Women Are Writing the Best Crime Novels
From Tana French and Natsuo Kirino to Gillian Flynn, women are writing crime novels that turn the old genre formula on its head, dispensing with heroes and more accurately reflecting our social media era, one where a murderer’s motives are no longer as clear as they were in Raymond Chandler’s day, and where emotional violence tastes precedence over gunplay.
How Kids Learn Resilience
Unable to the close the achievement gap between low-income and more well-off students, academic researchers are studying the influence that certain noncognitive abilities, or character traits, including self-control, resilience, grit and optimism, have on academic success.
A New Origin Story for Dogs
On the messy process that turned wolves into our domesticated companions — and why it is so hard to reconstruct it.
The False Promise of DNA Testing
DNA typing has long been used as irrefutable proof of guilt or innocence in the criminal-justice system, but errors made in crime labs have many questioning its effectiveness.
Can Poetry Matter?
California poet laureate Dana Gioia’s classic essay on poetry’s diminishing place in American culture. The essay sparked a firestorm of debate and discussion when it was published in 1991, and it remains just as relevant today, a quarter-century later.
The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans
Nearly half of Americans would have trouble finding $400 to pay for an emergency. Neal Gabler examines his own history of financial mistakes, as well as the inability of many Americans to save money no matter how much they earn, and the rising costs of health care, child care, and education.
Where Is the Church in the Black Lives Matter Movement?
A new generation of young leaders in Baltimore are largely organizing outside of congregations. What does this mean for their movement—and for the church?
In the Land of Missing Persons
Unraveling two missing persons cases in the Alaskan wilderness.
Busting Cactus Smugglers in the American West
Inside the global black market for cacti, and the undercover agents who infiltrated it.
Can Hobby Lobby Buy the Bible?
In a few short years the evangelical owners of Hobby Lobby have amassed one of the world’s largest private collections of biblical antiquities. Their pace of acquisition has raised questions in the antiquities field, especially as they get ready to open their massive Museum of the Bible in the nation’s capitol.