November 20, 2009, 6:35 AM
Friday | Today's idea: Louis Armstrong's bluntest written views on black individual responsibility "are the source of considerable disquiet among his admirers, many of whom prefer to ignore them altogether," a biographer says. [Commentary]
November 19, 2009, 6:33 AM
Thursday | Today's idea: "Frivolous" academic research is serious business, its defenders say. It popularizes science, attracts new funding with the publicity it generates and thereby advances knowledge. Even if monkeys can't write like Shakespeare. [BBC News Magazine]
November 18, 2009, 6:35 AM
Wednesday | Today's idea: More and more, we place our trust in "algorithmic authority," a new-media professor writes. We "regard as authoritative an unmanaged process of extracting value from diverse, untrustworthy sources." [Clay Shirky]
November 17, 2009, 6:30 AM
Tuesday | Today's idea: Ever since Natalie Portman popped headphones onto Zach Braff's head and said, "This song will change your life," American music has been dying a slow death, an essay says. [Pop Matters]
They didn’t roar like the ’20s. They weren’t about “me” like the ’70s. But let’s jump the gun and start figuring out what to call the ’00s.
German soldiers set off for Afghanistan without the support of the populace, knowing that when they return, they will not be made into heroes. The soldiers fight alone.
The appearance of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi on Oprah Winfrey’s show underscored how tough it is to figure out where Americans stand on same-sex marriage.
New research is pointing to a new perspective on religion, one that seeks to explain why religious behavior has occurred in societies at every stage of development.
China has begun transforming itself from a global font of low-priced goods fueled by cheap labor into a much more diverse and complex economic power.
With no consensus on the age to drink, fight or rent a DVD, the Supreme Court considers if a convict can be too young for life in prison.
It was a week to thank those who fight — and grieve for those who might have, had they not been gunned down on their own Army post in their own country.
In a 1971 conversation with John Gerassi, Jean-Paul Sartre recalled an experience with drugs in 1929 while attending the École Normale Supérieure, where he met Simone de Beauvoir.
We had a little extra time on our hands in 1999. But if the mighty tube didn’t claim it, we were just wondering what did.
Rahm Emanuel on health care, and Paul Bachmuth, a father of two, on unemployment.
12.4: The percentage of workers in unions last year, down from 20.1 percent in 1983.
What Would You Name the '00s?
Graphic: Where China Outranks the United States
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