If traumatic brain injuries can impact the parts of the brain responsible for personality, judgment, and impulse control, maybe injury should be a mitigating factor in criminal trials — but one neuroscientist discovers that assigning crime a biological basis creates more issues than it solves.
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The Unexpected Reemergence of an Elusive Strain of Rice
Hill rice was supposed to be extinct, until a South Carolina chef stumbled on it — in Trinidad.
In the Age of the Psychonauts
Three psycho-spiritual “events” of the 1970s — involving Philip K. Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, and Terence and Dennis McKenna — had a strange synchronicity.
If the Rich Really Want To ‘Do Good,’ They Should Become Class Traitors Like FDR
“Winners Take All” is an indictment of the insular, Disneyfied world of Ted Talks, “thought leaders” and philanthropy as self-help for rich people. But does it go far enough?
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Mark Arax, David Grann, Stephanie Nolen, Eleanor Cummins, and David Marchese.
William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock ‘n’ Roll
From Bob Dylan to David Bowie to The Beatles, the legendary Beat writer’s influence reached beyond literature into music in surprising ways.
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee
“Our cultures are not dead and our civilizations have not been destroyed. Our present tense is evolving as rapidly and creatively as everyone else’s.”
Losing My Religion at Christian Camp
Katy Hershberger recalls the way her decade at Christian summer camp both shaped and condemned her views of faith and girlhood.
Michael, Aretha, Beyoncé, and the Black Press
The Black press has always been where Black artists could have their work spoken about with integrity.
What Falls to Earth
Grieving the mysterious death of her father, Susanna Space seeks refuge in the study of meteors.

