 |
Poe at 200 Two centuries after he was born, the creator of modern horror is taught in almost every school in America. How well is another matter completely...
By Nick Mamatas |
 |
Dear John We take the toilet for granted, but almost half the world lacks access to one. On World Toilet Day, we consider its impact on longevity, safety, education, and even tourism. (Bonus: Do you squat in the East or Southeast Asian manner?)
By Sara Blask |
 |
Green Politics Golf was once such a simple sport, back before it involved human rights, Nelson Mandela, and murder.
By Todd Pitock |
 |
The Pale Cast of Thought For David Foster Wallace, good art was a guide through dark times. Sometimes, alas, good art is not enough.
By J.M. Tyree |
 |
The Death of the Monoculture Why no summer jam this summer? Blame the death of the monoculture.
By Ryan Bigge |
 |
Great Expectations People don't read anymore. Translation is expensive. The Internet! At the London Book Fair, the sky was most definitely falling.
By Jessa Crispin |
 |
Bottled Water World I was a judge in an international water contest — tap waters, purified waters, spring waters, sparkling waters. It was almost enough to make one forget there's an H2O crisis looming.
By Anne Janette Johnson |
 |
All Made Up Clothes cover and festoon a large expanse of the body, but makeup
interacts with that smaller, more expressive part of the body — the
face.
By Paula Marantz Cohen |
 |
The Art Catalog The theorists are always arguing about what makes something art. 30,000 Years of Art says let's just move on and look at some more of it.
By Morgan Meis |
 |
Bobby Fischer Read Here He rose to fame as an international chess whiz, but spent his last days in the back corner of a sleepy Reykjavik bookstore.
By Sara Blask |
 |
Car Parts Chinese manufacturers, assembly lines, spinning stages, and sparkly dresses. Our correspondent reports from the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
By Jesse Smith |
 |
The Oberlin Experiment There was a time when sports and politics were inseparable, and Oberlin College launched a lunatic revolution of Radical Athleticism and "jock liberation." It may be the great unwritten chapter in American sports history.
By Anne Trubek |
 |
At the Body, Mind, and Spirit Expo I heard pets speak from the grave, had a picture of my aura taken, and got sucked into a Scientology pitch. And that was just the first day.
By Emily Maloney |
 |
Sequins & Scandals Figure skating is the quintessential American sport. It's both fiercely individualistic and incredibly conformist. And athletes and fans have an extraordinarily high tolerance for corruption. Our correspondent reports from Skate America.
By M.G. Piety |
 |
The Official Typeface of the 20th Century Helvetica turned 50 this year. A profile of the font that gave shape and tone to our visual culture.
By Ryan Bigge |
 |
In Praise of the Town Library Its budget is never enough. Its collection is often small. But I have not yet visited one, not even in the drowsiest rural village, in which a child could not find enough to get started.
By Michael Gorra |
 |
Here's To the Death of the "Death of" Article Stephen King asks: What ails the short story? That question misses the point entirely.
By J.M. Tyree |
 |
Old Like Me Can empathy be taught? I put corn in my shoes and almost pee on the floor as I undergo aging sensitivity training.
By Jason Wilson |
 |
Menckenmania How do you celebrate a grouch like Mencken? Our correspondent went to Baltimore for his 127th birthday and found that it involves torture, opera, pit bulls, and cheese.
By Jesse Smith |
 |
Northeast Kingdom The apple can be robust or whithered, delicious or deadly, beautiful or terrifying. A photo essay with text by John Wood.
By Andrea Modica |
 |
A Dilettante's Guide to Art 1001 Paintings You Should See Before You Die acknowledges the question "What is Painting?" The answer: "Who cares?"
By Morgan Meis |
 |
Paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara Science exists whether humans exist or not. A Q&A with paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara.
A Smart Set Interview |
 |
Scopes Revisited Every few years Darwin gets hauled into court. We revisit the most famous case of all, the Scopes Trial.
By Anne Janette Johnson |
 |
Small Businesses Blink and you'll miss them. Tiny free-standing businesses are the proverbial canaries in the coal mines, the first to go when gentrification comes knocking. A photo essay.
By Lisa Anne Auerbach |
| |
|
