The Golden Age of the Fried-Chicken Sandwich
The sun is setting on burger dominance.
We’re All Living in a Carl Hiaasen Novel
In the mangroves with Florida’s poet of excess and grift
The Not-at-All-Funny Life of Mark Twain
Ron Chernow’s biography dwells more on the wreck of a man than on his sublimely comic work.
SNL Isn’t Really Hot for Your Mom
A raunchy sketch ends up reinforcing the stereotype of mothers as frumpy and sexless.
Israel Plunges Into Darkness
What Netanyahu describes as impending victory is a dive into the morass.
The Bliss of a Quieter Ego
We live in a world of noisy narcissism, but you can escape the cacophony—and be happier.
Just Don’t Call Her Unqualified
Jeanine Pirro, Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., is a real prosecutor. She’s also a real MAGA partisan.
The Sociopaths Among Us—And How to Avoid Them
You’re bound to come across the “Dark Triad” type of malignant narcissists in life—and they can be superficially appealing. Better to look for their exact opposite.
History Will Judge the Complicit
Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?
Quaker Parents Were Ahead of Their Time
The nearly 375-year-old religion’s principles line up surprisingly well with modern parenting research.
Nostalgia for the Early Days of Parenting
“Cherish it while you can” is hard advice to follow for many new parents.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
The Oddball British Comedy Show I Thought I’d Hate (And Learned to Love)
The cult favorite Taskmaster has a nonsensical premise that slowly bowled me over.
The Partisan Mind Virus
Dismissing evidence that a politician might be unfit for office is as much a mistake for the right as it was for the left.
What Parents of Boys Should Know
Daughters tend to receive higher levels of affection and patience at home than sons. But the sons might need it more.
Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?
An emerging critical consensus argues that we’ve entered a cultural dark age. I’m not so sure.
Why Study History?
Civic education can help us to see that not all problems have solutions, to live with tentative answers, to accept compromise, to embrace responsibilities as well as rights—to understand that democracy is a way of living, not a settled destination.
How the Most Remote Community in America Gets Its Mail
Transporting letters and packages to the village of Supai requires a feat of logistics, horsemanship, and carefully placed hooves.
What the Press Got Wrong About Hitler
Journalists accurately reported that the führer was a “Little Man” whom the whole world was laughing at. It didn’t matter.
We’ve Been Thinking About Love All Wrong
What illness taught me about true friendship