Tim Brinkhof
Tim Brinkhof is a journalist and film critic based in Amsterdam. He studied early Netherlandish painting at NYU and is a scholar of Russian literature. He has written for Esquire, High Times, History Today, and Discover.
Amenhotep I: CT scans get a glimpse inside the mummy
Scientists used 3D scans to analyze the corpse of Amenhotep I. They discovered that his brain was never removed and that he was circumcised, among other curiosities.
Did Stalin really pluck a live chicken to show how he controlled the masses?
Distinguishing fact from fiction can be tough, especially when it comes to people as controversial as Stalin.
Boléro: Was Maurice Ravel’s famous music the product of a brain disease?
Undiagnosed brain disease or divine inspiration? The origins of the French composer’s most provocative composition remain up for debate.
What the Gombe Chimpanzee War taught us about human nature
From 1974 to 1978, the chimps of Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania were at war with each other, the first time conservationists saw chimps engage in calculated, cold-blooded killing.
What was it like to live in ancient Rome?
Historians have been able to piece together a clear picture of how the average Roman citizen spent their waking hours.
Christmas Blues: Why the “most wonderful” time of the year is sometimes the saddest
Ever felt sad during the holidays but weren't sure why? Chances are you were suffering from a case of Christmas Blues.
Why Arthur Schopenhauer would have hated modern education
Many of his criticisms ring true today.
A history of the American family, as told through television’s biggest sitcoms
Hit shows are like societal mirrors, capable of reflecting the cultural zeitgeist whose likeness they try to record.
Laetoli tracks: Are footprints alone enough to identify a new species of ancient human?
Bears, chimps, or humans? A track of five poorly preserved footsteps at Laetoli has puzzled paleontologists for decades. Now, a research paper from Nature claims to have solved the mystery.
The subtle tricks artists can use to bridge the uncanny valley
The most technically impressive feats of animation often strike us as eerie instead of impressive, and it’s all thanks to the uncanny valley.
How Mariah Carey stole Christmas
The singer-songwriter distilled the essence of the holidays into a hit song, and for her efforts she was crowned the Queen of Christmas.
Are big cities bad for our mental health?
Cities overstimulate our senses and are full of people we don't know. Maybe humans were meant for this.
How John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” changed the way we look at art
Released in 1972, "Ways of Seeing" has proven to be as worthy of study as the artistic traditions it investigates.
The most incorrigible popes in the history of the Vatican
Far from acting as the conduits of a benevolent deity, these religious leaders threw the teachings of their own church out of the window.
Tolstoy vs. Gorky: Why Russian intellectuals had very different visions of utopia
The insurmountable contrasts between their visions help explain Russia’s stunted development and hint at its destructive future.
The Mexican Revolution, in the words of those who lived through it
The decades-long conflict is best understood not through secondhand accounts of historians, but the primary accounts of people who actually experienced it.
How a Hollywood-style television show about Trotsky rearranged the Russian Revolution
Although equal parts Hollywood blockbuster and Putinist propaganda, "Trotsky" still manages to capture the good, the bad, and the ugly of Russia’s revolutionary past.
The most compelling representations of Satan in world literature
By taking Satan out of the religious context, storytellers explored the nature of sin in new ways.
Homo naledi: Archaeologists recover the fragmented skull of an elusive species of ancient human
Fittingly, the skull was found in the Rising Star cave of South Africa, itself located at a site known to UNESCO as the Cradle of Mankind.
How Nietzsche’s love for music influenced his philosophy
The German thinker wrote both treatises and songs. He approached each form of expression with the same level of interest.
The Tarim Basin mummies: retracing the ghostly origin of Xinjiang’s earliest known settlers
Though these ancient settlers of China were culturally cosmopolitan, their DNA turns out to have been completely distinct from the communities with which they interacted.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s greatest critic explains why everyone should read his books
According to literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin, Dostoevsky's talents were on par with those of William Shakespeare.
Hidden ruins revealed: Laser scans map out Olmec and Mayan urban planning
Looking with lasers, researchers discovered that many Olmec and Mayan ruins seem to have been constructed from the same blueprint.
How Frank Herbert’s “Dune” revolutionized science fiction
Before Herbert came along and wrote Dune, few if any sci-fi stories were set in fully realized universes.
Horror fiction: the unexpectedly ancient origins of ghost stories
Fear is one of the oldest and most powerful emotions known to man, so it should come as no surprise that horror stories are as old as storytelling itself.
The search for the scariest horror movie in cinematic history
The more horror we consume, the harder it becomes to find a good scare. These genuinely unsettling movies should get you in the mood for Halloween.
Is it possible to write an unbiased history of human civilization?
Will and Ariel Durant were praised for their ability to look at the big picture without losing sight of its little details, even if they did miss some of them.
Why Arthur Schopenhauer thought music was the greatest of all artforms
Music is often labelled a “universal language,” and according to the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, there is a good reason for that.
Dante’s Inferno is far more popular than Paradise. What does that say about us?
In hell, we assume a position of moral superiority, looking down over the sinners and the poor decisions that led them to this wretched place. In heaven, Dante is looking down upon us.
Rise of the war machines: What drove the evolution of military technologies?
Historians know how military technologies evolved, but the reasons why remain poorly understood.