Bike co-ops uphold a tradition of self-empowerment through cycling.
The Role of Ancient DNA in Modern Traits
Ancient human retrovirus DNA could be one of the markers of susceptibility to mental illness—specifically schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder, a new study suggests.
The Undemocratic Reality of Capitalism
Fans of capitalism like to say it is democratic or that it supports democracy. Some have stretched language so far as to literally equate capitalism with democracy, using the terms interchangeably.
Air Pollution Is Killing Millions and Rising Exponentially—A Shift in Agriculture Can Solve It
We must find a better way to prevent land use from changing.
The Mystery of the Missing Apes Who Came Before Humans
The fossil record of our ape ancestors in Africa is almost nonexistent for a period of about 8 or 9 million years.
Finding the Roots of Religion in Human Prehistory
In a world so profoundly transformed by science and technology, it seems reasonable to ask: Why do religions still exist?
Roman Oligarchs Avoided Tax Liability and Restrictions on Land Size
The oligarchic tradition of land-grabbing and tax dodging goes back centuries.
Modern (Mis)interpretations of Clean Slates
Today’s creditor-oriented ideology depicts the archaic past as much like our own world, as if civilization was developed by individuals thinking in terms of modern orthodoxy.
A Professor on “Authorities” Who Order Police to Crush Student Protests
The Washington Post’s journalists recently exposed what many already suspected or knew. Donors from society’s richest 1 percent pressured university administrators and political leaders to use police and other means to crush peaceful student protests.
How Prehistoric Humans Discovered Fire Making
Of all the pivotal technologies discovered by humans, fire making was the one that gifted our species with power beyond all others.