Latest Ideas headlines

Nazi doctrine tried to confine women to domestic roles by barring them from most professions and incentivizing childbirth.

This could be a way to deal with all the plastic in the ocean.

Tensions running hot in 1972.

Are we alone out here?

This is a classic example of what Stephen Pinker calls the “euphemism treadmill.”

Unusual insights from the social sciences in this week’s Uncommon Knowledge.

The People’s House is only as good as the people we put in it.

A heartbreaking interruption.

Every weekend, America ends up arguing about golf.

Causes of death were often described in more colorful terms back in the 1960s and ’70s.

There are big costs to feeding America’s pets.

Using these faux gazing goggles could cause serious eye damage.

From bright horizons to the dark web and more in this week’s Uncommon Knowledge.

Women make up about 35 percent of all physicians in the United States, but only 19 percent of surgeons.

Good grief!

Social media is where nuance goes to die.

What prompted the outcry against Sharia?

For all your Bluetooth-connected salt-shaking needs.

From presidents to referees: Surprising insights from the social sciences.

Could this be a new children’s superhero whose kryptonite is catnip?

Chinese, with fewer keys.

For literature lovers, White House staff names spell things out.

“If we change our behavior depending on our food, that would be quite striking information.”

Experts say that the role of the team doctor needs to be reexamined, but not everyone agrees.

E.T., Ridgemont High, and dating opportunities in this week’s Uncommon Knowledge.

Some people would be grateful for an empty nest, it seems.

Pain is fundamental to the human experience. Yet we are still struggling mightily to understand it.

The Drug Enforcement Administration list of “Drug Slang Code Words” is a huge narcotic thesaurus.

A journal heralded the study as “a tour de force.” But the excitement was short-lived.

The Indian monsoon season has slowly been getting wetter.

Bestherbs, based in Grand Prairie, Texas, offered something appealing: help in a cup of coffee.

Checking in on the state of Harvard’s exclusive clubs.

Foreign meddling in our democracy inhibits our control over our government.

We’re all trying to get skinnier in America — even with our legislation.

Do children see paintings differently?

Dogs and humans can quench their thirst together.

Universal basic income requires a new source of big money. Enter the era of space tourism.

Plus: charity, sex, and phone upgrades in this week’s Uncommon Knowledge.

Travel agencies struggling in the online world have gone upscale to survive.

Primitive brutes? Not so much.

It’s a classic mismatch of supply and demand.

Can you help this nice middle class family get to their vacation rental on time?

It’s President Trump’s base that matters, and there’s only one institution that can reach them.

The verb “collude” doesn’t show up till the 1500s, well after “collusion” entered English.

Baseball in the summer of 1967.

An old word resurfaces. (Yes, Trump is involved.)