Vandalism in the national parks

The impulse to defile

What’s art, what’s vandalism, and when is it just time for the human race to put a lid on itself? The story of the woman who decided to leave her very personal imprint on some of our greatest national parks raises the question anew.

Robert Zaller

Oct 28, 2014 · Essays · 5 minute read

Witches in popular culture

Witches didn't disappear in the modern era — they're still alive and well in popular culture.

Chris Predmore

Oct 28, 2014 · Essays · 5 minute read

Trigger unhappy: warnings that get in the way

Last spring, the concept of “trigger warnings” — long used in feminist chat rooms and self-help blogspaces to flag users about graphic content related to sexual assault or rape — spilled over to the academic world. Is our sensitivity to others' trauma really helping?

Anndee Hochman

Oct 24, 2014 · Essays · 5 minute read

Walmart and seat belts

Tracy Morgan and Princess Diana

If we had learned anything from Princess Diana's death, would Tracy Morgan have been wearing a seat belt when his limo was mowed down by a Walmart truck?

Susan Beth Lehman

Oct 21, 2014 · Essays · 4 minute read

Closing ranks behind Ray Rice

One consequence of choosing our role models based on things that have no intrinsic correlation to character is that sometimes these people mess up.

Maria Thompson Corley

Sep 16, 2014 · Essays · 6 minute read

Treasures from the Bodleian in New York

The brainiest room in the world

Marks of Genius: Treasures from the Bodleian Library encloses as much of the human mind and spirit as a single room can contain. Maybe even more than a computer.

Robert Zaller

Sep 09, 2014 · Essays · 5 minute read

Remembering Joan Rivers (three)

The person and the persona

Joan Rivers had to continually perfect her face because that face had become the mask of comedy itself.

Thom Nickels

Sep 07, 2014 · Essays · 4 minute read

Remembering Joan Rivers (two)

Fashioning a persona

The fact that Joan Rivers never reduced herself to buffoon persona is what I admire most. She gave female comedians permission to be lovely and funny.

Susan Beth Lehman

Sep 07, 2014 · Essays · 3 minute read

Remembering Joan Rivers (one)

What we love to hate about Joan Rivers

There is a certain poetic justice to her death at the hands of a surgeon, under anesthesia, knowing no pain or the true indignities of old age. And how can we not love her for that?

Stacia Friedman

Sep 05, 2014 · Essays · 4 minute read

Seniors and technology: a second look

Why Gramps should use an iPad

Tom Purdom says to stop bothering him about smartphones and social media: He doesn't need them. But how well can we anticipate what we really want?

Alaina Johns

Sep 02, 2014 · Essays · 5 minute read