The Requirements of Southern Journalism

”If it could be established, a fearlessly edited press is one of the crying necessities of the hour. Such a journal, edited in the midst of such conditions as exist in the South, can better give the facts, than out of it, or than the press dispatches will do. True, such a one might have to be on the hop, skip and jump but the seed planted even though the sower might not tarry to watch its growth, can never die. At present only one side of the atrocities against a defenceless people is given, and with all the smoothing over is a bad enough showing.”

The Hyper-Vigilante

Well intentioned as they may be, trigger warnings nevertheless confuse victim with expert, and expert with advocate.

Animal, Vegetable, Intelligence

The humble cockatoo. Smarter than you think. (CC: David Cook Wildlife Photography) Plant neurobiologists argue the ways in which plants demonstrate behaviors that look very much like intelligence, memory, learning, and decision-making. Rather than relying on a brain and neurons, plants use a decentralized network, but both plants and…

Trans Fats’ Last Stand

Trans fats have met their final fate in an FDA ban. About time.

Hearn’s “Memphis To New Orleans”

The Common Reader’s inaugural essay by Lafcadio Hearn, one of the most acclaimed journalists of the 19th century. Born 1850 in Lefkada, Greece, Hearn became most famous for his writings about Japan. Before that, however, he was a well-known New Orleans journalist.

The Atomic Frenchman

The surprising positivist connection between Serge Gainsbourg and the Manhattan Project.

Mary Tyler Mores

Sex and The City would add more sex, shoes, and cocktails; 30 Rock upped the neurosis and goofball antics; while Parks and Recreation added small-town government parody. But it all started with Mary.

How Orson Welles Pioneered the Horror of “Fake News”

The hysteria generated by War of the Worlds provides today’s Internet users with a cautionary tale when posting on social media networks: Be careful what you put out there—somebody might just believe you.

Devoured By Desire

Lahr’s work is a unique amalgam of dramatic criticism and biography—one which results in a comprehensive and original re-assessment of the playwright.

Queen Elizabeth

It is with great anticipation that we turn to Warren’s autobiographical narrative for clues as to how someone growing up in crimson red Oklahoma, who considered herself a Republican into the 1990s, came to be a boldly progressive Democrat.

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