Guest Thinkers — August 16, 2010

JON STEWART ON THE BUSH STEM CELL POLICY: Daily Show Compares Administration’s Position on Embryo Life to Civilian Lives in Iraq; Study Shows Negative Effects for Regular Daily Show Viewing…But This Clip is Damn Funny

I run against the tastes of my generation in that I have never been much of a fan of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. As a recent study finds, I have always believed that the show serves a damaging displacement function, with many viewers relying on Stewart as their only source of political news. More troubling, the show generates political cynicism and negativism, while promoting a false sense among viewers of political involvement and sophistication.

But this recent take by the show on the Bush stem cell policy is hilarious, and offers a valid point: The Bush administration’s position on the value of life when it comes to embryos is at odds with its policy on civilian casualties in Iraq.

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.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

TEN YEARS AFTER DOLLY: Less Than a Third of Americans Believe Cloning Animals is Morally Acceptable; Only a Third of Americans Are Clear About the Differences Between Therapeutic and Reproductive Cloning; Less Than a Majority Support Therapeutic Cloning

Today marks the ten year anniversary of the birth of the cloned sheep Dolly, and the anniversary comes as Congress debates various bills impacting funding for embryonic stem cell research […]