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By the time the Persians destroyed the Roman military garrison at Dura-Europos in 256 AD, the city high above the Euphrates River existed for almost six centuries since its founding […]
Most of us have little idea what the fighting in Sanaa over the past several days has been like. We can imagine if not quite comprehend the daily struggles that […]
At a time like this, when so many of us are dependent on the brave reporting of journalists in Yemen, it is fitting that the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression […]
A friend of mine posted a snarky comment on Facebook about how foolish FEMA sounds, announcing it’s preparing for the crash landing of a satellite somewhere this week. Somewhere […]
So there’s a lot of excitement about dolphins on BIG THINK these days. If we can figure out how to communicate with them, we can figure out how to communicate […]
Since its peak in 2007, the U.S. economy has lost almost 7 million jobs. Although the economy has begun to recover, jobs have been slow to return. Recent job growth […]
Today the Washington Post has a story up about the constellation of secret drone bases the US is building in and around the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa […]
Over the past couple of weeks practicallyeverymedia site has run a piece on a new “economic theory” that argues that gender equality is driving down the price of sex. Valid […]
The same basic impulses – insatiable curiosity, good people skills, an appetite for risk – that led Kevin Mitnick into a decade-long game of cat-and-mouse with the FBI are richly rewarded in more prosocial professions.
The Denver Green School, classed as an Innovation Status school by the Denver Public School system, is trying out yet another innovation – growing their own food and serving it […]
To Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, and all other African American pundits who want to own the conversation about the black community—President Barack Obama is not Captain Save-A-Negro. He is the […]
The U.S. currently has the world’s largest prison population – not just on an aggregate basis, but also on a per capita basis. In fact, the U.S. now accounts for […]
Ray Kurzweil is an expert at predicting the future. In tracking our progress in the technological-evolutionary journey, Kurzweil has identified six epochs, each of which is characterized by a major paradigm shift.
With the global financial crisis ongoing, the concept of “short-termism” has emerged as one underlying explanation for our current woes. Larry Summers and Eric Schmidt, among others, tackle this question during a lively panel at The Nantucket Project.
Hey, Michele Bachmann, you know who was really, really pro-vaccination? The Founding Fathers. Read all about it in my new article at The Nation. George Washington argued for mandatory inoculation […]
Sir Brian Urquhart, one of the oldest surviving senior UN staff members, reminded us recently in an article in the New York Times that a former Secretary General of the […]
1. So the best news from the Emmys is that FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS won two key awards—for writing and for lead actor (Kyle Chandler as the Coach)—in the category of […]
It’s been over a month since the last MVP, so I thought it might be time to throw out another. Last time, Chris Reykjavik got the right answer – Kaula […]
I’m on the road, so posting will be a bit light until tomorrow. Until then, enjoy philosophers Jason Brennan and Kevin Vallier’s on Philosophy TV discussing whether political beliefs based […]
Most scientists in the US and UK blame public ignorance of science for flawed policy preferences and political choices. They tend to be critical of media coverage, yet rate favorably […]
Over the past couple of days as the international media has once again focused on the bloody fighting in Sanaa, they have invariably asked themselves, Yemenis, and outside observers the […]
Readers in the Washington, DC area are invited to join us at American University this Fall semester for a seminar series sponsored by the Doctoral program in Communication. The seminars […]
(The image to the left is from a Nancy Duarte presentation on the emotional path people travel down during great presentations) I was having drinks last evening with a startup […]
In branding, the conventional wisdom says that using the same computer or cologne as, say, George Clooney will make you feel more like him and, therefore, good about yourself. Conventional […]
Six months after the bloodiest day in Yemen’s uprising, forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Salih were at it again. That time, six months ago on March 18, snipers loyal […]
Neuroscientist James Fallon is fascinated by the brains of murderers, especially in light of his own family history. His father’s side of the family was full of notorious murderers. So, […]
Well, I feel like a broken record, but I apologize for the dearth of posts. Amongst other things, I am mired in my third year review here, so I’ve been […]
–Guest post by Jamie Schleser, American University doctoral student. For those that don’t spend their days toiling away in the often peculiar atmosphere of institutions of higher learning, the how […]
White-hot conservative and libertarian anger at the size and intrusiveness of government is getting a lot of attention these days. It seems so fierce, so single-minded; Let the federal […]