Tom Benner Reports

The latest issue of Spare Change News takes readers into the world of women’s amateur boxing, just in time for the first-ever women’s Olympic boxing matches this August. You can spend some time in the ring with writer/boxer Noelle Swan by clicking here. Read about efforts to help the homeless during the heat wave. And for a fun look at the 2012 Emmy nominations, which are dominated by the AMC television show Mad Men, read It's a Mad Man's Man's Man's World

A PDF can be found here.

A shout of joy. A sigh of relief. A bit of puzzlement. A sense of disappointment. These are all feelings that those who hoped that the Supreme Court would uphold the Affordable Care Act most likely experienced upon hearing of the Supreme Court decision issued on Thursday, June 28, which upheld in part and rejected in part President Obama’s historic health care legislation. Continue reading the latest editorial from the editors of Spare Change News …

Read the Spare Change News Interview with Noam Chomsky here. Together with his friend, the late Howard Zinn, Professor Chomsky was one of the first major supporters of Spare Change News. Despite a hectic schedule and pressing demands on his time, he kindly agreed to an interview with Spare Change News in order to discuss — among other things — Occupy Wall Street, the role of elite universities, and his reputation as the “most-cited living author in the world.”

Or read the May 18-May 31 issue in PDF, May 18-May 31 issue, which also includes a tribute to the late children’s author Maurice Sendak and his poignant take on homelessness.

“KEEPING HOUSE: Helping Boston Residents Stay in their Home Post-Foreclosure” is the cover story in the April 20, 2012 issue of Spare Change News.

Nick Flynn: From Boston’s Pine Street Inn to Hollywood is a talk with the author behind the movie “Being Flynn” starring Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano, and Julianne Moore, with a homeless shelter in Boston as its backdrop. Also featured in the March 23-April 5 issue of Spare Change News is an interview with the great poet, fiction writer and feminist Marge Piercy.

The March 23-April 5 issue can be read in PDF format here.

There are some 120 publications within the Glasgow-based International Network of Street Papers, with a global readership of over 6 million per edition. At their best, street papers challenge public perceptions of poverty and social injustice and give voice to the seldom heard. At their worst, they are "pity papers" that passersby purchase because they feel bad for the vendor selling it on the street.

We want people to buy the paper for the quality of the content. Hence the slogan, "I read it for the articles," which has been said before about another, very different type of publication …

(Artwork by Micah Stahl)

Dispatches from the Occupy Boston encampment at Dewey Square, and a trial program allowing food stamps to be used for “healthy” fast foods, are featured in the Nov. 4, 2011 issue of Spare Change News. PDF

Glaeser’s “Triumph of the City” explains How Our Cities Make Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier

The Aug. 12, 2011 issue of Spare Change News features an in-depth talk with Mass. Lt. Gov. Tim Murray, Gov. Deval Patrick’s point man on homeless policy. PDF

Featured in the July 8, 2011 issue of Spare Change News is an exclusive interview with KRS-One, the artist, as he prepares to travel to New England for his teach hip hop tour. Kris Parker, the person, reminisces about the irony within the connection of homelessness and hip-hop and how he once lived on the streets for over 10 years. Read the story.