Can shame also be used for public good? There’s a judge in Texas who’s famous for his creative – and controversial – shame-based sentences. To hear how they work, let’s go back to Thanksgiving evening, 1996. Houston, Texas. More
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Politics and History
Maybe shame – painful as it is – has some value. Maybe it’s not just an emotion, but a social tool. Jennifer Jacquet thinks that there’s an upside to shame. More
Robin Rinaldi was mid-life, mid-career and mid-marriage when she placed that ad. It launched her wild oats project – a year spent exploring sex.More
Think there's a renaissance of public shaming online? You're right. There's something about the anonymity of social media has people who probably seem perfectly nice in person, posting vicious, scathing, humiliating comments online.More
Bioethicist Julian Savulescu says we have a moral obligation to use new technology to create the best possible children.
Free speech advocate Greg Lukianoff believes universities are coddling students in the name of emotional well-being, with damaging effects to students' mental health.More
Anthropologist Nina Jablonski believes we could reduce implicit bias in the future by teaching children about the evolutionary origins of humans and why we look different.More
Psychiatrist Michael Bennett and his daughter, comedy writer Sarah Bennett, say it's time we stopped thinking about our feelings and instead focused on our actions.More
Historian Darrin McMahon traces ideas around happiness from classical antiquity to the modern age. He says the Founding Fathers equated...More
Former Congressman Barney Frank believes that if you want to see political change, don't go to a demonstration. Instead, lobby your local representatives and vote.More
Journalist Mark Engler explains why some protests flourish whereas others fail.More
Writer Basma Abdel Aziz on the transformative effect of the Egyptian uprisingMore
Occupy Wall Street co-creator says activists are following an outdated script.More
Some trips are more about psychic distance, like that of novelist Sherman Alexie. He's spent his whole life shuttling across cultural divides.More
Journalist Zach Beauchamps guides us through what he calls the "Russiasphere," the online world of liberal fake news.More