The Catholic Church saw incredible growth in the United States this past year, especially among young people (men, in particular). If you’re tuned into the […]
Spitz’s Rolling Stones Biography Ignores the Band’s Darker Truths
Bob Spitz has compiled a press-cuttings history of the Rolling Stones. Like much of their music, it is hacked together from other people’s work, though […]
The Surprising Power of Constraints in a World of Endless Choices
Fifteen years ago, when my older children were in preschool at our synagogue, I participated in a focus group. The synagogue’s leadership wanted to understand […]
Why Recessions Happen: A New Study Shows They’re Unpredictable Shocks, Not Economic Cycles
In the 1920s and 1930s, economists grappled with a pressing issue: dramatic economic fluctuations that plagued much of Western Europe following World War I’s devastation. […]
Philadelphia Museum’s 250th Anniversary Exhibit Turns American History into a Punishing Indictment
The Philadelphia Museum of Art—in the city where the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed—is marking the 250th anniversary of the founding of America […]
American Kids’ Picky Eating: A Century-Long Shift from Omnivores to Selective Eaters
Historian Helen Zoe Veit’s new book, Picky: How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History, traces a dramatic transformation in childhood eating habits over […]
Hideki Tojo: The War Leader Whose Calculations Led Japan into Catastrophe
General Hideki Tojo served as Japan’s war minister (administrative leader of the Imperial Army) from July 18, 1940, to July 18, 1944, and then concurrently […]
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Fails in Plot and Emotional Logic
For the sequel to a beloved working-girl comedy, nobody remembered to find a plot. Lauren Weisberger’s novel The Devil Wears Prada became a cultural milestone […]
Gary Stewart: The Unapologetic Honky-Tonk Outlaw Who Defined Country Music
A groundbreaking biography, Gary Stewart: I Am From the Honky Tonks by Jimmy McDonough, uncovers the life of Gary Stewart, a 1970s country singer whose […]
Two Decades of Mystery: The Cave Mountain Disappearance and the 1978 Cult Murder That Bind an Ozarks Backwater
In 2001, six-year-old Haley Zega got lost on a family hike in the Arkansas wilderness. She was found after three days where she survived drinking […]