Migrating Geese

Why Do Geese Fly in V Formations?

The answer may surprise you.
Bergonic chair for giving general electric treatment for psychological effect, in psycho-neurotic cases. World War 1 era.

Why Electroshock Therapy Isn’t Bad for You

Electroconvulsive therapy, or electroshock, has a bad reputation, but medically its efficacy is well documented, even if nobody knows how it works.
Khirbet Khizeh Courtesy of Delcan & Company

1949 Israeli novel Khirbet Khizeh reissued by FSG

Israeli writer S. Yizhar’s 1949 novella Khirbet Khizeh, first published in English in 2008 and recently reissued in English by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Benjamin Franklin

A Nation Built on Debt

What is debt and where did it come from?
Danish flags in Jens Bangs Stenhus, Aalborg

Does Socialism Make People Happy?

Bernie Sanders cites Denmark's social welfare programs as a model. We turn to socialism and see whether he's right.
Ebola virus

Is a Virus Alive?

The answer to the question whether a virus is alive isn't so simple.
Thomas Couture - Horace and Lydia

Two Enemies Bound by the Poet Horace

How Horace brought to enemies together during WWII and what role the poet played in the post-war cultural identity of Europe.
Pilot flying an airplane enjoying the view.

The Poetry Up There: An Interview With Skyfaring Author and Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker

Mark Vanhoenacker, pilot and onetime PhD candidate in East African history speaks about Skyfaring, his debut book about aviation.
Workers are dwarfed by the 10-foot Cardiff Giant as they dig him out of his "grave" in Cardiff, N.Y., in this 1869 file photo. AP Photo/Farmers Museum, HO)

The Cardiff Giant: The Biggest Hoax of the 19th Century

The Cardiff Giant was the greatest hoax in an era of hoaxes.
Oprah Winfrey

Oprah, Weight Watchers, and the Power of Shame

Oprah Winfrey has recently acquired Weight Watchers. We look at them and other organizations dedicated to weight loss and body image.