Do We Have Moral Obligations to Robots?
The recent film Blade Runner 2049 engages with questions raised by Karel Čapek and Isaac Asimov: What do we owe our creations (and what do they owe us)?
The Truth About Sherlock Holmes: He’s Actually Henry David Thoreau
A tongue in cheek comparison between the British fictional sleuth and the American Transcendentalist author, just because.
Is Don Quixote to Blame for Modern Movie Reboots?
The culture industry has long repackaged content from the past for the present. Just look at Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote.
What Rum and Cokes Have to do With War
What could be more American than a sugary soda mixed with a liquor made from sugar? The origins of rum and Coke is more problematic than you might expect.
How the American Civil War Shaped Marxism
Although Karl Marx never saw the U.S., he thought long and hard about how it fit into his theory, especially during the Civil War.
How Ancient Peoples Fed the Dead
4,000 years ago in what is now Jerusalem, someone was buried with a jar of headless toads. In fact, many ancient graves included food for the afterlife.
Alice Roosevelt: The Original First Kid
Alice Roosevelt set the tone for a more public first kid and laid the foundation for post-White-House activism like Chelsea Clinton’s.
What Star Trek: Discovery Can Tell Us About Tech and Social Progress
What makes Star Trek essential for any contemporary tech user is its role in helping us understand our relationship to technology.
The Most Important Rule for Startup Success
Startups often don't play by the rules. But a wifi-enabled juicer may have been "trying to solve a problem that didn't exist."