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Do presidents removed from office still retain honorific titles?
Does a person still get to be "the honorable" if they are tossed out for not being honorable?
No, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wakanda is not a real country
An online tool listed the home of the Black Panther as a trading partner of the United States.
Hackers hit New Orleans city government website — are other cities at risk?
No harm done this time, but it's an ominous occurrence.
Why the singular “They” is Merriam-Webster's word of the year
"They" has taken on a not-so-new meaning lately. This earned it the scrutiny it needed to win.
Many Americans are actually centrists—in theory, anyway
America is polarized, but not as much as you might think.
What are municipal utilities and why are they suddenly popular?
Can changing who delivers your electricity to you solve a slew of problems?
Marijuana addiction has risen in places where it's legal
While legalization has benefits, a new study suggests it may have one big drawback.
Mexican 'smart city' would be 100% energy efficient, self-sustaining
An Italian firm has put forward an idea for a green city that would be completely self-sustaining, modern, and green.
Venetian council room floods after councilors reject climate proposals
In a metaphor too apt to be made up, the council has been forced to relocate until the flood waters recede.
Want to improve your office? Stop being so bossy.
A variety of structures exist to both treat employees with more respect and increase productivity.
Students develop door handles that kill bacteria
After living through a terrible epidemic, two inventors have created a self-cleaning door handle.
The largest private coal company in America just went broke
It's telling about attempts to save the industry.
Should politicians, en masse, do 'shrooms?
Just for giggles, would it be a good idea to have our leaders take shrooms?
Organizers: Operation Ocean Cleanup is finally working
The net famously failed to work as planned last year. Now, a new version is making waves.
Why the biggest pledges on emissions are from the smallest countries
In hopes of saving their countries, many small nations are making big promises on cutting emissions.
Researchers: Voting machines can be easily hacked
As it turns out, hacking an election isn't as hard as you'd think.
Study: Ending the racial wealth gap would add a trillion dollars to the economy
America's racial wealth disparity is entrenched, with devastating effects. What if we got rid of it?
Sign of the times: School designed to limit impact of mass shootings
With little progress on other avenues to preventing mass shootings, one firm has employed architecture to save students.
Two philosophers' views on California's homelessness epidemic
How can Innovation Central not manage to solve its own sprawling homelessness?
Have we reached a humane alternative to the war on drugs?
Can treating addiction as a disease work better than treating it as a vice?
This incredible meditation will help solve your existential dread
Existential dread, meet astronomical wonder.
When the minimum wage is too low it becomes a public health risk
We often discuss what the minimum wage does to the economy, but rarely do we discuss what it does to people.
Why Slavoj Zizek thinks political correctness is dumb
Zizek is on the left and dislikes political correctness. How does that work out?
Why secular humanism can do what atheism can't
Atheism doesn't offer much beyond non-belief, can secular humanism fill the gaps?
Elizabeth Warren introduced a bill to cancel student debt — does it have any chance of passing?
Her plan to abolish most student debt has been put before Congress. But does it have any chance of passing?
Why Slavoj Žižek is a communist, kind of
We know he is on the left, but why? And how left is left anyhow?
Study: Andrew Yang's UBI plan isn't popular among rich folks
A new survey suggests that free money isn't as popular as you'd suppose.
Should Facebook be regulated with laws instead of fines?
The fine Facebook just paid was huge, but many in tech say it wasn't nearly enough to protect your data.
What does Slavoj Žižek mean when he talks about ideology?
He goes on and on about ideology, but what does it mean?
Can’t shake your student debt? Thank Joe Biden's votes.
There are many reasons the student debt crisis is what it is, a few of them can be traced back to good ol' Uncle Joe.
$15 minimum wage would boost pay for 27 million — but it might raise unemployment.
One report claims the trade is better pay for fewer jobs over all. Other reports disagree.
What an image of Trump golfing says about political cartooning
The cartoon heard 'round the world and what happened after.
The world's largest solar power project begins running in UAE
Will the small petrol state soon be solar powered?
5 philosophy jokes that will actually teach you something
Jokes so cheesy even French philosophers will love them.
Sitting is the new smoking, but not all types of sitting are made equal
A new study has bad news for those who binge watch TV.
Do newspaper presidential endorsements matter anymore?
Lots of newspapers endorse candidates, but why? Does it actually help?
Bernie Sanders' student debt plan bails out the rich
Bernie Sanders reveals an even bigger plan than Elizabeth Warren, but does it go too far?
Codetermination: A way to rebalance the economy?
Codetermination is one of the most interesting ideas you've never heard of.
The Great American Opioid Crisis: How the 2020 presidential candidates plan to solve it
What are the plans, and are they enough?
What advice would you give your younger self? This is the first study to ever examine it.
A new study shows that most people have advice for their younger self that tends towards a few important areas.
The U.S. military emits more greenhouse gases than Sweden and Denmark
The war machine needs fuel, perhaps so much as to make protecting oil redundant.
Bernie Sanders: The U.S. already has a kind of socialism – for the rich
Bernie speaks again about what democratic socialism means, and raises a debate about what freedom is.
The right-wing case for basic income
How does the largest welfare program imaginable have libertarian supporters?
Predatory loans and the schools that get poor students to take them
Just when you thought the student loan crisis couldn't get any worse.
Poll finds most Americans believe Trump will win the 2020 election
A majority both disapproves of him and think's he'll win next year. What gives?
Atheists still believe in the supernatural, new report finds
Just because you don't believe in God doesn't mean you aren't superstitious.
Burnout is now officially a medically-recognized syndrome
Medical science finally acknowledges what workers have known for years.
Why we might want to rethink who we put on money
We put presidents on our money, but isn't there more to life than politics?
Should a fetus be a citizen? Why many pro-lifers say no.
If a fetus is a person, would it be a citizen too?
Is Juche the state religion of North Korea?
Is Juche an ideology, a scam, or a very strange religion?
What is Juche, the state ideology of North Korea?
Is it the key to understanding why North Korea acts like it does, or an elaborate sham?
Elizabeth Warren's plan to forgive student loan debt could lead to an economic boom
A plan to forgive almost a trillion dollars in debt would solve the student loan debt crisis, but can it work?
Dubai to build the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant
Can you make solar power work when the sun goes down? You can, and Dubai is about to run a city that way.
Does swallowing sperm really reduce the risk of recurring miscarriage?
Don't get too excited, there is a catch to the study.
High-fructose corn syrup fuels growth of cancerous tumors, new research suggests
A new study has some disturbing implications for rodents who like a nice soda.
Atheism is inconsistent with science, says Dartmouth physicist Marcelo Gleiser
Is it saying too much to say something doesn't exist when you have no evidence either way?
Climate change melts Mount Everest's ice, exposing dead bodies of past climbers
Melting ice is turning up bodies on Mt. Everest. This isn't as shocking as you'd think.
What socialism is — according to Michael Harrington
America's socialists owe a lot to one man, but what did he think about socialism?
Why humans struggled to make 'f' and 'v' sounds until farming came along
Love to drop F-bombs? Thank the shift to agriculture.
10 of the most controversial people in Russian history
The hard part was keeping the list down to ten.
UC Berkeley study finds link between inequality and racism
Inequality and racism are connected, but maybe not as much as you think.
What was socialism like during the Seattle General Strike?
The story of that one time a U.S. city was run by a Soviet, and what it was like to live in it.
The doctor who prescribed the meaning of life to his patients
Anxious? Dr. Frankl suggested you take a different view of things.
Hannah Arendt on why some people are immune to fact-checking
Why do people buy into stories that are clearly lies? Hannah Arendt can help us understand.
Why the Rosenhan Experiment still matters
One flew east, one flew west, eight shrinks flew into the cuckoo's nest.
In 1999, David Bowie knew the internet would change the world
Musican. Actor. Fashion Icon. Internet Visionary?
What socialism is — according to Bernie Sanders
He's enflamed conversation about socialism across America.
Microdoses of LSD change how you perceive time
A study on the effects of LSD microdosing shows some fittingly strange results.
What is socialism like in Scandinavia?
We keep hearing that Scandinavia has perfected socialism, but is that true?
Oil execs should be tried for crimes against humanity, essayist Kate Aronoff argues
Climate change is a dire threat, perhaps it is time to put the people who created and denied the problem on trial?
Why sex behind the Iron Curtain was better for women
A new book about life under communism reveals an unexpected benefit.
What was socialism like in the United States during the 20th century?
Think America would never elect a socialist? Think again.
Visualizing your partner's face can lower stress levels
Need to reduce your stress? Try thinking of the face of your better half.
What is socialism? Here's how 10 brilliant thinkers define it.
There is no one answer. But there are 10.
What is socialism like in China?
What is socialism with Chinese characteristics, and is it just capitalism?
26 ultra-rich people own as much as the world's 3.8 billion poorest
The Oxfam report prompted Anand Giridharadas to tweet: "Don't be Pinkered into everything's-getting-better complacency."
Want to age gracefully? A new study says live meaningfully.
Thinking your life is worthwhile is correlated with a variety of positive outcomes.
Gamblers predicted Brexit before traders or experts
Need to know how an election will turn out? Call your bookie.
Is granting children's wishes cost-effective? A new study looks at Make-A-Wish.
Donating to the right charities can save lives.
Could a 'brain drain' hit the U.S.?
When a country's educated or entrepreneurial citizens leave all at once, the phenomenon is called "human capital flight" or "brain drain".
New study finds vloggers and viewers share emotions
How you feel influences what you watch, and vice-versa.
Child deaths from opioids rising, say Yale researchers
We often think only of grown ups taking pills, this study reminds us children can take them too.
The 5 most intelligent video games and why you should play them
Some games are just for fun, others are for thought provoking statements on life, the universe, and everything.
Fake news is everywhere. Even in places that were once legitimate.
Consider the decline and fall of the South China Morning Post.
Why not all uncivilized people are barbarians
Oppression causes many people to run for the hills. Literally.
5 holidays to celebrate this year that aren’t Christmas
Going mad with Christmas cheer? Try one of these alternatives.
Human extinction! Don't panic; think about it like a philosopher.
Most people think human extinction would be bad. These people aren't philosophers.
A new study proves parachutes are useless
A new study flies in the face of anecdotal evidence and raises questions about how we read data.
10 excerpts from Marcus Aurelius' 'Meditations' to unlock your inner Stoic
Great ideas in philosophy often come in dense packages. Then there is where the work of Marcus Aurelius.
Universal health care is great — except in Russia. Here's why.
What can America learn from this?
The silent Chinese propaganda in Hollywood films
China's rise has necessitated a global PR push. It includes influencing how the movies you watch depict China.
College students choose smartphones over food, researchers find
Phone usage was found to have similar reinforcing tendencies as eating or doing drugs.
Should sex with a robot be considered cheating?
A study out of Finland shows us that sex is sex and robots are robots, and the overlap is confusing.
Why the Dalai Lama's reincarnation is up for debate
The Dalai Lama is important, so important that he might decide not to come back after his next death.
'The Journal of Controversial Ideas' will launch in 2019. Is it dangerous?
Should all ideas see daylight?
The original marshmallow test was flawed, researchers now say
One of the most famous experiments in psychology might be completely wrong.
Mercantilism: The theory that explains Trump’s trade war
Mercantilism, the oldest thing in economics, is back in a big way.
3 types of Schadenfreude and when you feel them
Schadenfreude is a common feeling, but not all of it is the same.
