A computer screen reflected in glasses

To Cope with Digital Distraction, Embrace Digital Neurodiversity

The internet is changing our brains. Our columnist suggests that maybe this isn't such a bad thing.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Wildfire, Stopping Suicide, and Marshmallow-Topped Casserole

Well-researched stories from Wired, Quartz, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
An X-Men comic book cover

The Assimilationist Mythology of the X-Men

Stan Lee's X-Men comics explored themes of prejudice and bigotry. So why weren't the original comics that diverse?
Plaster face casts by Anna Coleman Ladd

How Masks of Mutilated WWI Soldiers Haunted Postwar Culture

In the age before plastic surgery, masks were the best option for veterans with faces scarred by war. The end results, however, were somewhat uncanny.
A bowl of kimchi, which contains probiotics

The Pros (And Cons) of Probiotics

Probiotics are a hot topic--and big business--these days. But do they really work?
The Eldorado Nightclub

Gender Identity in Weimar Germany

Remembering an early academic effort to define sexual orientation and gender identity as variable natural phenomena, rather than moral matters.
The dedication ceremony of the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India.

The New Meaning of Monuments

Huge monuments to national pride are regaining popularity. One scholar suggests this might also indicate a larger cultural shift.
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque

The Raffish and Radical Constantine Samuel Rafinesque

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque was an adventuring naturalist who named 2,700 genera and wrote about evolution before Darwin. Why has he been forgotten?
Building Colonies for WW1 Veterans

Building Colonies for WWI Veterans

After World War I, policymakers seriously considered the idea of setting up farming colonies for returning veterans.
A person in distress, from graffiti in Finland

Pathologizing Distress

One bioethics scholar wonders if modern medicine is in danger of pathologizing what are painful, but normal, human experiences.