Politics & Current Affairs — October 2, 2009

The Irish Eye on American Politics

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

European Ambassador to the US and former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton stopped by today for an engaging chat on climate change, the EU, the world economy, and his relative outsider’s perspective on American politics. The end of his term as ambassador is approaching, and Bruton told us he was very much looking forward to returning to his hometown near Dublin—but isn’t savoring being out of the job. Given his insight into world politics, we don’t doubt Bruton will find an employer in short order.

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 painting of a man with a turban and a map.

Strange Maps

The medieval mapmaker remembered for the wrong map

The history of cartography might have been very different if the Latin version of Muhammad al-Idrisi’s atlas had survived instead of the Arabic one.

Two men sitting in front of a modern typewriter.

The Past

How random chance changed the man who invented modern probability

Probability, lacking solid theoretical foundations and burdened with paradoxes, was jokingly called the “theory of misfortune.”

A person standing on top of a rock in the water.

The Learning Curve

The loneliness epidemic is a myth

Claims of a “loneliness epidemic” aren’t based on robust data. Loneliness might be a problem, but it’s not worse than it was in the past.

Two men engaging in a brain-teasing game at a table.

Neuropsych

Why your brain hates other people

And how to make it think differently.

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