When Breastfeeding Was a Civic Duty
Think people are judgmental of mothers now? In the 18th- and 19th-centuries, mothers who bottle-fed their babies were blamed for many of society's ills.
How Conflicts of Interest Are Changing Medical Research
Federal funding for medical research has declined, leading academics to seek alternative funding sources, sometimes from drug companies.
Reconsidering Appeasement
After 1938's Munich Agreement, "appeasement" became a dirty word in international relations. But scholars argue that appeasement can be a useful tool.
The Mystical Practice That Preceded Medical Anesthesia
For a brief period of time in the 19th century, doctors used "mesmerism" for pain-free surgery.
Art in Space
Artists may soon be heading to the Moon for the first time, but art and space travel have been linked together since the beginning.
How Truman Capote Advanced the New Journalism
In Cold Blood changed the face of journalism. And yet years after its publication, we are still asking: how much of it was factually true?
What Complicates Addiction Treatment
Treating addiction can have a toll on doctors, who may find themselves confused and challenged by the addicts' behavior.
Can Universal Basic Income Achieve Economic Security?
A wealthy country like the United States needs a solution for improving the supply and fairness of work overall. Is universal basic income the way to go?
Sociophysics and Econophysics, the Future of Social Science?
Can empirical data about human behavior make the “soft” sciences more like the “hard” ones? New interdisciplinary fields are voting yes.
Why Europe’s Oldest Intact Book Was Found in a Saint’s Coffin
The St. Cuthbert Gospel is the earliest surviving intact European book. Some time around 698, it was slipped into the coffin of a saint.