […]

Last Thursday Zach Kagan, master of the arts of ventriloquy, ventured down to Prentis Hall to review a very unusual and politically themed puppet show. Here’s what he took away from the experience. Great Small Works presents “Toy Theatre of Terror as Usual Episode 13: Whistles and Leaks.” It’s a hell of a title. Of course, the particular get-together that […]

Bucket List represents the unbelievable intellectual privilege we enjoy as Columbia students. We do our very best to bring to your attention important guest lecturers and special events on campus. Our recommendations for this week are below and the full list is after the jump. Recommended “Voting Rights v. Voter Suppression” Monday, March 26, 6:00 pm […]

Columbia librarians are using the Internet Archive to save full websites from human rights organizations so that they can continue to be accessed by scholars even after they’re shut down. (Internet Archive, Inside Higher Ed) Although the late Manning Marable “never read e-mail on a computer, but had an assistant print it out,” his students […]

Libya: Col. Gadhafi still holds on to power. As traders prepare for further reductions in Libya’s crude oil production, futures hit their highest prices in more than two years. (WSJ) United States: Obama tells the Justice Department to stop defending the act that prohibits federal recognition of same sex marriages. The policy reversal follows weeks […]

Radically transparent Bwog correspondent Alex Jones reports from yesterday’s panel discussion on Wikileaks, which featured Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times , and Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian . Audience members flew around the digital world on their phones–likely checking for the latest updates and videos from the democratic unrest in Egypt–as […]

Imitating Wikileaks—it’s a thing! Assange-wannabes across the globe are creating their own whistle-blowing websites. (Reuters) P. Diddy is being sued for $1 trillion by a woman in Los Angeles for, among other things, causing the 9/11 terrorist attacks, putting her son (who he apparently fathered) in the hospital, and stealing her poker chip worth “zillions […]

A good chunk of the Columbia JSchool faculty has signed a letter to Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder claiming that the recent publication of diplomatic cables by WikiLeaks is “protected by the First Amendment.” The faculty looks back a few decades and points out that “as a historical matter, government overreaction to publication of leaked […]

The SIPA WikiLeaks saga has come to a close. Last week, SIPA Office of Career Services warned students eyeing government positions to shut up about the whistle-blowing wonder that is WikiLeaks. Even tweeting and  linking to leaked documents on those crazy social networking sites could jeopardize future employment opportunities. “Engaging in these activities,” the email […]

Notoriously stubborn New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has come to a compromise that may bring medical marijuana to the Garden State by next summer. (NYT) St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the one on Mulberry Street, has been designated a basilica, New York’s first. (Daily News) Governments are scrambling in the wake of the most recent WikiLeaks document […]

The ever-subtle Huffington Post believes SIPA’s WikiLeaks drama (beat you by a day, HuffPo!) worthy of the following massive headline: That Photoshopping! Brutal!

Students eyeing federal government positions, beware. The U.S. State Department has barred its staffers from reading classified documents released via WikiLeaks. A SIPA alumnus working in the State Department saw fit to email SIPA’s Office of Career Services to warn students against linking to any leaked documents on social media sites as well, as it could […]

Columbia Film Theory prof James Schamus was profiled in the NYTimes Mag as a standout scholar and screenwriter. Schamus proves his Columbia ties by talking about Plato (“the philosopher’s job is to love knowledge, logos, but it’s always corporealized…”) and smoking near Dodge Hall (“Schamus found a spot in the sun behind Dodge Hall to smoke a cigar”). Professors—they’re […]