Essay Why work matters August 09, 2022 The United States is one of the most unfriendly places in the world to have a child, especially for low-wage, working parents. To date, our current policy initiatives for working families focus on giving parents time away from work to cope with family responsibilities, with policies such as parental leave, sick time, and scheduling flexibility. Read More
Interview David Hone on How Fast Did T. rex Run? August 08, 2022 How did dinosaurs rear their young? What did they eat? What did聽T. rex聽actually do with those tiny arms? Read More
Interview Tim Birkhead on Birds and Us August 08, 2022 I hated history at school, but once I became interested in how our ideas develop through time鈥攊n how we know what we know about birds鈥攖he past suddenly became very important. Read More
Interview Virginia Trimble and David Weintraub on The Sky is for Everyone August 03, 2022 The Sky Is for Everyone聽is an internationally diverse collection of autobiographical essays by women who broke down barriers and changed the face of modern astronomy. Read More
Interview Adrienne Mayor on Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs July 29, 2022 Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease: are these terrifying agents of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. Read More
Essay When rules don鈥檛 rule July 21, 2022 Rules: there are so many of them, and all so very various. Rules for where to place that third fork in a formal table setting, rules for when to clap at concerts, rules for deciding who has the right of way at an intersection, rules for how to play games, rules for declaring taxable income, rules for how to greet friends鈥攁 firm handshake (Germany), alternating pecks on the cheek (France), a bow and clasped hands (India), or a hug (the U.S.). Read More
Essay Grave consequences: How banning execution by lethal injection may result in the return of the electric chair July 20, 2022 In Florida this week, a criminal court selected people to serve on a very unusual jury. The defendant had been charged with mass murder, but the jury鈥檚 task is not to determine his guilt鈥攈e has already pled guilty. Read More
Essay The millennial generation housing calamity July 20, 2022 No single issue has catalyzed younger adults more than housing. Wealthier millennials cannot buy a home with the same ease their parents did, middle class millennials pay tremendous rents to live in cities with good economic opportunities, and the poor of the same cohort experience rampant housing insecurity: couch surfing, living in their cars, and, most disturbingly, sleeping in tent colonies or right on the pavement of cities like Los Angeles and New York. Read More
Essay Why Europe? Y. Pestis July 18, 2022 During the Middle Ages, two formidable species pervaded West Eurasia: homo sapiens (humans) and rattus rattus (black rats). The two disliked each other, but literally lived in each other鈥檚 homes. In 1345, the Black Death reached them. Read More
Essay The bold experiment July 18, 2022 On May 9, 1994 the Parliament convened, governed by the new Speaker, an Indian woman and human rights lawyer named Frene Ginwala. Their one order of business was to elect the new state president, Nelson Mandela, and they did so without dissent. Read More
Interview Adrienne Mayor on Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws July 14, 2022 Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights鈥攇limmering, long-buried nuggets of truth鈥攅mbedded in myth, legends, and folklore. Read More
Interview Evan Lieberman on Until We Have Won Our Liberty July 14, 2022 At a time when many democracies are under strain around the world,聽Until We Have Won Our Liberty聽shines new light on the signal achievements of one of the contemporary era鈥檚 most closely watched transitions away from minority rule. Read More
Essay Acquiring a horizon June 27, 2022 Expectations about the environment and how it should act are being undone. In an idealized world, scientific projections hold; natural disasters can be contained; and knowledge, assumed to be cumulative, can be relied upon to maintain some semblance of predictability. Read More
Essay Lightning and animals June 21, 2022 June 19鈥�25, 2022 is Lightning Safety Awareness Week鈥攁n annual public safety campaign of the National Weather Service. The campaign was initiated in 2001 to highlight the fact that lightning has killed more Americans than any other weather factor. Read More
Essay The sounds of summer June 21, 2022 During the month of June we celebrate the audiobook and all that it has to offer as we start on our summer reading lists. Read More
