Vivid, approachable readings explore complex, interdisciplinary ideas. Written for a general audience, the readings allow students to engage with ideas without stumbling on exclusionary language. They range from brief (2-3 pages) to longer than those typically found in composition readers (12-15 pages) to provide students access to the newest ideas that are shaping our world. These diverse selections, arranged alphabetically, represent cross-disciplinary work (such as an psychologist thinking about animal rights), putting students into conversations with public intellectuals including Michael Pollan and Peter Singer. A focus on connections among readings. Emerging helps students see how ideas connect to one another, in sometimes surprising ways, through topical tags and creative assignments, making it a flexible book for instructors.Innovative apparatus helps students develop the critical reading and writing skills needed to bridge public and academic issues. The introduction presents key skills of academic success. Several types of questions follow each selection, including unique pts as analytical tools to aid in critical understanding. Assignment sequences focus student work on a sustained academic project. Nine assignment sequences offer a variety of projects based on four or five readings, with each sequence providing the work for an entire semester. The sequences provide options for instructors and help students work critically with multiple readings, connecting and distinguishing key ideas.