The mere presence or absence of a camera does not deter violent behavior. We know this through decades of research on CCTV demonstrating that video monitoring has little to no effect on violent crime and…
In a letter to the Abbe Morellet in 1779, Benjamin Franklin mused that the strategic location of the elbow is proof that God desires us to drink wine. After all, had God placed the elbow lower on the arm…
People do disgusting and disruptive things on airplanes. They show little regard or patience for fellow passengers and their needs. Inconsiderate behavior on the part of passengers can make air travel…
The debate over fracking in New York state was especially polarized.
Andrew Kelly/Reuters
Drilling in the Marcellus Shale, and in other unconventional oil and gas formations across the US, has led to a boom in domestic natural gas and oil production -– largely due to advances in high volume…
Russian President Putin blamed the West for his country’s economic troubles and collapsing ruble in a news conference.
Reuters
Russia’s currency is in free fall. Since mid-year, the incredible shrinking ruble has lost close to half its value, and it is anyone’s guess how much further it might go. Whatever happens, the geopolitical…
There’s a lot to be rebuilt in downtown Havana
Jane Landers
As an historian who grew up in the Caribbean and who has been researching and traveling to Cuba since it was still a Soviet dependent, I have been asked frequently in the last few days my impression of…
Is it ever okay to depict the assassination of living person?
KCNA/Reuters
Sony’s decision to cancel the Christmas Day release of its film The Interview is drawing harsh criticism from Hollywood’s elite. George Clooney is asking everyone to stand up against the cancellation…
Stephen Colbert created an extraordinary character: a right-wing, bloviating pundit who was both outrageous and adorable.
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
If you were following politics over the last few election cycles, you were most likely getting some of your information from satire. In fact, research has shown that in today’s political climate, satire…
The author with his brother and father on the way to Florida
“Normalization” – that’s been the word of the week among Cubans and Cuba watchers. Set aside for the moment whether it’s really possible for a dictatorship and a democracy to have normal relations, since…
Whether kids play pickup sports or organized sports may have varying effects on their development.
Tony Baldasaro/Flickr
Youth sports are viewed as a rite of passage in a child’s development. If the clichés that permeate sports broadcasts and locker room speeches are to be believed, sports participation teaches children…
Freeze your eggs or free your career?
Woman via g-stockstudio/Shutterstock
The shift towards late motherhood – commonly defined as motherhood after 35 – is often presented as a story of progress and technological liberation from the biological clock. The narrative goes something…
Closing the thousands of loopholes that riddle the US tax code is a rare area of bipartisan agreement in Congress. So why is it so hard to end them?
Shutterstock
The thousands of tax loopholes that litter the corporate tax code in the United States are frequent targets of criticism from both Democrats and Republicans. Outgoing Republican Senator Tom Coburn released…
Stay tuned for my weather report at 11!
Bryan Costin
As we officially enter winter, some of us are already looking for signs it will be over soon. Folk wisdom tells us to look to the woollys for insight into how bad the season will be.
Providing housing is just one thing on the list
Reuters/Claudia Daut
No US president ever said what President Obama told the American people on December 17, 2014. He also spoke to the people of Cuba, the ordinary citizens who struggle to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner…
Voluntary programs are all the rage. From ratcheting up cybersecurity to fighting obesity, firms in the United States and elsewhere voluntarily make pledges to do better than governmental regulation. Firms…
In Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston’s Moses is presented straightforwardly as a man certain of his mission.
Wikimedia Commons
The term “reboot” means something particular in the movies. The metaphor is drawn from computers: a “reboot” restarts a machine whose software has malfunctioned. But in cinematic terms a reboot refers…
On Wednesday, the White House announced that the United States would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba in a deal that was brokered with a great deal of help from the Holy See. A statement released…
Oil prices have been in a tailspin for month, falling to a five-year low, yet airfares have barely budged. What gives?
Shutterstock
Oil prices are down almost 50% from their peak this year, and jet fuel has plunged 33% since last December. Given energy costs consume almost a third of airline operating expenses, shouldn’t we expect…
Where would Confucius place the balance between environmental conservation and economic development today?
Kevinsmithnyc
Conventional wisdom holds that China - the world’s most populous country - is an inveterate polluter, that it puts economic goals above conservation in every instance. So China’s recent moves toward an…
As much as we like to think that we vote on substance – not style – studies have shown that physical appearance matters to voters.
Carlo Allegri/Reuters
While much of the 2014 midterm election analysis centered on the Republican takeover of the Senate, the pundits may have overlooked an important development: the end of a time when politicians looked a…
Insurance doesn’t always mean you’re protected.
Bills via wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock
A few years ago, we met Angie, a hair salon owner in Oregon with health insurance coverage and a stack of unpaid medical bills. She and her husband were both employed – he as a carpenter — and earned about…
Fidel Castro during a visit to Washington in 1959.
U.S. Department of State
The action by President Obama to move toward the normalization of US-Cuba relations is long overdue. The US ruptured ties with Cuba in early January 1961, under President Eisenhower, not only in the context…
Curiosity Rover has used its onboard lab to detect methane on the Martian atmosphere.
NASA
NASA has revealed that a whiff of methane has been detected twice in the last couple of years at the Martian surface by the Curiosity Rover. The source of the methane is uncertain. It is not even clear…
These documents have become less sought after among the ranks of the world’s highly skilled migrants.
Shutterstock
The United States has always been known as a nation of immigrants and a top destination for scientists and other highly skilled professionals. That ability to attract the world’s most educated and innovative…
Everyone needs to understand the basics of science to participate fully in the democratic process.
Conversation image via www.shutterstock.com.
Science isn’t important only to scientists or those who profess an interest in it. Whether you find fascinating every new discovery reported or you stopped taking science in school as soon as you could…