With the Holocaust still on their mind, many American Jews were highly sensitive to portrayals of Jews in popular culture. So when Roth's sex-obsessed characters came along, the pushback was swift.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Philip Roth 1933 - 2018
Analysis and Comment
Did Rachel Carson catalyze the organic farming movement, as many advocates claim? Or would she reject their ban on synthetic fertilizer and see organic as an inefficient way to feed the world?
When public universities and their foundations take large sums of money from political and strategic philanthropists, they can’t safeguard academic freedom unless there's some transparency.
Research suggests that the reason people may put off funding their 401(k) plans or managing credit card debt is because our perception of finance as 'cold' conflicts with our hot-blooded emotions.
In recent years, Christian television has moved into news and politics. A scholar explains its impact on beliefs and on politics.
An informant gathered information from Trump campaign staffers for the FBI's Russia probe. An historian writes that informants are one of the most basic ways the FBI and police investigate.
Pope Francis recently acknowledged that the Catholic Church is struggling to recruit new priests, endangering its very future. Why don't people want to join the clergy?
During the war, few Americans actually saw the 'Rosie the Riveter' poster that's become a cultural icon.
A Twitter account used for official purposes is a public forum protected by the First Amendment, a federal judge has ruled.
A new preventive drug for migraines was approved recently by the FDA. Here's how it works, and how others in the pipeline might be able to help the millions who suffer from migraines.
'Bendable concrete' is not an oxymoron. Mimicking designs found in nature, engineers are making concrete that gives under stress without shattering – an advance that could improve US infrastructure.
Wine came to the US in the 16th century but didn't make it to California – the leader in American winemaking – until the 19th century.
Few can resist an assessment that promises to reveal your hidden, true self. But new research suggests that people mistakenly believe difficult to answer questions offer deep insights.
In giving Dodd-Frank the Botox treatment, Congress misses the point of what's wrong with financial regulation: It's an old mess.
Abrams just made history by securing the nomination for governor of Georgia. Can she win in November?
Maduro's landslide May 20 re-election marks the official death of democracy in Venezuela. Dozens of nations worldwide have declared the vote illegitimate, and the US imposed new sanctions.
The recent parliamentary election in Iraqi may have been the most transformative of the post-Saddam era, a pollster from Baghdad and an American academic explain.
Several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have developed ambitious renewable energy targets that hinge in large part on getting their power from turbines stationed in the water.
The court narrowly ruled that employees who sign arbitration agreements can't bring class action suits over unpaid wages.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, a holiday that began 150 years ago, was born out of generous gestures after the Civil War: Southerners decorated graves of Confederate soldiers as well as those of former Union enemies.
Homelessness among veterans overall is on the decline. But researchers see an increasing number of homeless vets who are single mothers or supporting young families.
Environment
Did Rachel Carson catalyze the organic farming movement, as many advocates claim? Or would she reject their ban on synthetic fertilizer and see organic as an inefficient way to feed the world?
Chemical companies touted synthetic insecticides and herbicides as miracle products in the 1940s and 1950s. But farmers and cropdusting pilots didn't always buy the sales pitch.
DNA testing
We now have the capacity to quickly and cheaply sequence an individual's genome and scour it for disease-causing genes. But how much, and what type, of information does a parent-to-be want to know?
School shootings
While many school shooters suffered peer rejection of some sort, research doesn't support the idea that peer rejection is the culprit behind shootings, a scholar argues.
Research and Expert Database
Analysis from academics around the world
Editors’ Picks
Thanks to a burgeoning procrastination economy, developers are creating content that can be consumed in short spurts. What does it mean for productivity?
Over the last 50 years, Americans have steadily gotten older, more bicoastal and less likely to move to a new city.
Accounting for grocery prices and the effort eating home-prepared meals requires, the benefits commonly called food stamps fall far short of paying enough for the poor to eat right.
This Speed Read makes the case why you should be nice to spiders you encounter in your home and consider a live-and-let-live policy.
GMO crops have been rejected in many countries where food shortages are dire. Now, a scientist at the University of Connecticut has figured out how to create better crops with DNA editing.
Thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children changed their names in America – but not at Ellis Island. The reasons are complicated and part of the Jewish struggle with their identity in America.
The Kīlauea volcano on Hawai'i's big island is threatening to produce violent and energetic eruptions not seen since 1924.
Mounting evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners are linked to chronic health problems like obesity and diabetes. Should there be a tax on these foods?
May 16 marks the 300th anniversary of the first woman to write a mathematics textbook.
More people are sending off saliva samples to find out about their genetic roots. But the raw DNA results go way beyond genealogical data – and could deliver unintended consequences.
In voicing youthful outrage over inequality and violence, Bangladeshi rappers are creating a powerful form of protest music — just as American MCs have done for 40 years.
The EPA intends to limit what scientific studies can inform policy – a change long sought by industry. A long-time public health researcher explains the single study at the root of the controversy.
In the past, running for political office and being a mother were seemingly incompatible. A scholar of gender and politics explains why times are changing.
Today's media consumers are being bombarded with bias and sensationalism – and could use a dose of Mad's media literacy.
A strategy to shut down Taliban safe havens in Pakistan could bring the war to an end.
Most Read past week
- The Standard Model of particle physics: The absolutely amazing theory of almost everything
- Should I kill spiders in my home? An entomologist explains why not to
- Why the Catholic church is ‘hemorrhaging’ priests
- With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit
- If you want to know how to stop school shootings, ask the Secret Service
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