Podcast: The Science of Human Evolution
How have humans evolved and what drives this evolution? Evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon, author of Future Humans, discusses the science of human evolution. Listen in iTunes.
Consumers and the Path to Safely-Produced Products
Paul David Blanc— There is a story of the nineteenth century Rabbi Zissel Ziv, the elder of Kelmė, a town in Lithuania then under the aegis of the Russian Empire. Kelm’s principal thoroughfare had been paved by prisoners sentenced to slave labor, far from a notable circumstance in that time and place.
Knowing Through the Body
Guy Claxton— What are often called “higher mental processes” actually sit atop a whole lot of emotional and visceral goings-on. That is not a nuisance or a design fault; it is a deep part of our evolved nature as intelligent beings. To recap: at the core of our being there
How Small Farms Continue to Struggle in the Organic Food Industry
Connor J. Fitzmaurice & Brian J. Gareau— It’s fall in New England, and in the region’s many farmers’ markets, mountains of corn and heirloom tomatoes have given way to bountiful displays of pumpkins, apples, cabbages, cranberries, and leafy greens. It’s a relief for many. This summer’s harvest was a lean
On the Origin of the Coffeehouse
Brian Cowan— It should be easy to identify what a coffeehouse was at the dawn of the eighteenth century: a place where people gathered together to drink coffee, learn about the news of the day, and perhaps to meet with other local residents and discuss matters of mutual concern. Yet
Why Was Victorian London So Dirty?
Lee Jackson— In 1899, the Chinese ambassador was asked his opinion of Victorian London at the zenith of its imperial grandeur. He replied, laconically, ‘too dirty’. He was only stating the obvious. Thoroughfares were swamped with black mud, composed principally of horse dung, forming a tenacious, glutinous paste; the air
For Kids with Pain, Attending School Can Help More Than it Hurts
Rachael Coakley— Jessica started her freshman year of high school in great spirts. Then, in early October, she began to get daily headaches after school. Her headaches typically began around 4 PM and persisted through the evening making it difficult for her to complete homework. When Jessica couldn’t finish assignments
Podcast: Making Medicine More Human
Abraham Nussbaum, author of The Finest Traditions of My Calling, discusses why the medical field could be a little more personal and shares stories from his own experiences as a physician.
It’s Better Hearing and Speech Month Again
John M. Burkey— May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. You may have heard this before. Then again, you may have focused on May being arthritis awareness month, get caught reading month, national salsa month, or national bike month. More likely, May was viewed only with the comforting recognition that
What is a Database of Dreams?
Rebecca Lemov— A little-known turning point in the prosecution of World War II war crimes occurred in 1945 at Nuremberg. Sitting on his prison cot was Hermann Göring, recently captured Reichsfeldmarschall, founder of the Sturmabteilung (SA), creator of the first concentration camps, and a man who, not many weeks before,