Weekend Reads

Rev. Barber: A “Moral Center,” Not a “Religious Left,” Will Save Us in 2017

Attributing the DNC Hacks to Russia

If the government is going to take public action against a cyberattack, it needs to make its evidence public. But releasing secret evidence might get people killed, and it would make any future confidentiality assurances we make to human sources completely non-credible. This problem isn't going away; secrecy helps the intelligence community, but it wounds our democracy.

Why One Neuroscientist Started Blasting His Core

If stress is controlled by these few cortical areas—the part of the brain that deals in high-level executive functioning, our beliefs and existential understandings of ourselves—why would any sort of body movement play a part in decreasing stress?

The Death Of Expertise

Ready for flooding: Boston analyzes how to tackle climate change

Damage from flooding, too, will increase as the climate warms. Around the middle of the century, the report projects that about seven percent of the city could be under water during one-in-10-year rainstorms unless the storm water system is improved. That includes portions of the subways and major highways, some of which are designated evacuation routes.

Fake news and fake gospels

I consciously try to take people at their word when they are talking about their religious convictions rather than assuming their beliefs are politics or some other ideology in thin religious trappings. The past year or so has challenged that posture significantly and raised questions about how fellow Christians are so easily taken captive by things like fake news and have such itching ears for fake gospels.

First Dinosaur Tail Found Preserved in Amber

While individual dinosaur-era feathers have been found in amber, and evidence for feathered dinosaurs is captured in fossil impressions, this is the first time that scientists are able to clearly associate well-preserved feathers with a dinosaur, and in turn gain a better understanding of the evolution and structure of dinosaur feathers.

We Asked 8,500 Internet Commenters Why They Do What They Do

'Alt-right' online poison nearly turned me into a racist

About a week before the US election, I heard one of these YouTubers use the phrase "red-pilled" – a term from the film The Matrix – in reference to people being awakened to the truth about the world and SJWs. Suddenly I thought: "This is exactly like a cult. What am I doing? I’m turning into an arsehole."

Why the White Working Class Abandoned the Democratic Party

Coelho’s Democrats soon achieved a rough parity with Republicans in contributions from corporate and Wall Street campaign coffers, but the deal proved a Faustian bargain as Democrats become financially dependent on big corporations and the Street.

Why I became a software engineer