Politics & Current Affairs — September 19, 2010

Rally to Restore Sanity

“Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert inspired to hold rally for sanity in Washington DC after Reddit online campaign.” The Guardian reveals the source of the comedians’ fountain.

bigthinkeditor

“Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are about to attempt the impossible: satirising the rightwing TV personality Glenn Beck wth a ‘Rally to restore sanity’ in Washington DC—inspired by a single headline on the social news website Reddit. In an obvious poke at the stage-managed sanctimony of Beck’s ‘Rally to restore America’ earlier this month, Stewart and Colbert will hold duelling rallies on the National Mall on 30 October—just three days before the US congressional midterm elections. During his Daily Show apearance on Thursday, Stewart announced his plans for a ‘million moderate march’, saying: ‘Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement.'”

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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Guest Thinkers

The Amish Crisis

“The religious sect that rejects modern life is spreading from its traditional heartlands, but scandals are damaging its benign image.” The Independent profiles the Amish.