In Praise of Not Going Viral

In the foodie world, as in most worlds now mediated online, there is intense pride at having a recipe “go viral.” Samin Nosrat, the delightful author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and the ensuing Netflix series based on the cookbook, admits as much in her recent confessional-recipe (it is a…

Frogs get a hop on noise pollution

In an increasingly noisy world, it may seem impossible to find peace amongst the cacophony of busy roads, blaring sirens, and roaring machinery. That is, unless you are a wood frog. New research from Pennsylvania State University shows these pocket-sized pollywogs are becoming immune to the stresses…

Mapping the Desire Lines of Family

Nishta J. Mehra (Credit: Lauren Schoen) I first met Nishta J. Mehra in 2005 when we studied creative nonfiction at the University of Arizona’s MFA program. Her prose was, and is, agile, buoyant while being direct, and strong. She also routinely brought baked goods to our class workshops, and, honestly,…

Highway to Hell

Most mornings do not begin by walking across a snow-covered campus as a young man in flame-colored pants and an intergalactic backpack—think the cosmos meet tie-dye—blasts AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” Is the music emanating from his phone, I wonder? A portable bluetooth speaker placed just so? Am…

“Hidden Gem”

Hellen: “Are you crazy?” she replied when I asked permission to take her photograph. “I haven’t applied my makeup correctly,” she explained while covering her face, giggling! (photo by Donato DiCamillo)…

A Genius of the South

“I love myself when I am laughing … and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.” —Zora Neale Hurston   Writer, folklorist, and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston was born 128 years ago, give or take a week (January 7 or January 15, 1891…

An Oath of Silence

Two decades ago, give or take, I took a 24-hour oath of silence. The moratorium on talking was not my idea, but rather an honors professor who assigned every undergraduate student in her “creative processes” class a full day of no talking. Our goal was to receive and observe the…

Science and the History of Left-Handedness

If we read On the Other Hand as a meditation on the uses of history, we might say that for Kushner, history itself emerges as a left-handed discipline.

The Dubious Virtue of Apostasy

If there is not much new on GM agriculture or even on the dynamics of defection, we are not left with much except a deceptive broadside against anti-GMO activism, authenticated only by Lynas’s special standing.

The Republican Party and What It Means

Republican Character reminds readers that the men and women in politics are rarely ideologically consistent, often opportunistic, and sometimes make strange alliances and unappealing compromises.

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