What Santa Claus Looks Like
Where does the figure of Santa Claus come from? Turns out the answer is not "the North Pole." And he's not just about Christianity, either.
Why We Give Children Toys for Christmas
Giving children toys for Christmas first became a thing in early nineteenth century England.
How Do White House Transitions Actually Work?
How do presidential transitions really work? Political science scholarship on White House staffers provides some insight.
Is Writing a Technology or a Language? Let’s Ask Some Aliens
Are written and spoken language really two different things?
Will Reading Romance Novels Make Artificial Intelligence More Human?
Google is feeding its natural language AI thousands of romance novels in an effort to humanize its “conversational tone.” Will this give it "humanness?"
A Novel Defense of the Internet
Novel reading was once regarded as an idle occupation, just as Internet use is now.
The Mysterious Ocean of Enceladus
Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a secret. For some years, scientists have been convinced that there is a liquid ...
Why Was Turkish Delight C.S. Lewis’s Guilty Pleasure?
Austerity during WWII was hardly the time for pounds of exotic candy. Yet The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe prominently features Turkish delight.
America’s Workforce Runs on Uppers
Uppers like Benzedrine and cocaine provided a willing workforce for our capitalist economy. Now, Americans are turning to ADHD medications.