Leonardo da Vinci’s remarkable capacity for careful observation made him an astonishing artist and a brilliant scientist. He was able to compare the speed of a bird’s wing movement downwards and upwards. He noticed the differences between arteries carrying blood from the heart and the...
About 10 years ago, I spent a sabbatical on the Maine coast writing a book about the Constitution.
One afternoon, an eager reference librarian who knew about my interests invited me to a talk at the library. The featured speaker was a woman who proudly called...
In 1950, men and women at age 65 could expect to live about 11 years more on average.
Today, that number has gone up to 17, and the United Nations forecasts that it will increase by about five more years by the end of the century.
One consequence of the increase in life expectancy is that...
Read more: Is 75 the new 65? Wealthy countries need to rethink what it means to be old
When it comes to dealing with issues of race and social justice, LeBron James has never been shy to speak his mind.
For instance, in a recent HBO series, “The Shop,” LeBron laments how in the NFL, “they got a bunch of old white men...
The tiny Mexican town of Boquillas del Carmen sits nestled between the Sierra del Carmen Mountains and the Rio Grande. Its Chihuahuan Desert location is strikingly beautiful, with green vegetation along...
Read more: This small Mexican border town prizes its human and environmental links with the US
Top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have reversed a policy that prevented minor children of same-sex married couples from joining the church and participating in its sacred...
Bike-sharing and dockless bike ventures are spreading as more people get around on two wheels. Cyclists, planners, environmentalists and others are excited to see these initiatives thrive.
At the same time, there are reasons for concern. Nearly 800 American...
Read more: Civic crowdfunding reduces the risk of 'bikelash'
About six months ago I stopped eating meat. I was teaching a graduate course at UCLA that investigated how Italian Renaissance writers conveyed their concepts about the human through writing about the nonhuman – plants, animals, objects,...
Read more: Leonardo da Vinci saw in animals the ‘image of the world’
Thirty-nine journalists have been detained in Venezuela this year, far more than in any other Latin American country, according to the Caracas-based Institute for Press and Society.
Their arrests are part of the government’s crackdown on journalists who report on the country’s escalating instability as President Nicolás Maduro...
Read more: Venezuela's crisis is a tragedy - but comedy gold for satire, cartoons and memes
From 78 degrees on Tuesday to snow on Wednesday? Swings like this aren’t unusual in the central United States, where weather can quickly shift from one extreme to another. That’s especially true in the springtime, when conditions turn into...
