Politics & Current Affairs — December 10, 2009

NYU Historian on GOP Conflicts and Prospects

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Historian Kim Phillips-Fein sat down with us to discuss the roots of the modern conservative movement in the U.S. Along with discussing its conflicted philosophical origins, she also spoke about how the conservative movement shaped the Democratic party.

Phillips-Fein also discussed how the Republican party, despite all the mistakes of the Bush years, may be in a position for a comeback.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Charles bridge in prague, czech republic.

Neuropsych

An untold story of LSD psychotherapy in communist Czechoslovakia

Uncovering the story of Milan Hausner, the Sadská clinic, and LSD psychotherapy behind the Iron Curtain.

a man standing in front of a blackboard with writing on it.

Neuropsych

The man who tried to redeem the world with logic

Walter Pitts rose from the streets to MIT, but couldn’t escape himself.

The Past

Islam has become less rational since its medieval Golden Age. What went wrong?

Once a cosmopolitan faith, Islam valued intellectualism and modernity. It was derailed by various geopolitical and religious forces.

The Well

The horrifying problem of meaning

Thinking about the problem of meaning is unsettling because it introduces us to a list of solutions that all feel a bit insane.

a black and white photo of a man sitting on a rock.

Thinking

10 great ideas in philosophy from the past 50 years, according to one scientist

Far from being a “dead” pursuit that focuses on old ideas, modern philosophy proposes and debates important, new concepts. All of us can learn from it.

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Technology & Innovation

Media News Roundup

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