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Theaters, galleries, museums, and symphonies are increasingly hiring in-house writers to produce their own news stories. This cutting out of the middleman helps cultural institutions tell their own stories, though also evokes questions about legitimacy and credibility. 

“The absence of ideology in a work does not mean an absence of ideas; on the contrary it fertilizes them.” -French-Romanian Absurdist playwright Eugène Ionesco, 1958

“The only way I can pay back for what fate and society have handed me is to try, in minor totally useless ways, to make an angry sound against injustice.”

“The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” -James Baldwin, 1963

A writer makes a connection between the wild world of Twitter and the sociological principles of hypercriticism, which stipulates that negative statements are inherently assumed to be more intelligent than positive ones.

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control… Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise.” -Julia Cameron, American artist, from The Artist’s Way, 1992  

Looking down at your phone to read text messages puts a stress on your neck equivalent to tying a 60-pound bowling ball around your head, says Kenneth Hansraj, a New York back surgeon.

Keeping your home and workplace in order can have a huge impact on your ability to work and your capacity for feeling calm and productive. Key to organizing clutter is finding a strategy for tidiness that fits your personal style.

“I want to work in revelations, not just spin silly tales for money. I want to fish as deep down as possible into my own subconscious in the belief that once that far down, everyone will understand because they are the same that far down.” -Jack Kerouac

The holidays mean feasts with lots of food. But how are we able to eat so much and what makes us crash after we’re full? Biologist, Christina Agapakis, has the answers.

A week from today, researchers will gather for a neuroscience conference in Washington D.C. titled “Gut Microbes and the Brain: Paradigm Shift in Neuroscience.”

Left-handedness is all the rage in the United States and UK. We’ve cast of our Medieval notions of lefties being of the devil and now see them as predisposed to genius. But this new notion may also be a myth, according to a recent study.

It’s 1962 in an America that has lost World War II…

“Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood.”

The above quote is pulled from Virginia Woolf’s (1882-1941) long-form narrative essay A Room of One’s Own, which was first published in 1929. Room is one of the English writer’s many […]

In 1931, Norway annexed part of Greenland. It could have been the start of a very Cold War indeed. 

Whether or not you believe there’s a problem, we’re all part of the solution. “‎Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on […]

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was a prolific science fiction writer and biochemist. During his lifetime, Asimov authored or edited over 500 books and served as president of the American Humanist Association. […]

Jeffrey Kluger describes some of the key traits of narcissistic personality disorder, pointing out that some of our greatest leaders have narcissistic tendencies.

The OkCupid co-founder has authored a best-selling book that analyzes user data from social media and dating sites to draw conclusions about modern human behavior.

Science writer Benedict Carey explains in his new book that the brain is a forager, not a school learner. Carey advocates for teaching students more about how and why they learn.

“We don’t have to save the world. The world is big enough to look after itself. What we have to be concerned about is whether or not the world we live in will be capable of sustaining us in it.”

“Star Trek speaks to some basic human needs: that there is a tomorrow — it’s not all going to be over with a big flash and a bomb; that the human race is improving; that we have things to be proud of as humans. No, ancient astronauts did not build the pyramids — human beings built them, because they’re clever and they work hard. And Star Trek is about those things.”

Renowned travel writer Rick Steves, an evangelist for budget-conscious vacationing, supports paying a little extra for the best hotel, transit, and local knowledge.

Sherman Alexie, author of the award-winning novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, on Young Adult fiction: “A lot of people have no idea that right now Y.A. is the Garden of Eden of literature… One person asked me, ‘Wouldn’t you have rather won the National Book Award for an adult, serious work?’ I thought I’d been condescended to as an Indian — that was nothing compared to the condescension for writing Y.A.”

More science, more stories, and more spectacular scientists are coming to Starts With A Bang! Image credit: BBC, The Story of Science. “Men at some time are masters of their […]

“It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.”

Is there an ideal atmosphere for creativity and innovation? Research suggests that dim light, a little messiness, and a shot of liquid courage are all boons to the artistic spirit.

New research suggests that drinking coffee has more to do with your genes than previously thought.

Why do people buy “organic”? It’s all about idealism.