Sorin Solomon (Racah) and Natasa Golo (HUJ): How Do Life, Economy and Other Complex Systems Escape the Heat Death? From the inaugural issue of Statistics and Public Policy, Andrew Gelman (Columbia): The Twentieth-Century Reversal: How Did the Republican States Switch to the Democrats and Vice Versa? Michael Stokes Paulsen (St. Thomas): Kermit Gosnell and Uncle Tom's Cabin; and The Insistent Analogy to Slavery. Tara Culp-Ressler on how TED Talks don’t cover abortion because they say it doesn’t count as a human rights issue. From Port Towns and Urban Cultures, Louise Moon on tattoos, tars and sailortown culture. A nation ruled by creeps: From celebrities to right-wing columnists, when it comes to sexual assault the media's idea of "balance" is inane. Dirty games: Ari Phillips on how Sochi abandoned promises, jailed activists and devastated the environment. Every time the thermometer drops, another anti-science politician mocks climate change as a fallacy — here’s why they’re wrong. Chas Clifton on orthography and the modern pagan. Desensitized to horror: When mass shootings stop shocking us. From American Scientist, Brian Hayes on new dilemmas for the prisoner: A paradoxical game becomes even stranger with the discovery of novel strategies. A Field Guide to Straightsplaining: If you want to know about gay people — their lives, their desires, their ideas, their cultures — listen to gay people; if you want to know about straight people, listen to straight people talking about gay people.
