Essay Voting freely in a rigged election November 02, 2020 Can a person act freely in a system that is completely rigged, in which every action is determined from the outset? Maybe you are haunted by this question as you slog off to Town Hall to vote. Maybe it is so bothersome that you just stay home.聽Maybe you鈥檝e already sent in your ballot, but you feel somehow unsatisfied. Read More
Essay A look inside The Queens Nobody Knows October 30, 2020 Of the sixty-five million or so visitors to New York City every year, the overwhelming majority spend their time only in Manhattan. Because of Brooklyn鈥檚 cachet as a destination, a certain number will also include it in their itinerary. Queens remains something of a mystery to most visitors, a place that they know is part of the city, but that might not be of particular interest. Read More
Essay In the mood for art in India鈥檚 eighteenth century October 29, 2020 In the long eighteenth century, artists from Udaipur, a city of lakes in northwestern India, specialized in depicting the vivid sensory ambience of its historic palaces, reservoirs, temples, bazaars, and durbars. Read More
Essay The fight for the Right:聽Conservatives have always argued with each over who owns their tradition October 28, 2020 The political era through which Americans and Europeans are living is dominated at present by the right. But which right is that? Read More
Essay Piranesi, maker of books October 27, 2020 One of the central ideas that we explore in Piranesi Unbound is how a book comes together as the product of collaboration. As an artist, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720鈥�1778) worked in many forms and materials. Read More
Interview By Design | Setting A Series of Fortunate Events in motion October 26, 2020 In a world governed by chance, one book peers into the randomness of existence. From cosmic collisions and tectonic shifts to the infinitesimal accidents of biology, Sean B. Carroll鈥檚 A Series of Fortunate Events ranges across time and space, showing how chance occurrences brought us to where we are, fashioned us as we are, and contributed to all the beauty and diversity we see around us. Read More
Essay Democracy counts: On sacred and debased numbers October 22, 2020 Democracy depends on numbers. This was recognized from the founding of the American republic. The US Constitution defined terms for periodic elections and for the reapportionment of representatives among the states as their populations grew. Read More
Essay How to be content: The contemporary lessons of an ancient poet October 20, 2020 The poet Horace (65-8 BCE) is one of the most celebrated writers of Latin literature. His work has been copied and preserved over the centuries for both its sparkling form and its enlightened content. Read More
Interview Sean B. Carroll on The Serengeti Rules October 12, 2020 鈥淭he聽Serengeti Rules鈥澛爓on聽the聽Emmy Award聽for Outstanding聽Nature Documentary聽during the 41st annual News and聽Documentary聽Awards ceremony on September 22 and was nominated as a finalist for best cinematography. In the fields of biological and environmental studies, Sean B. Carroll has made a name for himself not only as a scientist, writer, and educator, but as a storyteller. Read More
Essay COVID and experts: A microcosm of democracy today October 09, 2020 The COVID pandemic has spotlighted one of the most polarizing features of American democracy: the growing importance of experts in making policy decisions. Government decisions to lock down households and businesses, close schools and beaches, and require citizens to wear masks have been driven by expert advice. Read More
Essay On horses, goats, and writing October 02, 2020 My mother swears my first word was 鈥榟orsie鈥�. When other little girls were playing with dolls, I was snipping pictures of horses from newspapers and magazines, pasting them on poster board, and taping them to my bedroom walls. Read More
Essay Spinoza鈥檚 guide to life and death October 01, 2020 How should we face our mortality? Whether death is鈥攁s we all hope鈥攁 far off eventuality or, through age or illness, imminent, what is the proper attitude to take? Should we fear death? Read More
Interview Judith Herrin on Ravenna September 29, 2020 At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. Read More
Essay Notes on masks September 28, 2020 Last week I was about to enter a coffee shop in Berkeley, when a person came rushing out, mask-less and shouting. For a second I thought I could see her voice, showering the insidious droplets I have learned too much about. Read More
Essay Bob Dylan鈥檚 rowdy ways and American voice September 25, 2020 One of the great ironies surrounding Bob Dylan鈥檚 2016 reception of the Nobel Prize for Literature is that, at the time of the prize, the great songwriter had just released a pair of recordings that featured no compositions of his own. Read More
