It’s Complicated
Unraveling the mystery of why people act as they do
By Michael Shermer Monday, June 5, 2017
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky
Waking From the Dream
Most Americans assume society is more egalitarian than it is
By Nancy Isenberg Monday, June 5, 2017
The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne
Not by Taste Alone
The flavor of food is produced by all of the senses
By Tim Carman Monday, June 5, 2017
Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating by Charles Spence
England, My England
The poet whose bucolic lyrics defined a generation
By Jan Morris Monday, June 5, 2017
Housman Country: Into the Heart of England by Peter Parker
Back From Oblivion
A writer who refused to live in a world robbed of meaning
By Dana Gioia Monday, June 5, 2017
The Poetry of Weldon Kees: Vanishing as Presence by John T. Irwin
Broken Bodies, Broken Forms
What relation does art bear to suffering?
By Roy Scranton Monday, June 5, 2017
Draw Your Weapons by Sarah Sentilles
“I Will Die a Russian”
A marriage of convenience that yielded an intelligence bonanza
By Sara Mansfield Taber Monday, June 5, 2017
Spies in the Family by Eva Dillon
Orator-in-Chief
President Obama’s public remarks revealed his unshakable faith in the unity of the American people
By James Santel Friday, April 28, 2017
We Are the Change We Seek: The Speeches of Barack Obama edited by E.J. Dionne Jr. and Joy-Ann Reid
More Than Human
The dawn of a technologically enhanced super-species is upon us
By Michael Shermer Monday, March 6, 2017
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
Robocops and Robbers
Criminal justice in the age of digital spying and surveillance
By Jill Leovy Monday, March 6, 2017
Unwarranted: Policing Without Permission by Barry Friedman
Who Would I Be Off My Meds
Can weaning oneself off pharmaceuticals ease the cycle of perpetual suffering?
By Scott Stossel Thursday, March 6, 2025
Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistanceby Laura Delano
Who’s to Say?
A bewildering take from a noted scholar of Christianity
By Sarah Ruden Monday, March 3, 2025
Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesusby Elaine Pagels
Chapters and Verse
Looking for the poet between the lines
By Jay Parini Monday, March 3, 2025
Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetryby Adam Plunkett
Once More, Without Feeling
Can a memoir be effective when it lacks any warmth?
By Casey Schwartz Monday, March 3, 2025
Children of Radium: A Buried Inheritanceby Joe Dunthorne
Electrons That Bind
The molecule at the center of everything
By Priscilla Long Monday, March 3, 2025
Carbon: The Book of Lifeby Paul Hawken
Food for Thought
A pragmatic approach to one of humanity’s gravest threats
By Anne Matthews Monday, March 3, 2025
How to Feed the World: The History and Future of Foodby Vaclav Smil
Splitting Our Sides
A new biography of a comedy pioneer
By Stephen Macone Monday, March 3, 2025
Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Liveby Susan Morrison
In the Lions’ Studio
A new dual biography turns the lens on the towering architects of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
By Noah Isenberg Thursday, February 13, 2025
Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equationby Kenneth Turan
Divided Providence
Faith’s pivotal role in the outcome of the Civil War