Max J. Rosenthal

Digital Editor

Max J. Rosenthal is a former Digital Editor for PRI.org.

Max J. Rosenthal is a former Digital Editor PRI.org. He has previously reported for The Huffington Post in Beirut and Cairo, and the Associated Press in Jerusalem. He's also a veteran of the US Army and a so-so Arabic speaker. He's covered mostly foreign news and military affairs, but also loves a good sports story and anything space-related.

Max holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Columbia Journalism School.

Leonard Nimoy, cast member of the new film "Star Trek Into Darkness," poses as he arrives at the film's premiere in Hollywood on May 14, 2013.

Leonard Nimoy, 'Star Trek''s Spock, dies at 83

Leonard Nimoy, most famous for playing Spock in the original "Star Trek" TV show and many of the franchise's movies, died on Friday at the age of 83

Leonard Nimoy, 'Star Trek''s Spock, dies at 83
Predator drones featured on a hand-woven rug from Pakistan.

Drones are everywhere — even on rugs

Drones are everywhere — even on rugs
One of the images Levi Bettweiser developed from among 31 rolls of World War II film for his Rescued Film Project.

These never-before-seen WWII photos are 'just the tip of the iceberg'

These never-before-seen WWII photos are 'just the tip of the iceberg'
A man assembles police observation cameras near the Bayerischer Hof hotel before the start of the 50th Conference on Security Policy in Munich on January 31, 2014

The year of surveillance is finally over

The year of surveillance is finally over
The sign outside the headquarters of the US Army's new Cyber School at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The school is part of the Army's creation of a new cyberwarfare branch.

The Army is getting serious about cyberwarfare

The Army is getting serious about cyberwarfare
Col. Todd Wood, then commander of 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, talks with soldiers at FOB Masum Ghar in Kandahar province, Afghanistan in 2011.

Seven words and phrases used by soldiers that we could all learn from

The military picked up plenty of slang and phrases over the course of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and pretty much all of it is unprintable or unknown to people who didn't serve. Here are a few choice terms that you can put to use.

Seven words and phrases used by soldiers that we could all learn from
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a display at a military air show with Air Force officers in May 2014.

Kim Jong-Un is back! Who cares?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un finally made another public appearance on Monday, or so the country's state media claims. But no matter what, his disappearance — and reemergence — didn't seem to have much of an effect in North Korea itself.

Kim Jong-Un is back! Who cares?
People take part in the 69th Annual Columbus Day Parade in New York in 2013.

More and more cities are saying goodbye, Columbus

For one community, Columbus Day is a marker of genocide and shame. For another, it's a celebration of history and heritage. Now some cities like Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis are siding with the former, rebranding the holiday as Indigenous Peoples Day.

More and more cities are saying goodbye, Columbus
The World

How do you make a movie about jazz? Add plenty of blood

When Damien Chazelle wrote a film based on his experiences as a young jazz drummer, he got plenty of encouraging comments — and no funding. So he shot an intense, violent scene from the surprisingly bloody movie to showcase his project, and Whiplash is now highly sought after following a big win at Sundance.

How do you make a movie about jazz? Add plenty of blood
Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, wave to crowds from their limousine during Reagan's first inauguration parade in 1981.

How air conditioning got Ronald Reagan elected president

Ronald Reagan couldn't have become president without Southern votes, and many of those votes simply wouldn't have been there without the invention of air conditioning. Such innovations and their unforeseen consequences on history are the subject of a new book from Steven Johnson.

How air conditioning got Ronald Reagan elected president
Blood Bucket Challenge video

European youth have started the #BloodBucketChallenge

After the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge that swept YouTube, European young people are hoping for viral success with a campaign to bring world attention back to the conflict on Ukraine's eastern border. Meanwhile, killing is the subject of newly-published scientific research. In this case, the killers, though, are chimps. And a Chinese tennis star retires in her 30s, having brought tennis and a bit of sports freedom to her home country, in this weekend's Global Scan.

European youth have started the #BloodBucketChallenge
MIT robo-cheetah

MIT researchers create a robo-cheetah that runs and jumps off-leash

It's not much of a looker when it comes to feline curves, but MIT's robotic cheetah sure can run. It is novel in both its motors and the math that calculates how hard it springs across uneven terrain. In Scotland, bankers are preparing for the worst — a run on banks if Scots vote "yes" to separate from Britain on Thursday. And we look at the sexy brewing device for coffee that was a favorite of James Bond and is coming back into fashion. All that in today's Global Scan.

MIT researchers create a robo-cheetah that runs and jumps off-leash
A man looks at a computer screen showing logos of Russian social network VKontakte in an office in Moscow.

The ISIS Internet army has found a safe haven on Russian social networks — for now

When ISIS accounts were kicked off of Facebook and Twitter, the terrorist group turned to Russian social network VKontakte to keep up its propaganda and fundraising. A new report from a Russian news site exposed the extent of the militants' use of Russian sites and that seems to have started a crackdown by authorities.

The ISIS Internet army has found a safe haven on Russian social networks — for now
Google Streetview of Egyptian pyramids

If Egypt feels too dicey to visit, now you can walk around there with Google

Tourism is way down in Egypt due to the last three years of political unrest there. But if you have always wanted to explore the pyramids, Google Street View is now ready to help you. As the US prepares for war on ISIS, the terrorist group has extended its propaganda front with a western-focused, cutting-edge video production wing. And we ask whether western media should show the gruesome images coming from war and terrorism, all in today's Global Scan.

If Egypt feels too dicey to visit, now you can walk around there with Google
Passenger pigeons

The long-extinct passenger pigeon might get the Jurassic Park treatment

The passenger pigeon was hunted out of existence a century ago, but it turns out extinction may not be permanent after all. Scientists are working on a way to use the numerous surviving passenger pigeon samples to re-engineer the living thing.

The long-extinct passenger pigeon might get the Jurassic Park treatment