Almost all of us know what a peak experience feels like. For some people, it’s climbing mountains or surfing; for others, it’s an intense meditation practice, or maybe it’s as simple as that sensation you get on the floor at a great concert. Call it a flow state or transcendence or whatever you want, but […]

The early days of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime — which came to a stunning end this weekend after 13 long years of civil war as rebel forces entered the capital of Damascus and Assad fled into exile — were defined by two famous pieces of graffiti.  The first was written by a […]

America’s favorite animal to eat — the chicken — has also become its most expendable: In 2021, around 556 million chickens in the US died at hatcheries and on farms before reaching the slaughterhouse, their carcasses winding up in landfills, incinerators, compost heaps, or pet food.  An additional 41 million never entered the food supply, […]

The stereotypical image of public housing in America is one of deteriorating buildings, urban blight, and dysfunctional housing authorities in seemingly never-ending crises. Residents routinely deal with bad living conditions, including heat failures, pest infestations, mold, and leaks. And public housing projects are often found in areas with concentrated poverty and in underserved, racially segregated […]

H.G. Wells is probably best known for his story about an alien invasion, “The War of the Worlds,” and some of his other fantastical science fiction. But he also dabbled in some less well known prehistorical fiction. In 1921, he published a story about early modern humans and Neanderthals called “The Grisly Folk.”  In it, […]