How to Make It Rain
The United Arab Emirates is looking into building an artificial mountain in order to stimulate rain. Will it work?
Why No One Believed Einstein
Einstein's theory of relativity presented a direct challenge to the notion of ether.
Remembering the Civil Rights Movement…With Comics
Congressman John Lewis's graphic autobiography March: Book Two draws on the richly textured oral history of the Civil Rights Movement.
V.S. Naipaul’s Defense of Civilization
As a public figure, V.S. Naipaul is often outrageous, but his 30+ books speak eloquently in defense of civilization.
Political Correctness Redux
The conservative anti-PC movement of the 1990s has its roots in a backlash against the Civil Rights movement.
The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories boil down to a rejection of the absurdity, meaninglessness, and randomness of life and history.
Suggested Readings: Ancient Sharks, Fast Runners, and Dirty Water
Our editors pick stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. This week: microbiomes, Jamaican runners, Greenland sharks.
What Do People Think of the Insanity Defense?
John Hinckley Jr., who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has been released from the psychiatric hospital where ...
The Natural Resources You Didn’t Know You Needed
Fossil fuels might get all the attention, but a recent discovery in Tanzania is a reminder of the other, less-heralded natural resources that we use.