sociology
If you don’t mourn in North Korea, you risk being executed.
We asked 11 experts about the future of progress for humanity.
If you want to escape the negativity, head to Kazakhstan.
Democracy is in decline, regardless of how we measure it.
When you don’t know what you’re looking for, it’s easier to miss it.
Just a small gesture or a thoughtful comment can often alter a situation, or people’s perceptions of it, in ways that relieve tensions and make them feel appreciated and included.
Think you should speak about 40% of the time in conversation? How about 70%?
“Our risk-benefit analysis showed that benefits exceeded procedural risks… by up to 200 to 1.”
Queen Elizabeth II has died. How is this loss different from that of a loved one?
Bring not a bagpipe to a man in trouble.
For many people, a challenge to their worldview feels like an attack on their personal identity.
Today’s young people are intelligent and kind, but they are overworked and burned out.
The minimum wage is a popular policy, but it’s not the only way governments have tried to help workers secure a decent living.
Be famous within five miles.
We’re overthinking being nice.
Mixed messages and competing interests have left college students feeling lost and stressed.
People who rate themselves as highly knowledgeable about cats are more likely to interact with cats in ways they don’t like.
Bloodcurdling war cries, shrieking elephants, and whistling arrows all made soldiers flee in terror.
What’s the point of all that money?
When you wish upon a star, it probably makes a difference who you are.
An upstart third party is unlikely to dislodge the status quo in the current system.
A clever neuroscience experiment shows that the “other-race effect” is likely due to a lack of experience and perceptual expertise rather than racism.
We’re still using 800,000 gallons of embalming fluid a year, but burials are becoming far less common.
Why, exactly, should you die for your child?
Video cameras on city streets are only the most visible way your movements can be tracked.
While becoming a monk is an evolutionary dead end for the individual, celibacy reaps benefits for the group as a whole.
Moral panics about the content of children’s cartoons and other forms of entertainment have a long history.
In a nod to its addictive qualities, it was first dubbed “Some More.”