Politics & Current Affairs — March 25, 2009

Geithner Speaks, Markets Tremble

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday. So why did the markets spiral out of control?

Geithner briefly sent markets cascading with comments that suggested openness to Chinese proposals to replace the dollar as the global reserve currency, only to jolt them back up by affirming his commitment to maintaining its current status. Here’s a clip of Geithner’s remarks, including his outlook on the potential for further regulating financial institutions.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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