Charles Darwin the Geologist
by Robert Muir-Wood at OUP: Who was Charles Darwin the geologist? Was he a nephew, or maybe a cousin, of the illustrious naturalist, who first published the theory of evolution
Justice Gorsuch Warns Biden To ‘Be Careful’ With Attempts To Control Supreme Court
J.D. Tuccille at Reason: Asked this week by Fox News’s Shannon Bream to respond to the Biden administration’s proposed restrictions on the Supreme Court, as well as a constitutional amendment
Continue readingJustice Gorsuch Warns Biden To ‘Be Careful’ With Attempts To Control Supreme Court
Crow Jim: Project 2025’s Obsession With Reverse Racism
Rick Perlstein at The American Prospect: I felt similar déjà vuwhen Republicans started calling Kamala Harris a “DEI hire.” The charge is as old as the civil rights movement itself.
Continue readingCrow Jim: Project 2025’s Obsession With Reverse Racism
No Muslims in My Backyard?
Christian Britschgi at Reason: On Sunday, The New York Times published an in-depth look at a development battle in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, where a local farmer’s plan to sell his
Why Have So Many Cultural Practices Survived Without Written Records?
by Helena Miton at Aeon Magazine: You can’t speak like they spoke. You can’t farm like they farmed. You can’t dance, or heal wounds, or greet people like they did.
Continue readingWhy Have So Many Cultural Practices Survived Without Written Records?
A Road Atlas for Self-Reckoning
Erik Gleibermann in LA Review of Books (LRB): HUMAN BEINGS ARE autobiographers by nature. Whether or not we ultimately write down any words, we can’t help mentally composing narratives out
Is Pro-Natalism Weird?
From the Wisdom of Crowds: The new Democratic strategy is to refer to Trump’s GOP as “weird.” Because pro-natalism is becoming an increasingly hot topic, one that’s usually associated with
When Humanity Stopped Looking Backward, it Started Moving Forward
James Pethokoukis at Faster, Please: Part of my (quite popular!) recent essay “Why no Industrial Revolution in ancient Rome, Greece, or China?” deserves more explanation. I note in passing that
Continue readingWhen Humanity Stopped Looking Backward, it Started Moving Forward
The Mathematician Who Helps Olympic Swimmers Go Faster
Davide Castelvecchi in Nature: The medals keep coming for US swimmers at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris — and that’s in part thanks to science. Several of the athletes on Team USA
Continue readingThe Mathematician Who Helps Olympic Swimmers Go Faster
What the Epic of Gilgamesh Reveals About Sumerian Society
Paul Cooper at Literary Hub: One Sumerian epic poem called Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta gives the first known story about the invention of writing, by a king who has to
Continue readingWhat the Epic of Gilgamesh Reveals About Sumerian Society
The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington’s Most Private First Lady
by Heath Hardage Lee at Air Mail: Mrs. Nixon’s considerable, if quiet, contributions as First Lady were never fully valued in Nixon’s own White House. Chief of staff H. R.
A Spectacular, Close-up Look at the Starfish With a ‘Hands-on’ Approach to Parenting
From Aeon Magazine: Most starfish take a rather laissez-faire approach to parenting, releasing millions of sperm and eggs into the water. This somewhat scattershot means of reproduction is known as
Continue readingA Spectacular, Close-up Look at the Starfish With a ‘Hands-on’ Approach to Parenting