What do you need for a successful democracy? One of the most important elements is a free and independent press. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying about power corrupting, so having a watchdog on the beat is essential. I’ve been thinking about this for two reasons. The first is all the discussion about “fake
There is a fine line that separates us from anarchy — our legal system. Most of us think our system works pretty well, the occasional horror story on social media notwithstanding. And yet, I’m finding enough of those horror stories to give me pause. For example, Jim Parsons was convicted of murdering his wife twelve
They don’t call economics “the dismal science” for nothing. Yet it’s such a critical part of our lives. And it’s such an important part of history. As a history nerd, I’ve found books that provide a historical perspective in many different ways — wars, natural disasters, disease, pests, and even sex. (How would English history
When I teach, I think I learn as much from my students as they do from me. Remember how maps of the Earth looked so distorted when you were in school? There was just no good way to portray a three-dimensional globe on a two-dimensional sheet of paper. Not that we haven’t tried. Wikipedia has
When it comes to college athletics, I’ve always thought the tail tends to wag the dog. Many schools have become known more for athletes than academics, at least to the general public. So maybe a reality check is in order. On January 2nd, Time.com published a list of top football universities ranked by academic achievement
It’s one of those things we take for granted — why the New Year begins on January 1st. It would seem more logical to begin a year at the winter solstice, the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere, the perfect time to begin anew. But no seasonal or natural event occurs on January 1. So
“Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have.” –Benjamin Franklin If you’d like to start the new year in a light-hearted way, today I heard of a cemetery in Key West, Florida that’s famous for funny and quirky epitaphs. There is the oft-quoted “I told You I was
We seem conditioned to read the emotions of people we come in contact with, then respond in kind. If they smile, we smile. Or if they are angry, we get angry. Our reaction usually controls our response, kind of like the dogs in the photo. This is called complementary behavior. It is perfectly natural
It’s become traditional to drop some sort of ball to signal the entrance of the new year. Our tradition of the Times Square, New York ball drop goes back to the early 20th Century. But the basic idea is much older. According to Alexis McCrossen, author of Marking Modern Times: A History of Clocks, Watches,
I recently ran across a news item that on December 29, 1940, the German Luftwaffe bombed London on the 114th straight night of “The Blitz” during World War II. The results were devastating, setting off what some called the “Second Great London Fire” (the first being in 1666). Almost a third of the city was