Essays

Essays

Jun 15th 2015
It might seem too simplistic to equate old people with old cars, but the comparison is a valid one. Everything ages. It is the accumulation of damage that we incur simply by being here. As with cars, our bodies break down with time, not because of any manufacturing defect, but due to wear and tear.
Jun 14th 2015

It is a line repeated with tiresome regularity in right-wing circles: Pope Francis has no business proposing solutions to the crisis of global climate change. He is not a scientist, they say. He should stick to morals and to matters of faith and doctrine.

Jun 12th 2015

Northern Ireland recently changed the law to criminalise the act of paying for sex. This follows a trend set in Sweden, where selling sex is legal but buying it is criminalised.

Jun 8th 2015

King Edward VIII was forced to abdicate in 1936, and soon took the title of the Duke of Windsor. He has always been known for his pro-Nazi sympathies.
Jun 5th 2015


"There is nothing in Magna Carta that prevents the enactment and enforcement of unjust laws; but it does elevate the law above the ruler’s will."

Jun 5th 2015

"......from 1999 to 2003 we saw a 41% increase in diagnosed diabetes."


May 29th 2015

"We know for example that serious overeating in one sitting can trigger inflammation: what we need to focus on is eating less, not inflammation.

May 28th 2015

"It is my belief that this widespread Catholic response to Humanae Vitae led to a kind of declaration of independence on the question of sexual ethics. And it is this emerging sense of independence that stands in back of the referendum results."

May 27th 2015

BLOOMINGTON – The famously beautiful Indiana University campus, where I have been teaching a summer course for the new School of Global and International Studies, is now almost deserted.

May 21st 2015

"Our finding finally disproves the long-standing assumption that Homo habilis was the first toolmaker."

May 21st 2015

For such a large and culturally diverse place, Europe has surprisingly little genetic variety. Learning how and when the modern gene-pool came together has been a long journey.

May 20th 2015

There’s this guy that’s pretty sure the thing you’re looking at right now is one of the greatest threats to humanity. No, he’s not talking about our growing obsession with staring at sheets of digitised glass, and the unhealthy sedentary existence associated with doing so.

May 15th 2015

Diego de Velazquez, the greatest of court painters, ironically was an unlikely candidate for that job.

May 15th 2015

“By running on the promise to preserve Social Security and Medicare, Trump would be campaigning against the Republican establishment in the name of protecting the Republican base. The Republican base, after all, is an older demographic.

May 1st 2015
Anyone who has ever been nastily teased or bullied in the playground will remember how it made them feel. Now a new study shows that bullying during childhood is as harmful as abuse.

Browse articles by author