Read Dave's moving new book of short fiction: The Unfinished Sentence And Other Stories. Short stories are the perfect way to celebrate the moments when you're not hectic with work or chores or other daily tasks. Get a cup of coffee or tea (or stronger beverage of choice), settle onto a comfortable chair or bench, and enjoy Dave's beautifully-crafted descriptions and profound insights - all in one sitting. As Dave describes his collection, "In a world loosened from the anchors of morality, assortments of quirky characters search for scruples among others and themselves. They bump up against some surprising limits, suffer self doubts, yet often emerge victorious over the absence of virtue. The high school girl with invisible brilliance ... The crusty caretaker of an island who possesses but does not own his native ancestors’ land. The optician whose magical glasses offer vision to the morally blind ..." And other memorable tales. You can buy Dave's book in paperback.

An English teacher at Middletown High School in New York State gave students video cameras back in the 1990s, and told them to tell compelling stories. Result: They uncovered illegal dumping of toxic wastes tied to the mob, and then made films about it - which shook the community and triggered government investigations. A documentary about their real-life drama, Teenage Wasteland, has electrified film festivals and now you can see it on Netflix. The teacher who guided the project, Fred Isseks, joins us with two of his former student investigators, Rachel Raimist and Jeff Dutemple. And they say the most important outcome was bigger than exposing illegal dumping: They learned how to ask tough questions, challenge government officials, and sort facts from lies.

With their government's and military's support, vigilante Israeli settlers are converting key villages and swaths of land into Palestinian-free zones, to thwart any prospect that Palestinians could create their own nation there. Dror Etkes, a former Israeli soldier who got his “political education” invading Palestinian homes, describes the systematic strategy behind the campaign, its human cost to Palestinian families he knows, and the dangerous implications for the future. Check out the brave and innovative research that Dror and his colleagues are doing under the umbrella of their organization, Kerem Navot.