The Truth about “Caveman Courtship”
Cartoon stories about early humans bear a striking resemblance to many popular uses of evolutionary psychology today.
The Reindeer Games
In 1907, the U.S. Reindeer Service was organized as part of an effort to domesticate the animals...and Inupiat Eskimos.
Only You Can Prevent Useless Gifts
Is it time for a revival of the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving (SPUG)?
Why We Love Local Businesses
The explanation may have to do with the gift economy.
We’re Living in a Post-Antibiotic World
A new CDC report warns: “Stop referring to a coming post-antibiotic era—it’s already here.” Contrast that to a 1944 article on the promise of penicillin.
An Epidemic of Retractions
Nicolas Chevassus-au-Louis's new book, Fraud in the Lab, offers some tough love for the scientific community.
The War Documentary That Never Was
John Huston's 1945 movie The Battle of San Pietro presents itself as a war documentary, but contains staged scenes. What should we make of it?
Lawrence Lessig: How to Repair Our Democracy
Law professor and one-time presidential hopeful Lawrence Lessig on campaign finance, gerrymandering, and the electoral college.
The Construction of America, in the Eyes of the English
In Theodor de Bry’s illustrations for Thomas Harriot’s Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, the Algonquin are made to look like the Irish. Surprise.
This Isn’t the First Baby Bust
And it's unlikely to be the last. One scholar looks at the factors that contributed to the increase in childlessness at the turn of the twentieth century.