Weekend Reads 5/30/15

How Comedians Became Public Intellectuals

Amy Schumer on misogyny, Key and Peele on terrorism, Louis C.K. on parenting, Sarah Silverman on Rand Paul, John Oliver on FIFA … these are bits intended not just to help us escape from the realities of the world, but also, and more so, to help us understand them. Comedians are fashioning themselves not just as joke-tellers, but as truth-tellers—as intellectual and moral guides through the cultural debates of the moment.

What About the Girls? The Duggar Scandal and the Cost of Fundamentalism

Because when these charges came to light (several years ago) the concern was not for the victims… but for the moral purity of the young man. The fathers says that they ‘dealt with the issue’ as a family, and took it to the elders of their church. Police were informed, but no formal charges were filed. There was no continuing investigation.

Climate Change Denial Is a Threat to National Security

When you’re on deck, standing your watch, you stay vigilant.  You plan for every contingency. And if you see storm clouds gathering, or dangerous shoals ahead, you don't sit back and do nothing. You take action—to protect your ship, to keep your crew safe. Anything less is negligence. It is a dereliction of duty. And so, too, with climate change.

World’s Oldest Murder Mystery Was 430,000 Years in the Making

Paleontologists pieced together the 430,000-year-old skull and reported their forensic analysis Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE. Injuries to the skull represent the oldest direct evidence of homicide, the scientists say.