Children Are Natural Optimists (Which Has Its Ups and Downs)
Human beings seem to be born wearing rose-colored glasses. Psychologists are interested in how this bias toward the positive works in the very young.
Why Americans Used to Hate Hotel Workers
In 1874, popular writer Henry Hooper called the hotel clerk “the supercilious embodiment of Philistinism.” What accounts for the nineteenth century hate?
Revisiting Reconstruction
Reconstruction is one of the least-known periods of American history, and much of what people think they know about it may be wrong.
The Impact of Studying Antarctica
In such a pristine landscape, even a few thousand people can have a major ecological impact.
Psychologists on the Radio
Americans have tuned their radios for psychological insight and edification since the dawn of the medium.
The Wildest Inventions in Scientific Research
Sometimes scientists end up turning into inventors throughout the course of their research. Three cases in point.
Black Athletes, Chaos, and Barbara Bush
Well-researched stories from Quanta, Pacific Standard, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
An Artist Memorializes the Disappearing Palm Trees of Los Angeles
Palm fronds in Southern California are falling more frequently due to age, invasive species, and fungus, Artist Zoe Crosher casts these fronds in bronze.
The Roots of Privatization
The great turn towards privatization is usually thought to have begun in the 1970s, with Chile's dictatorial regime, but its roots go back further than this.
How 1971’s Womanhouse Shaped Today’s Feminist Art
The National Museum of Women in the Arts exhibit “Women House” pays tribute to the foundational 1972 project of Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s “Womanhouse.”