German commentators think Barack Obama is in danger of turning into an idealistic, one-term president like Jimmy Carter, explains Michael Scott Moore.
All Articles
“(Richard) Dawkins and co. are appalled by the belief in God, (Christopher) Hitchens is far more appalled by the idea that anyone would want to obey Him,” observes Ross Douthat.
“When you need to have a meeting, have a meeting…The rest of the time, do the work wherever you like.” Seth Godin lists the reasons that the office is (nearly) dead.
Two days ago, San Francisco mandated that all cell phones bear a new label: amount of radiation emitted. A sort of calorie-labeling for health-conscious tech consumers. The science is arguably […]
Last year’s H1N1 pandemic may have been milder than global health experts had feared, but this is no cause for complacency. Researchers in Hong Kong reported today in the online […]
Over the past few years, bike-sharing systems have gained popularity around the world, experimenting with different models of building a sustainable mode of alternative transportation – from the ad-supported models […]
Jarrett Barrios, the president of GLAAD, was in Big Think’s offices this afternoon to talk about some of the issues involved with gay identity and the challenge of being “out.” […]
Last week, I wrote that Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) opponent, Sharron Angle, would have a hard time appealing to moderate voters. Her views are so far out of the mainstream—at […]
While many people think the U.S.’s military superiority is vital to world security, all of the money and energy that we spend on it may be seriously damaging our economy […]
Lesley Stahl’s interview with Tara Parker-Pope on www.wowowow.com considers the myriad variations on a “good marriage;” what it means for a couple to argue well; and how we might all […]
“A combination gene therapy that endows human stem cells with three ways to resist HIV has passed its first safety test in humans,” reports a study published today in Science Translational Medicine.
“A new study from — where else? — France suggests listening to love songs may increase women’s receptivity to amorous advances,” reports Tom Jacobs for Miller-McCune.
Advances in technology have created the right conditions for free Wi-Fi. Coffee shops and hotels that still charge their customers are being unnecessarily extortionate, says Farhad Manjoo for Slate.com.
Besides the questionable legality of unpaid internships, their popularity entrenches a class system where only the affluent have access to good career opportunities, says the L.A. Times.
“Copenhagen’s failure to deliver a single universal deal opens up space for smaller regionally based deals,” says the former U.K. science advisor who is optimistic about climate change solutions.
Glenn Greenwald says today’s news media do not understand what holding authority accountable means; power wins out, he says: government over the press and business over the government.
There is more evidence of how similar humans are to our primate cousins: a new study from Japan has revealed that monkeys love watching television, especially circus acrobatics.
“‘Wicked Lasers’ new handheld super laser could threaten human existence and the world as we know it, according to the manufacturer,” says the Christian Science Monitor.
A former CIA Islamabad station chief says the U.S. should strengthen its ties with the Afghan president’s little brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, who leads Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province.
New York is finally on the verge of joining the other 49 states that have adopted divorce laws that do not require couples to establish who is at fault for the split.
I have railed against some of the shortcomings during the BP oil well blowout with great vigor during the past few weeks. I wanted to know why we weren’t getting […]
Arguing about whether Sarah Palin is a feminist is like arguing about whether a framed pile of cat puke is art. It’s a pointless semantic dispute. Why not save time […]
Last night, President Obama addressed the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in an Oval Office speech. Estimates now suggest that as much as 60,000 barrels of oil may be flowing into […]
Actress and playwright Najla Said says that while growing up in New York—despite being the daughter of Palestinian-American literary theorist Edward Said—she never really identified as Arab-American. “I didn’t seem […]
The tragic reality of most sustainability messaging is that it hangs haplessly somewhere between forgettable and toothless. UK-based nonprofit Do The Green Thing is a bold exception. Founded by a […]
Bob Lord, Global CEO of Razorfish, one of the world’s largest interactive marketing agencies, stopped by Big Think’s offices today to talk about the changing role of the Chief Marketing […]
Researchers have found that sperm whale waste stimulates carbon removal. More reason to protect whales and thereby marine ecosystems, explains Jennifer Viegas.
“If the people who brought us television had played by the same rules that today’s wireless carriers impose – we’d probably all be listening to the radio,” Ryan Singel claims.
The struggle between BP and the U.S. government takes place amid a much larger conflict — over whether democratic capitalism is the best political-social-economic system, writes David Brooks.
The Economist’s Charlemagne columnist declares Belgium to be a dying country and, for the first time, there’ve been no accusations of exaggeration. What’s going on?