What is a high misdemeanor anyway? (Vox)
by Ezra Klein
When the Constitution talks about impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” it doesn’t really mean “crime” or “misdemeanor” the way we think of them now. To figure out what’s supposed to be an impeachable offense, we need to look at what George Mason and James Madison had to say on the subject.

If video games are addictive, what does addiction even mean? (The New York Times)
by Ferris Jabr
The World Health Organization now recognizes “gaming disorder” as a kind of addictive problem. People may relate to video games in much the same way they do mind-altering drugs. But addiction itself is a lot more complicated than the longstanding brain-disease model might suggest.

Malaysia is full of ghosts (Atlas Obscura)
by Dan Nosowitz
If you like western Halloween ghosts, you might love Malaysia’s spirits, which come in an enormous variety thanks to the nation’s varied cultural heritage. There are ghosts that will steal for you, ghosts looking for party invitations, and ghosts that hide children, unharmed, in trees.

Teaching computers to smell (Wired)
by Sara Harrison
A computer can easily use sensors to “see” and “hear.” But smell is very different. Tiny changes in a molecule’s structure can mean the difference between the smell of roses and the stench of rotten eggs. Still, neural nets are starting to figure it all out.

What’s killing black men? (The Atlantic)
by Ibram X. Kendi
The death of Rep. Elijah Cummings at age 68 is just the latest reminder of how short black men’s lives are in America. The reasons for this aren’t straightforward, and they demonstrate how deeply race permeates all of our lives.

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