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Blind Astrophysicist Discovers Way to Listen to Stars 0
- Science
- October 13, 2016
As a person who regularly gazes up into the darkness of night, musing over the millions of tiny, bright stars that flicker in the sky, losing my eyesight would easily be one of the most tragic things to happen to me. A Puerto Rican astrophysicist named Wanda Diaz Merced grew up dreaming about traveling to
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How to Fix U.S. Elections 0
- Education
- October 13, 2016
Experts rate the performance of recent American elections as the worst among two dozen Western democracies. Why? Some longstanding practices are to blame. Partisan gerrymandering insulates incumbents. Infotainment-dominated commercial news reduce campaigns to spectator sport. Social media amplifies angry trolls. Ballot access laws restrict third-party challengers. Women and minority candidates have to fight a hostile
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We Might Be in for Party Reversals 0
- Politics
- October 13, 2016
Don’t look now, but we might be in the early stages of major reversals of our two major parties on two major issues. A pipe dream? Maybe so. A vain search for silver linings as Campaign 2016 slogs on? Possibly. And yet both reversals would actually amount to a return to a past position and
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Twitter Suspends Another Conservative Commentator 0
- Politics
- October 13, 2016
Twitter has suspended the account of filmmaker James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas. Late last night, our organization received this message: About an hour ago, the Twitter Corporation decided to silence me and suspended my account. No notice, no warning, I just received a terse message that I had “violated” their rules. This is devastating
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Distinguished Prof: The ‘Whiteness of Pumpkins’ Has Become ‘Perilous’1
- October 13, 2016
Lisa Powell, a postdoctoral fellow in British Columbia, and Elizabeth Engelhardt, Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina, have just released an essay in a peer-reviewed journal that offers an analysis of race relations in America today. The title of their paper? “The Perilous Whiteness of Pumpkins.” Seriously. Listen, the jumping
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Did Alexander Hamilton Have a Love Affair With John Laurens?2
- Culture
- October 13, 2016
In April 1779, as the American Colonies struggled to gain their independence from England, a 24-year-old Alexander Hamilton sent this letter to John Laurens, a 23-year-old South Carolinian: Cold in my professions, warm in my friendships, I wish, my Dear Laurens, it might be in my power, by action rather than words, to convince you that I love
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