Rebecca Gould (Yale): Philology, Education, Democracy. Everything you need to know about the Chicago teachers’ strike, in one post. Todd Akin looks to disgraced pseudo-historian David Barton for help following “legitimate rape” controversy. The boy in the bubble: Ezra Klein rewrites the role of Washington wunderkind. The walled city: Cannot one dream of a “computer hypothesis”? Finn Brunton investigates. From Aggregation Magazine, Laura Kathleen Maize on noise pollution; Eli Yarhi on keeping an open mind; and Graham F. Scott on toxic nostalgia. At the risk of sounding angry: Brittney Cooper on Melissa Harris-Perry’s eloquent rage. No, really, there is no secret code in the pyramids: Encoded mysteries have existed through history — especially imaginary ones. Citizens Council: Joe Mathews on the third-and-a-half branch of government. A scientist puts farts under a microscope: An excerpt from Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccuping and Beyond by Robert R. Provine. From Nerve, a look at ten classic smut posters from the '70s and '80s. Did you block your grandma on Facebook for bashing Obama? You're not alone. From LARB, is The Atlantic making us stupid? Pamela Erens wants to know.
