Suggested Readings: Resolutions and Willpower, Powerful Curse Words, and Global Basketball
Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.
Why People Want to Be Fitness Instructors
Being a fitness instructor isn’t a very highly-paid job, but, researchers found that the job provides other rewards for the people who love it.
The Lost Tradition of New Year’s Day Calling
The colonial Dutch tradition of making social calls on New Year's Day in New York was no match for 19th-century-style partying.
Why Americans Love Diets
On a diet or cleanse in the new year? You're continuing in the very American tradition of self-perfection.
The Different Meanings of Monopoly
Monopoly's real inventor was Lizzie Magie, a progressive Georgist, who believed that land should be collectively owned by all.
Why Do So Many Indonesian Men Smoke?
Indonesia has the highest smoking rates in the world. Why? It might have to do with economic liberalization in the 1990s.
Rudyard Kipling’s Little-Known Poem on New Year’s Resolutions
With New Year’s Day on the horizon, many people will write their resolutions. Rudyard Kipling's poem explores the trials and tribulations of resolutions.
Whatever Happened to the Samurai?
Warriors rarely give up their power, but the samurai of Japan dwindled away rapidly after the Meiji Restoration and the modernization of the country.
What Do We Lose When We Lose a Species?
Debates about the moral value of biodiversity are longstanding in the world of environmental ethics, and the issue is far from settled.
Getting to Know Pterosaurs
Everyone loves dinosaurs. Perhaps less well-known are their cousins, the pterosaurs. Pterosaurs could fly, and were closely related ...