John Gray: Cats Can Teach Us about the Meaning of Life
Philosopher John Gray on why he is critical of prevailing ideas of progress, his friendship with Isaiah Berlin, and the wisdom of cats.
How to Gather the Oral Histories of COVID-19
The Federal Writers’ Project offers vital lessons for capturing the oral histories of ordinary Americans living through the coronavirus pandemic.
Terry Southern’s Lucid Absurdities
From his novels Candy and The Magic Christian to his work on Dr. Strangelove and Barbarella, Terry Southern sought to expose madness.
In Phytoremediation, Plants Extract Toxins from Soils
Researchers have a cheap, easy way for cleaning up oil spills: letting plants do the work. Why isn’t it used more often?
The Colonization of the Ayahuasca Experience
“If someone is from the Amazon,” says Evgenia Fotiou, an anthropologist who studies Western ayahuasca usage, “they bring some legitimacy” to an ayahuasca ritual.
The Woman Teacher Documents a Feminist Labor Union’s Victory
The UK’s National Union of Women Teachers went from splinter group to union in its own right, winning on equal pay—as The Woman Teacher shows first-hand.
COVID-19 Causes Some Patients’ Immune Systems to Attack Their Own Bodies
Severe infection is linked with autoantibody production.
What Bats Can Teach Humans About Coronavirus Immunity
Bats have a unique genetic ability to tolerate many viral infections. Can humans uncover their secrets?
How Trumbull Park Exposed the Brutal Legacy of Segregation
Frank London Brown’s 1959 novel, which presents a powerful story of white supremacist hatred, has been selected for the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.