In 2009, the Roman Catholic church convened an “apostolic visitation” – a sort of modern-day auto-da-fe – a rare step taken when the Vatican feels that a church-affiliated institution has […]
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A former Apple engineer who launched his own wireless networking start up puts his customers in direct contact with his engineers. Running a lean business keeps him competitive.
Probably not. But the virtual currency bitcoin could be a real alternative to government-issued money—only if it survives hoarding by speculators, says James Surowiecki.
Have you seen “Miss Representation”, the documentary that challenges the sexist, demeaning way the information and entertainment media depict women? See it. It’s important, and spot on…even if it is […]
After being created as a text-only destination nearly twenty years ago, the Web has increasingly become a visual destination, where images, photos and videos have replaced text as the new […]
There’s been some interesting responses to my post on our obligation to eat headless, legless chickens (aside from the vague namecalling and useless expressions of outrage and disgust. Something is […]
Is the frequently drawn distinction between online bookstores (efficient, convenient, innovative) and traditional bookstores (old-fashioned, communal, curated) a false one? This fall, Molly Gaudry and her fellow staff at The […]
I’m a word nerd. My husband bought me a 20-volume unabridged Oxford English Dictionary as a Valentine’s Day present one year. It was the first Valentine’s gift that I took […]
I’ve previously written about the case of Jessica Ahlquist, an incredibly brave young atheist from Rhode Island who’s the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging an unconstitutional “School Prayer” banner […]
Read the recap of Day 1 here. Day 2! I have to admit I missed the first talk of the day by Joe Nickell (see my previous post about goings-on […]
Long before she ever met John Lennon, Yoko Ono established herself as a significant international avant-garde artist. With John by her side, Yoko’s political performance art found a larger audience […]
There are still people here in Georgia who do not want their children to listen to a back-to-school speech from that bad, bad man, Mr. Barack Obama, otherwise known for […]
Scientists have found nicotine receptors in the brain of mice that appear to influence appetite. Might researchers one day engineer a weight-loss drug that mimics nicotine?
Threats and outrage can no more shut up ideas than a cage made of smoke. It’s time we stop using violent tactics, as ways to voice our disagreements. In case […]
Nine months into Syria’s uprising and the peaceful protests against the regime of Bashar Assad are now accompanied by a growing insurgency.
In this excerpt from his lecture for The Floating University, Dr. Kaku explains that time machines do not violate Einstein’s laws of physics, and that future humans would be wise to build one and slip through a wormhole before the cooling universe extinguishes all known life.
Political candidates are jumping on the bandwagon of criticizing China for the US’ economic woes. But experts say this perception is distorted and dangerous.
The speed with which KONY 2012 went viral around the world has been stunning. Even if you don’t love the politics of Invisible Children’s “Stop Kony” campaign, it’s hard to […]
So the Susan G. Komen Foundation has withdrawn its financial support of Planned Parenthood. Wailing and gnashing, wailing and gnashing. Erica Greider, my colleague at The Economist, offers an evenhanded […]
Until the good bishops of the Catholic church can figure out how to keep their priests from molesting young boys, I have no use for their histrionics over the Obama […]
Pay attention, get focused, be vigilant, stay on task, keep your eye on the ball, listen up, get your head in the game: these are just a few of the […]
“If you want to replenish your visual thinking, you have to go back to nature,” David Hockney says in Bruno Wollheim’s film David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, “because there’s the […]
As the kind of writer who keeps his finger squarely on the cultural pulse, I’ve just watched the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail” for the first time […]
As promised earlier, here’s a full wrap-up of my weekend attending Skepticon IV in Springfield, Missouri. I really have to give tons of credit to the organizers, who not only […]
Many companies extol the value of work-life balance for their employees, but the reality for senior executives? There isn’t any.
Steven Pinker is a cognitive psychologist interested in language as a window into the human mind. In this excerpt from his linguistics lecture for the Floating University, he illuminates some of the mysteries surrounding children’s hardwired ability to learn language.
–Guest post by Kathrina Maramba, American University graduate student. Recently, Dr. David Agus appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to promote his new book The End of Illness. “Why […]
Short of inventing a time machine and travelling back to the 16th century, we’ll most likely never know what Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa looked like when it was first […]
The issue of illegal immigration is heating up again as November’s presidential decision looms. A fresh wave of political rhetoric along both sides of the aisle — mostly disingenuous assertions calculated to woo a perceived, as-yet-undedicated pool of potential new voters — is picking up pace, left and right. All that speechifying will further ratchet up racial tensions. Over-the-top cartel bloodletting along both sides of the border is just more fuel sprayed on that crazy fire.
Was the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki legal? Was it wise and did it make Americans safer?