Culture

The Importance of Being Jolly 1
- Culture
- December 21, 2023
In the common parlance of modern America, the word “jolly” has fallen distinctly out of use. While words like “fun” and “happy” abound in everyday conversation, “jolly” is, in the minds of many, inexorably tied to Christmas. Traditional carols have kept the word alive in reference to the festivities of this season; one would be
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Christmas Shopping for a Happier New Year 1
- Culture
- December 20, 2023
Oscar Wilde defined a cynic as one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. If this is so, many of us are more cynical than we realize because we don’t know the difference between price and value. We buy the cheapest because this is our duty as good consumers. We need
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Giving Before Getting 2
- Culture, Featured
- December 19, 2023
When I was a little girl, my mother would take me and my five siblings to Grants, a long-gone discount store. We did this the first week in December every year, shopping for each other using money we had earned and saved. Running down the aisles, touching everything, brimming with excitement, and bursting with secrets,
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Will Harvard’s Head Hang On?0
- Culture, Education, Featured
- December 18, 2023
Last week, Intellectual Takeout reported on the jaw-dropping Capitol Hill testimony of MIT President Sally Kornbluth, UPenn President Liz Magill, and Harvard President Claudine Gay. In turn, each leader affirmed—bizarrely—that calls for genocide against Jews did not violate their schools’ harassment policies unless those calls were severe, directed at individuals, or crossed over into conduct.
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Atheism and Antisemitism at America’s Universities 0
- Culture, Education
- December 18, 2023
Ryan Burge is a data analyst who synthesizes information about religion and politics in the United States. He publishes his findings and observations regularly on Substack. Last week, he wrote an article titled “How Weird is The Religious Composition of Harvard’s Student Body?” In it, he examines the results of a poll Harvard conducted of
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Data Brokers, Advertisers, and Governments: The Market for Your Personal Information 0
- Culture, Featured
- December 15, 2023
A few years ago, I tried to find out what kind of information data brokers had stored about me. But as it turns out, viewing specific information is difficult. I visited at least half a dozen sites without finding any clear way to request my data. Even when dealing with the company that did eventually
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