In the spring of 1824 in the young capital city of Washington D.C., Ann Mattingly, the sister of the city’s mayor, was miraculously cured of cancer, purportedly through the intervention of a charismatic German cleric. Her miraculous healing shook the American Catholic Church just as it was attempting to establish itself on respectable footing in […]
The idiosyncrasies of human decision-making have confounded economists and social theorists for years. If each person makes choices for personal (and often irrational) reasons, how can people’s choices be predicted by a single theory? How can any economic, social, or political theory be valid? The truth is, none of them really are. Mark Buchanan makes […]
It is curious that while so many of our most important relationships are both promoted and protected by law and society – friendship is notably passed over. We go out of our way to accommodate the rights and privileges of the family, and special professional relationships, like the ones we have with our lawyers, doctors, […]
Markets have long been acknowledged to be a superior mechanism for managing resources but until the age of big data, they largely functioned better in theory than in practice. Now, as ideal markets are within reach because of vastly easier access to enormous amounts of information, we are on the verge of a major disruption. […]
In over 25 years practicing pediatrics, Claudia Gold has worked in different ways to address the mental health needs of children. She currently works as a consultant in Human Development at the Austen Riggs Center and is on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Boston Infant-Parent Mental Health program, William James College, and the Austen Riggs Center. […]
Evalyn I. Gates is the author of Einstein’s Telescope: The Hunt for Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe. Transporting readers to the edge of contemporary science, it introduces them to gravitational lensing, or the so-called ”Einstein’s telescope” a revolutionary tool that is unlocking the secrets of the Universe. Kirkus called the book, “splendidly satisfying […]
Eric Hinderaker is Professor of History at the University of Utah, and the author of Boston’s Massacre, published by Harvard University Press. Praised by the Wall Street Journal as “fascinating,” Boston’s Massacre explores the larger significance of the Boston Massacre — from the era of the American Revolution to our own time. Eric is also the author of […]
Named in a 2001 Finanical Times Group survey as one of the “top 50 business thinkers in the world,” Chris Locke is a co-author of the best-selling The Cluetrain Manifesto. His other books on publications on marketing in the Internet era include Gonzo Marketing and The Bombast Transcripts. He is president of Entropy Web Consulting, and editor/publisher […]
It’s 1884, and America is obsessing over one of the closest and dirtiest presidential races in history. A high-profile tussle in the mud, it seems well suited to American tastes. Even the race for the nation’s highest office has become vulgar and sensational, as the public clamors for trashy stories and celebrity exposes generated by […]
If we could turn the clock back psychologically, could we also turn the clock back physically? In 1979, social psychologist Ellen Langer conducted a ground-breaking study that aimed to answer this provocative question. For just one week, Langer arranged for a group of elderly men to live in a house staged as though it were […]
The picture of Mexico we most often see today, is the one of rampant drug violence and illegal immigration. While, unfortunately, there is truth to those images, they are far from the complete story. And the instinctive response – walling ourselves off – is counterproductive and even harmful to our national interests. Overlooked in today’s […]
From the hilarious to the sublime, the essays and observations of cultural commentator extraordinaire, Chris “RageBoy” Locke. In more ways than one, Chris Locke has raised a godawful racket on the Net. Under his alter-egotistical nom de plume, RageBoy, and through his webzine, Entropy Gradient Reversals, he has entertained and enlightened thousands of readers from […]
Kathy Peiss, the Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History at the University of Pennsylvania, is an award-winning writer and teacher. Her books explore the cultural history of the 20th century United States, including the history of women and sexuality, beauty and style, and popular culture. Hope in a Jar: The Making […]
Dr. Linda Mayes is the Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology and Director of the Yale Child Study Center. She is also Special Advisor to the Dean in the Yale School of Medicine. Trained as a pediatrician, her research focuses on stress-response and regulatory mechanisms in young children at both biological and psychosocial […]
Paul Freedman is the Chester D. Tripp Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Yale University. He specializes in medieval social history, the history of Spain, and comparative studies of the peasantry. Paul Freedman taught for eighteen years at Vanderbilt University before joining the Yale faculty in 1997. At Vanderbilt, he was awarded […]
Gordon Whitman is Director of Policy for PICO National Network. As a community organizer, legal services lawyer and strategist, Gordon has helped working families build strong and effective community organizations for 18 years. During that time he has helped triple the size of the PICO network, in part by leading the effort to build new […]