The Attention Economy
We talk about paying attention, as though it is a debt—and these days, attention is definitely currency. We still use money and buy material stuff, but these transactions all begin by gaining our limited attention.
By Jeannette Cooperman
Why We Need Lupin
Each episode of "Lupin" brings the joy of a man living by his wits and prevailing, in a clever and playful way. We do not do a lot of that.
Why We Know Next to Nothing About Nubia
A civilization lost in translation? One whose stories had to be told by others? Those are factors, but the bigger piece, the Saint Louis Art Museum’s Nubia exhibit confirms, is that Westerners were blinded by their own assumptions.
Q&A: A Peek at The Kimono Tattoo
Prof. Rebecca Copeland, in her home with her collection of kimonos (Credit Joe Angeles/Washington University) I so enjoyed Dr. Rebecca Copeland’s mystery, The Kimono Tattoo, that I wanted to solve the next mystery. Not the sequel (though she is writing one) but…
On the Indiscriminate Love of Dogs and Everything Else
Westminster champion Wasabi. (Photo by Jack Grassa courtesy of WKC.jpg) Ah, Westminster! Where else can a trapezoidal head, or an egg-shaped one, be a mark of honor? Dogs are my favorite sport, and dog shows one of its spectacles. I watch rapt, drinking in the elegant curve of…
We Need More Than We Want to Give
Why is it so hard for us to give every living thing what it needs in abundance?
Biden and the Bishops
Sacrament is supposed to stay simple. Its rituals use natural, everyday elements—bread, wine, oil, water—to express pure forgiveness, a lifelong bond, an unbreakable unity.But politics can break anything.
Montessori Meets AI
"The Spirit Machine" is a new art installation, commissioned in Montessori’s honor and sited at Radboud University in The Netherlands, inside a new building named for her. It is based, not in a child’s creative intelligence, but in AI.
Acing Work-Life Balance
These days, we relegate all the fun to the future, promising ourselves that when we can finally retire, we will play more, see our friends more, take our time, travel. Yet many of us are fast realizing that we may die before we get to retire.
Are Goose Feathers a Prerogative?
The feathers, casually discarded, are not what troubles my conscience. But the quick and easy exploitation, grabbing a pretty thing for my own use, feels like a single instance in a long pattern—and it is one I know will continue.
Self-Pleasuring in a Car Lot, and the Difference It Makes to Be White
The most powerful variable here is fear. The woman in Mankato may have been high on a substance that can cause erratic and violent behavior, but she seemed happy and absorbed in her own pleasure, and one look told the officers they did not have to worry about a concealed weapon.
With King Lear, We Are God’s Spies
Lear is too big to be contained—but so are greed, power, and despair. This production is not a cheesy attempt to “make relevant” by dreaming up cool costumes and picking a fun place and time.