New America in the News: 2012

The Arab Spring proved that communication technologies today have become one of the important if not the most important tools to fight authoritarianism. Only a half a century ago opposition groups needed to use weapons to fight and defeat tyranny. Today however, the choice of weapon is tools that allow circumvention of government censorship and surveillance on the Internet. The US Department of State supports circumvention technologies and Internet freedom with a multi-million budget.

Casting private lenders in a negative light with the use of terms like “subprime” isn’t necessarily fair, given that the federal government, which makes a far larger volume of student loans, also lent to most of the same borrowers who turned to private loans, says Jason Delisle ...

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As the U.S. suffers through its worst drought since the 1950s, the author and environmental correspondent Mark Hertsgaard joins us to discuss his new initiative, "Climate Parents." ...

A new study from the New America Foundation suggests that the United States is lagging in the broadband speed race. The study compared high-speed Internet service in major cities around the world, and found that high-speed broadband service was ...

In “Manhunt,” Peter Bergen writes that on May 1, 2011, shortly before the beginning of Operation Neptune Spear — the operation to get Osama bin Laden — the principals and the White House officials end up in a small room next to the Situation Room to see ...

However, other recent broadband measurements tell a different story, said Benjamin Lennett, policy director at the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank. ...

However, many state governments are stifling such possibilities with legislation supported by existing broadband providers looking to protect their own interests, says Benjamin Lennett of the Foundation's Open Technology Institute. ...

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Regulators may need to find ways to stimulate competition, says Benjamin Lennett of the group's Open Technology Institute. ...

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Peter Bergen is among the most influential people in America when it comes to shaping public attitudes about drone strikes inside Pakistan. An author, print journalist, and broadcaster, he is a national security analyst at CNN, a fellow at Fordham University's Center on National Security, and the director of the New America Foundation's National Security Studies Program. It's that last position that is ...