Tom Donlan

Editorial Page Editor for Barron's, a national business and financial weekly, published by Dow Jones & Company; author of A World of Wealth: How Capitalism Turns Profit into Progress

Tom Donlan on KCRW

Economic Inequality Fuels an Angry Electorate

Five days before the Iowa caucuses, the presidential campaigns of both political parties are more chaotic than ever.

National

Economic Inequality Fuels an Angry Electorate

Five days before the Iowa caucuses, the presidential campaigns of both political parties are more chaotic than ever.

Jan. 27, 2016from To the Point

Is Economic Recovery Increasing Economic Inequality?

Today's Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over yesterday's record high. It's a "golden age" for corporate profits, which are the largest share of the economy since 1950.

National

Is Economic Recovery Increasing Economic Inequality?

Today's Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over yesterday's record high. It's a "golden age" for corporate profits, which are the largest share of the economy since 1950.

Mar. 7, 2013from To the Point

Gerrymandering and Political Gridlock on Capitol Hill

Republicans warned about voter fraud in last year's elections, while Democrats said the big threat to a fair outcome was voter ID.

National

Gerrymandering and Political Gridlock on Capitol Hill

Republicans warned about voter fraud in last year's elections, while Democrats said the big threat to a fair outcome was voter ID.

Feb. 12, 2013from To the Point

More from KCRW

Why some African Americans are quick to forgive

National

In a Dallas courtroom on Wednesday, a former police officer was convicted of murder for killing her African American neighbor, then she got a hug from the victim’s brother and the…

Oct. 3from Press Play with Madeleine Brand

It’s looking pretty quid pro quo-y

National

These are some interesting texts.

Oct. 4from Left, Right & Center

66 million years ago, an asteroid caused Earth’s Fifth Extinction, destroying the dinosaurs and most other life forms. Now Earth is facing another extinction, as fish, plants and animals vanish forever. But this time, it’s not the asteroid, it’s us.

This week, hundreds of people, both young and old, took to the streets in cities all over the world to begin weeks of protest called the Extinction Rebellion.

In the natural course of evolution, the decline and disappearance of a life form takes thousands of years. In the course of a human lifetime, not even one species might disappear. But now, some 28,000 species are vanishing all of a sudden.

Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker magazine has written a book called “The Sixth Extinction.” She says, “Extinction rates are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times higher than what is known as the background extinction rate that has pertained over most of geological history.”

In her words, “You should not be able to see all sorts of mammals -- to name just one group -- either going extinct or on the verge of extinction. And that is a tipoff that something very, very unusual, and I would add, very dangerous, is going on.”

“We’re running geological history backwards. Fossil fuels that were created over the course of hundreds of millions of years buried a lot of carbon underground. We’re now combusting it, putting that carbon back into the atmosphere over a matter of centuries. So we’re taking a process that hundreds of millions of years to run in one direction and then, in a matter of centuries, running it in another direction.”

We’ll hear what that means now and for the future of life as we know it.

Human activity: as damaging as an asteroid

National

66 million years ago, an asteroid caused Earth’s Fifth Extinction, destroying the dinosaurs and most other life forms. Now Earth is facing another extinction, as fish, plants and animals vanish forever. But this time, it’s not the asteroid, it’s us. This week, hundreds of people, both young and old, took to the streets in cities all over the world to begin weeks of protest called the Extinction Rebellion. In the natural course of evolution, the decline and disappearance of a life form takes thousands of years. In the course of a human lifetime, not even one species might disappear. But now, some 28,000 species are vanishing all of a sudden. Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker magazine has written a book called “The Sixth Extinction.” She says, “Extinction rates are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times higher than what is known as the background extinction rate that has pertained over most of geological history.” In her words, “You should not be able to see all sorts of mammals -- to name just one group -- either going extinct or on the verge of extinction. And that is a tipoff that something very, very unusual, and I would add, very dangerous, is going on.” “We’re running geological history backwards. Fossil fuels that were created over the course of hundreds of millions of years buried a lot of carbon underground. We’re now combusting it, putting that carbon back into the atmosphere over a matter of centuries. So we’re taking a process that hundreds of millions of years to run in one direction and then, in a matter of centuries, running it in another direction.” We’ll hear what that means now and for the future of life as we know it.

Oct. 8from To the Point