Podcast Listen in: Work Matters August 17, 2022 Low-wage workers make up the largest group of employed parents in the United States, yet scant attention has been given to their experiences as new mothers and fathers.聽Work Matters聽brings the unique stories of these diverse individuals to light. Read More
Podcast Sonorous Desert August 17, 2022 For the hermits and communal monks of antiquity, the desert was a place to flee the cacophony of ordinary life in order to hear and contemplate the voice of God. But these monks discovered something surprising in their harsh desert surroundings: far from empty and silent, the desert is richly reverberant. Read More
Interview Jason K枚nig on The Folds of Olympus August 09, 2022 I have always loved spending time in the mountains and reading about the history of mountains and mountaineering. I never set out with the intention of joining up those interests with my work as a classicist, but it just occurred to me at one point that premodernity, and especially the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, tend to be completely ignored in that increasingly vast body of writing. Read More
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
Podcast The Secret Body August 04, 2022 Imagine knowing years in advance whether you are likely to get cancer or having a personalized understanding of your individual genes, organs, and cells. Imagine being able to monitor your body鈥檚 well-being, or have a diet tailored to your microbiome.聽 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 A look inside The Secret Body July 27, 2022 Imagine yourself as an alien with an exceptionally powerful telescope trying to understand what happens on Earth. Read More
Interview Office hours with Karen Levy July 26, 2022 I am delighted to announce Office Hours, a new Ideas feature that we will share 锘縠very other month. I spend quite a bit of time talking to authors about recent research鈥攁nd eventually, we share the end result with you, in the form of a book. Read More
Podcast Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws July 26, 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
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 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 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
