Inside Syria’s Most Fearsome Prison Tens of thousands of Syrians were thrown into Sednaya during the Assad regime. The New York Times created a 3-D model of the prison.; The New York Times, August 29, 2025

Christina Goldbaum, Charlie Smart, Helmuth Rosales, Anjali Singhvi and Reham Mourshed, The New York Times; Inside Syria’s Most Fearsome Prison: Tens of thousands of Syrians were thrown into Sednaya during the Assad regime. The New York Times created a 3-D model of the prison. 

[Kip Currier: This story about Syria's brutal Sednaya prison is a difficult one to read and view. It's shocking to see how monstrously the people -- activists, artists, politicians, writers, citizens of all kinds -- warehoused to languish and die in this savage place were mistreated, tortured, and murdered.

But it's also an important one to digest and contemplate and not look away from. To think about all of the human beings who were impacted by this horrific prison. And to reflect on the human beings -- the leaders with power and privilege -- who sanctioned the existence of such a barbaric place and system for so long.

The sermon of an Episcopal priest I was fortunate to hear yesterday encouraged the parishioners to pray for individuals who are in prisons, as well as for humane treatment of the imprisoned by those who are charged with looking after them during their incarceration. We were reminded by the priest that some people are also imprisoned unjustly. Just as the 1st century Apostle Paul was imprisoned by the Roman Empire, merely for speaking and evangelizing.

Specifically, too, we were asked to pray for detainees in an ICE facility in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.

We mustn't become indifferent to the injustices and suffering that people in this world experience. Or to the dignity, respect, due process, and rule of law to which every person is entitled, no matter their economic circumstances or legal status.]

[Excerpt]

"NO PLACE IN SYRIA was more feared than Sednaya prison during the Assad family’s decades-long, iron-fisted rule.

Situated on a barren hilltop on the outskirts of Damascus, the capital, Sednaya was at the heart of the Assads’ extensive system of torture prisons and arbitrary arrests used to crush all dissent.

By the end of the nearly 14-year civil war that culminated in December with the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, it had become a haunting symbol of the dictator’s ruthlessness.

Over the years, the regime’s security apparatus swallowed up hundreds of thousands of activists, journalists, students and dissidents from all over Syria — many never to be heard from again.

Most prisoners did not expect to make it out of Sednaya alive. They watched as men detained with them withered away or simply lost the will to live. Tens of thousands of others were executed, according to rights groups."

Seventy Years Ago, Johnny Cash Recorded ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and Became a Folk Hero for the Ignored and Downtrodden; Smithsonian Magazine, July 30, 2025

Raj Tawney, Smithsonian Magazine; Seventy Years Ago, Johnny Cash Recorded ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and Became a Folk Hero for the Ignored and Downtrodden

"Throughout his five-decade career, Cash performed for thousands of incarcerated people across the country, appearing in-concert at over 30 prisons, where he’d always include “Folsom Prison Blues” in his set. By showing them his respect, the inmates often felt he was one of their own and treated him in kind. Though he’d been arrested seven times for minor offenses, some due to his struggles with substance abuse, he never served prison time. Yet somehow, he found a way to relate to and empathize with prisoners while the rest of society turned their backs on them. He even testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on prison reform in 1972 and continued to advocate for prison conditions with six sitting presidents."

Superman’s Squirrel Scene Is Deeper Than You Think; ScreenRant, August 2, 2025

TC Phillips, ScreenRant; Superman’s Squirrel Scene Is Deeper Than You Think

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"While test audiences may have had questions about Superman’s titular superhero performing an unexpected wildlife rescue, the DC movie’s co-composer has offered his insight into the hotly contested moment. During a recent interview following Superman’s release, James Gunn revealed that some test audiences had taken issue with David Corenswet’s Superman saving a squirrel while fighting a rampaging Kaiju.

Nonetheless, Gunn decided to keep the moment in his movie’s final edit, despite the feedback he had received and additional protests from some of his crew. Since then, the pivotal moment has become a major focus of online discussion and has even spawned a slew of memes and other viral content...

Ultimately, however, Fleming revealed that he is fond of the moment and explained how Superman’s actions are true to his character. He also suggested they were a perfect counterpoint to the more callous and careless actions of the Justice Gang. Check out his final comments below:

I kind of think the squirrel's great. To go back to the Justice Gang being a great foil for Superman, the fun of the scene is how haphazard they are versus him trying to make sure everyone is safe all the time, which is a real hallmark of his character and at the core of the creation of the character.

Over the years, DC’s Superman has been reimagined and recontextualized countless times. While the character’s previous big-screen iteration had largely centered on depicting the Last Son of Krypton as a god-like being attempting to find his place among mortals, Gunn’s version intentionally leans into the strength of his humanity, and his concern for all living creatures...

In a comic book universe already filled to bursting with metahumans parading as heroes and villains, it is Superman’s boundless empathy that truly sets him apart from his many contemporaries." 

James Gunn Explains Why Supergirl’s Secret Cameo Was Crucial For Superman; ScreenRant, July 19, 2025

Andy Behbakht

 , ScreenRant; James Gunn Explains Why Supergirl’s Secret Cameo Was Crucial For Superman

WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from Superman.

"In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gunn shared more about Alcock's Supergirl cameo and how it was used as a way to give the DCU audience an introduction to the Girl of Steel. Gunn stressed that it was important to have Supergirl at the end, as he shared the following:

James Gunn: But for me, the main reason for Kara showing up is to show that Superman not only risked his life to go save a dog that was his dog, that so many of us would do, he was watching the dog for somebody else. The dog's a pain in his ass. He didn't want to take that dog. She's off being irresponsible. He doesn't want to have to watch a dog. He's having to save the world every two seconds. And even still, he goes to the ends of the earth for that dog.

To me, that's one of the most touching things in the movie. Earlier, when Lois says, "It's just a dog," and he says, "Yeah, not even a very good one, but it's probably scared," it just shows you the depths of his empathy. I find that so touching. Then, when you find out at the end, it's not even his dog; she just left it with him."

Selfishness Is Not a Virtue; The New York Times, June 5, 2025

 David French, The New York Times; Selfishness Is Not a Virtue

"Too many Christians are transforming Christianity into a vertical faith, one that focuses on your personal relationship with God at the expense of the horizontal relationship you have with your neighbors...

Consider also the evangelical turn against empathy. There are now Christian writers and theologians who are mounting a frontal attack against the very value that allows us to understand our neighbors, that places us in their shoes and asks what we would want and need if we were in their place.

But Christianity is a cross-shaped faith. The vertical relationship creates horizontal obligations. While Christians can certainly differ, for example, on the best way to provide health care to our nation’s most vulnerable citizens, it’s hard to see how we can disagree on the need to care for the poor.

Put another way, when the sick and lame approached Jesus, he did not say, “Depart from me, for thou shalt die anyway.” He healed the sick and fed the hungry and told his followers to do the same.

Or, as the Book of James declares, “If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,’ but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it?”

Again, these passages do not dictate any particular policy, but they do tell us that we must try to meet the physical needs of the poor — here, on this earth — even if our souls are far more durable than our bodies."

"Reading builds empathy": The case for saving America's libraries; Salon, March 30, 2025

MELANIE MCFARLAND,

Salon; "Reading builds empathy": The case for saving America's libraries

"Libraries are the nexuses of democratized access to culture, community expertise, diverse perspectives on history and the instruments that further that knowledge. They also are gathering spots and safe spaces for the vulnerable.

“People who are in library leadership, on boards, and certainly librarians even today, are not interested in limiting, shaping, prescribing how that creative and generative expression should be had,” says John Chrastka, Executive Director and founder of the non-profit advocacy organization EveryLibrary. “They're just interested in making sure that everybody's got a fair shake to get to it.”

This may be why the Trump administration is set on starving our nation’s libraries to death, or close enough to it."

The power of boycotts; The Ink, March 31, 2025

 Anand Giridharadas, The Ink; The power of boycotts

"Elon Musk’s feelings are hurt. His companies are suffering.

Weird, coming from the guy who denounced empathy as Western civilization’s “fundamental weakness.” While a little needling by Tim Walz about Tesla’s plummeting share price may have set him off, the real pain point is the #teslatakedown movement, which this past Saturday put on a worldwide day of action.

Folks on the right like to complain about boycotts. They’ve called them illegal. They’ve tried to intimidate those who’d dare use their economic power. They’ve threatened to criminalize the very idea. They’ve commingled peaceful calls for investors and shoppers to withhold their hard-earned dollars with acts of vandalism, and have tried to paint the entire movement as terrorism. But, as you might expect, accusations are confessions: what far-right political figures mean when they denounce boycotts is that they want to decide who gets boycotted.

So what is it that scares the guy who wants to privatize everything? Members of the public, exercising their private power to decide, and doing it collectively (Musk famously hates that whole collective thing). Because when that power is clearly targeted and well organized, it gets results. Maybe it’s the sheer gumption of speaking truth to power in its native language — money — that pains Musk. But that’s the free market, isn’t it?"

Toronto Public Library apologizes after refusing to let a lost girl use their phone; City News, December 2, 2024

 Rhianne Campbell, City News ; Toronto Public Library apologizes after refusing to let a lost girl use their phone

"The Toronto Public Library has apologized after refusing to let a lost girl use a phone at one of their branches.

Megan Kinch posted on social media Friday evening after her lost 11-year-old daughter went to the library looking for help."

The rise of GodGPT; Business Insider, November 3, 2024

John Brandon, Business Insider; The rise of GodGPT

"While Telving agreed there are opportunities for generative AI be an effective purveyor of knowledge on spiritual matters tailored to the needs of an individual, bots should never replace humans helping in a time of need.

"One thing that makes simulated attention less valuable is that in a time of distress, you might need someone who can witness and understand your pain," Telving says. "But since a chatbot is only simulating empathy — it does not have consciousness — it can never really witness anything."

To nourish your soul, you need to be in the presence of other souls."

As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator; The New York Times, October 22, 2024

Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times; As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator

"Few top officials spent more time behind closed doors in the White House with President Donald J. Trump than John F. Kelly, the former Marine general who was his longest-serving chief of staff.

With Election Day looming, Mr. Kelly — deeply bothered by Mr. Trump’s recent comments about employing the military against his domestic opponents — agreed to three on-the-record, recorded discussions with a reporter for The New York Times about the former president, providing some of his most wide-ranging comments yet about Mr. Trump’s fitness and character...

Here are excerpts from, and audio of, Mr. Kelly’s comments...

Trump told him that “Hitler did some good things.”

Mr. Kelly confirmed previous reports that on more than one occasion Mr. Trump spoke positively of Hitler.

“He commented more than once that, ‘You know, Hitler did some good things, too,’” Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump told him...

Kelly said Trump looked down on those who were disabled on the battlefield.

In response to a question about previous stories about Mr. Trump having disdain for disabled veterans, Mr. Kelly said Mr. Trump did not want to be seen in public with those who had lost limbs on the battlefield.

“Certainly his not wanting to be seen with amputees — amputees that lost their limbs in defense of this country fighting for every American, him included, to protect them, but didn’t want to be seen with them. That’s an interesting perspective for the commander in chief to have.”

“He would just say: ‘Look, it just doesn’t look good for me.’”

He said Trump called service members who were injured or killed “losers and suckers,” despite denials from Trump and some aides.

Confirming a statement he gave to CNN last year, Mr. Kelly said that on multiple occasions Mr. Trump told him that those Americans wounded, captured or killed in action were “losers and suckers.”

“The time in Paris was not the only time that he ever said it,” Mr. Kelly said, referring to reports that Mr. Trump told him that he did not want to visit a cemetery where American service members killed during World War I were buried...

Mr. Kelly had nothing good to say about Mr. Trump

Mr. Kelly was asked whether Mr. Trump had any empathy

“No,” Mr. Kelly said.""

Computer scientist speaks of effects of AI on humanity; Allied News, October 15, 2024

HAILEY ROGENSKI , Allied News; Computer scientist speaks of effects of AI on humanity

"What role will we let artificial intelligence play in our lives, and what effect will AI have on religion and the world? Can it replace human roles that require empathy?

Dr. Derek Schuurman, a Christian computer scientist from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., delved into those issues Oct. 7 at Grove City College in the college’s Albert A. Hopeman Jr. Memorial Lecture in Faith & Technology.

Schuurman, is a member of the American Scientific Affiliation and adviser for AI and faith, a contributor to the Christian Scholars Review blog, a columnist for the Christian Courier and an author of Shaping the Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology and a co-author of A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers...

“I think at that point we have to get back to that question and say, ‘what does it mean to be human?’” Schuurman said. “What does it mean to be made in the image of God? What does that imply for certain types of relationships and work about having a human doing that, because we choose to have someone who can actually have empathy for us, someone who’s words can be influenced and shaped by the holy spirit speaking into our lives. There’s certain roles that require empathy, care (and) wisdom.”

Schuurman said he thinks some roles that require this kind of empathy, such as being a pastor or teacher, will remain untouched by AI.

He said the best way to use AI is to maintain a “hybrid approach” where “people do what people do well and machines do what machines do well.”"

The Most Important Writing Exercise I’ve Ever Assigned; The New York Times, February 18, 202

 Rachel Kadish, The New York Times; The Most Important Writing Exercise I’ve Ever Assigned

"Unflinching empathy, which is the muscle the lesson is designed to exercise, is a prerequisite for literature strong enough to wrestle with the real world. On the page it allows us to spot signs of humanity; off the page it can teach us to start a conversation with the strangest of strangers, to thrive alongside difference. It can even affect those life or death choices we make instinctively in a crisis. This kind of empathy has nothing to do with being nice — and it’s not for the faint of heart."

Roland Pattillo helped keep Henrietta Lacks' story alive. It's key to his legacy; NPR, November 14, 2023

 Walter Ray Watson, NPR; Roland Pattillo helped keep Henrietta Lacks' story alive. It's key to his legacy

"Dr. Roland Pattillo and his wife Pat O'Flynn Pattillo paid for Henrietta Lacks' permanent headstone, a smooth, substantial block of pink granite. It sits in the shape of a hardcover book...

Pattillo, an African American oncologist, stem cell researcher and professor, died in May at age 89. His death went largely unreported. The New York Times ran an obituary last month. The Nation published the news in September...

He protected and elevated Lacks' memory for decades. A Louisiana native, Dr. Pattillo is often described as a quiet, determined man, and a major reason why millions know Henrietta Lacks' story.

He befriended the Lacks family and protected them from reporters and other people. He was aware of the HeLa cell line story, the medical discovery that Henrietta Lacks' cancer cells successfully grew outside her body, but he learned more about the donor when he worked with biologist George Gey, his mentor at Johns Hopkins. Gey was responsible for harvesting her biopsied cancer cells and successfully growing them in culture, the first human cells to do so. They were put to use for medical research in labs around the world...

Henrietta Lacks left behind five young children in 1951.

She was treated at Johns Hopkins, a Baltimore charity hospital that cared for Black patients during the Jim Crow era. Her tumor cells were taken without her knowledge. Her cells became the first successful "immortal" cell line, grown outside her body and used for medical research. They have been instrumental in breakthroughs ever since.

Patients rights and the rules governing them were not like today.

HeLa cells were used to understand how the polio virus infected human beings. A vaccine was developed as a result. More recently, they played a significant role in COVID-19 vaccines.

Pat Pattillo says her husband wanted to share how Lacks' gift benefitted humanity since her death at age 31. But he also hoped to extend empathy for the family she left behind...

Skloot says she and Pattillo first had a mentor and mentee relationship, but it blossomed into a collegial one, especially when they formed the Henrietta Lacks Foundation.

"So, it provides financial support for people who made important contributions to science without their knowledge or consent," she says. "And their descendants, specifically people who were used in historic research studies like the Tuskegee syphilis studies, the Holmes Burke prison studies, and Henrietta Lacks family.""

VR transports users to notorious Venezuelan prison: ‘The world needs to know’; The Washington Post, September 22, 2023

María Luisa Paúl, The Washington Post ; VR transports users to notorious Venezuelan prison: ‘The world needs to know’

"The simulation was created by Voces de la Memoria — voices of memory — a nonprofit that uses technology to advocate for human rights and whose founder, Victor Navarro, was arbitrarily detained in El Helicoide, where he said he was tortured...

Then Navarro went through a virtual reality experience about Anne Frank’s time in the Secret Annex: “I felt like in any moment, the Nazis were going to take me to a concentration camp,” he said. “If I was able to empathize with Anne Frank, someone I don’t know and who lived in another time, maybe others would be able to empathize with what happened in El Helicoide.”.

Shortly after, Voces de la Memoria was born. By combining interviews with former detainees and input from psychologists, the organization put together “a virtual museum of terror designed to generate action,” said Francisco Marquez Lara, a senior adviser to the nonprofit who was detained in El Helicoide in 2016.

“Memory museums and experiences of this kind are usually done after the atrocities are over,” he said. “But we know that time makes people lose a bit of interest and sensitivity, and we don’t want this to keep happening. This tool is an innovation in the fight for human rights that has the potential to reach people wherever they are and immerse them into something that isn’t talked about enough.”"

Artificial intelligence can support architects but lacks empathy and ethics; The Conversation, June 18, 2023

Farzam Sepanta PhD Candidate, Building Engineering, Carleton University , The Conversation; , Artificial intelligence can support architects but lacks empathy and ethics

"Beyond architecture schools, understanding the importance of the shared values, heritage and cultural qualities of a community, or even a person, is essential for architects in coming up with design solutions. 

While AI is capable of analyzing such information, it cannot truly empathize with and understand these different considerations.

At the same time, decisions made by architects carry responsibilities and liabilities. Students learn about sustainability issues, long-term impacts of designs, ecological footprints and other similar topics.

Although AI can be provided with decision-making capabilities, it cannot replace architects’ roles in ethical decision-making process."

'Andor' soared — it was about the force, not The Force, of the Star Wars universe; NPR, November 23, 2022

Glen Weldon, NPR; 'Andor' soared — it was about the force, not The Force, of the Star Wars universe

"Force with a lowercase "f"

Karn and his colleagues are dedicated to the cause of fascist oppression (which they're careful to refer to only as "order") with a zeal that isn't remotely macro. It isn't mythic, religious or even passionate. Instead, they're driven by institutional imperatives that scour their souls free of empathy, compassion and understanding, and reward them for ruthlessness, cruelty and — above all — efficiency. 

Who's the showrunner here, Hannah Arendt? Because as we watched season one of Andor play out in a series of mini-arcs across its 12 episodes, we saw the inner workings of the Empire. It's The Banality of Evil: The Series."

How to best accommodate neurodiverse lawyers and neurodivergent clients; ABA Journal, May 19, 2022

Haley Moss, ABA Journal; How to best accommodate neurodiverse lawyers and neurodivergent clients

"Supporting and accommodating neurodivergent clients

Something that always is brought up to me when neurodivergent clients come up are ethical considerations—what to do with interpreters, diminished capacity concerns or competence. But a lot of those concerns are also our own biases showing with regard what we think neurodiversity is (or is not). Instead, as lawyers, it’s up to us to practice a little bit of empathy. People seek out lawyers for all sorts of reasons: Maybe they’re starting a business, or they were fired or getting divorced, or getting sued. There’s already a natural fear or surprise element to that initial interaction for clients, without our judgments based on a person’s cognitive abilities.

To lead with empathy, think about how to make those first interactions less terrifying in order to build trust. There’s a knowledge gap lawyers have about disability culture. Presume competence by treating us like any other client; it’s one of the easiest ways to show respect. It’s frustrating even to me when I get talked down to like a little kid because I’m autistic, and your adult neurodivergent clients probably have had similar experiences. To that effect, something we all can do better is clean up legal jargon and use plain language, explaining concepts in an easy-to-understand format.

I also like trying to meet folks where they are." 

He built a website showing open Covid-19 vaccine appointments across the US. Some call it a lifesaver; CNN, April 11, 2021

Christina Maxouris, CNN; He built a website showing open Covid-19 vaccine appointments across the US. Some call it a lifesaver

"For weeks, Nick Muerdter had been hearing about his coworkers' concerns and frustrations as they tried to navigate complicated and evolving Covid-19 vaccination systems to land an appointment for their parents...

In mid-February, Muerdter began creating a tool in his free time that scanned local pharmacies' vaccine appointment availability and gathered all that information in one place -- allowing users to view nearby available appointments just by plugging in their zip code and how far they were willing to drive.

Coworkers that had been searching for weeks found appointments for eligible family members in just days, he said, with the help of the new website. 

"This just really sort of tried to automate what you would have to do if you were to go the websites and enter every single zip code or ... check every single store in your area," he said. 

And soon, what started off as a small side project became an "all consuming" job, outside his full-time job. Muerdter's website now covers all 50 US states, plus Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

He calls it: Covid-19 Vaccine Spotter."...

"The feedback has really been sort of amazing and positive and so many people seem to have found this useful," he said. "That's just sort of what makes me happy."

And knowing he's helping is reward enough, Muerdter says. 

But flooded with offers of donations, Muerdter created an option to contribute to his efforts, money he says goes toward covering website costs. Whatever is leftover, he gives to charities like UNICEF and Direct Relief.

"I'm not trying to make money off of this," he says. "I'm just happy to help people.""

Zoom classes felt like teaching into a void — until I told my students why; The Washington Post; March 11, 2021

C. Thi Nguyen, The Washington Post; Zoom classes felt like teaching into a void — until I told my students why

"In the end, I see this as a question of informed choice. Given who I am, it’s very predicable that my teaching will get worse as more cameras go off. Students deserve to know that, and take that into account, in their own choices. I suspect that honesty is the best we can do right now.

This experience has also changed how I behave when I’m on the other side of the exchange — in the audience of an online lecture. In that situation, I would almost always prefer to turn my camera off. But now I go camera-on most of the time, because of my understanding of the impact of my decision on the speaker.

Right now, our knowledge of one another’s lives is slim, gathered as it is through impoverished channels like Zoom. When our connections are so tenuous, a little trust can go a long way."

Hundreds of helpless cold-stunned sea turtles rescued by Navy pilots and pickup trucks; The Washington Post, February 18, 2021

Alex Horton, The Washington Post; Hundreds of helpless cold-stunned sea turtles rescued by Navy pilots and pickup trucks

"“Most of these people didn’t have good conditions in their own homes,” he said. “But they came out to help.”

The hardships of the extreme weather, coupled with the pressure of the coronavirus pandemic, compelled the volunteers to do something tangible and positive amid the bleakness, Bellamy said.

“Things have been rough over the past year. It’s fun to see people come together focused on recovering these turtles. People just need it.”"