Culture & Religion — September 16, 2010

Photos of a Civil Rights Spy

“News that Ernest C. Withers, a photojournalist who documented the civil-rights movement, was also an F.B.I. informant has been met with mixed reactions from scholars.”

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The New Yorker displays several iconic photographs of the civil rights movement taken by an F.B.I. informant who earned the trust of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior and his associates: “News that Ernest C. Withers, a photojournalist who documented the civil-rights movement, was also an F.B.I. informant, as reported by the Memphis Commercial Appeal over the weekend, has been met with mixed reactions from scholars, historians, and those who knew him. Throughout the fifties and sixties, Withers snapped many key moments in the South.”

Collage of classical art suggesting a theme related to somatic markers.

Business

How “somatic markers” can transform your decision-making

Ditch the old brain vs. heart assumptions, and instead think about a heart-led brain.

A black and white image of a bunch of spheres, symbolizing the multiverse concept discussed by scientists.

Starts With A Bang

How logic and reasoning can fail as scientific tools

In logic, ‘reductio ad absurdum’ shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.

A wooden sign indicating "assisted migration rep 2" in a pine forest under a clear blue sky.

Life

Moving trees north to save the forests

As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.

Historical map illustration depicting a planned city layout with a circular central area and radiating streets.

Strange Maps

Ohio’s Circleville ditched the grid system. Then it got squared.

A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.

Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing

Starts With A Bang

Flagship NASA space telescope faces a penny-pinching death

NASA’s only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?

Up Next

Surprising Science

Boeing Prepares for Space Tourism

“Aerospace and defense giant Boeing has tossed its hat into the space-tourism ring, announcing that it has agreed to market future rides into Earth orbit to paying customers.”