“Reasonable Doubt” was not the first rap album I ever owned. But Jay-Z’s debut was the first hip-hop album I bought with my own money. More importantly, it was the first one I studied as a young writer who aspired to become a rapper, a dream that eventually came true. Jay-Z sounded cool in a...
Author: sp (sp )
I Have Spent the Past 6 Months Reading Hundreds of Poems by Young People – I Was Surprised to Find Hope, Not Despair
If you’ve read any commentary about younger people, none of the following statistics will surprise you. Approximately 19% of Americans who are 12 to 19 years old are depressed – higher than any adult age group. Only about 58.5% of teens who are 12 to 17, meanwhile, say they consistently receive the emotional and social...
Women Negotiate as Effectively as Men – but Leave People Happier
Men and women achieve similar economic outcomes in negotiations, but female negotiators foster stronger interpersonal relationships, which lead in turn to greater satisfaction with the result and a greater desire to negotiate with that woman again in the future, according to new research co-authored by Cornell University. “So much of negotiation research has really focused on men’s advantages,” said Charlotte “Charlie” Townsend,...
From Norway to Wisconsin, Children Want to Be Social Media Influencers When They Grow Up
A second grader in Norway drew a YouTube logo when my colleagues and I asked what they wanted to be when they grow up. When we asked why, the child explained that YouTubers are famous and make lots of money. When we asked second graders in Wisconsin this same question, we were surprised to often...
Russia’s Kinetic Destruction of Ukraine’s Cultural Memory
Russia’s strike on Kyiv’s Chornobyl Museum was more than an attack on a civilian or cultural site; it targeted historical memory itself. On the night of May 23-24, a Russian aerial attack involving 600 drones and 90 missiles bombarded Kyiv, Ukraine. Cultural institutions and architectural landmarks were damaged, some severely, including the Hinaus gallery, the...
The Absence of Gender and Racial Minorities Often Goes Unnoticed in the Workplace and the Classroom
New international psychology study finds we frequently don’t spot who is missing in our daily lives During a staff meeting we may look around to take account of who is present—an observation that could consider the race or gender of who is in the room. But would everyone notice a complete absence of women, colleagues...
Dark Patterns on the Web Are Designed to Manipulate You – Why Aren’t They All Illegal?
You open a free app to do one simple thing. Before you even start, a full-screen message asks whether you want to try the paid version. The “Start free trial” button is large, bright and hard to miss. The option to keep using the free version is smaller, buried at the bottom. The same prompt...
San Martín de Hidalgo Tequila Teams Up With Club América in Major Cross-Cultural Sports Partnership
Premium tequila brand San Martín de Hidalgo Tequila is stepping onto one of the biggest stages in North American sports through a newly announced partnership with Mexico City’s legendary Club América. The collaboration names San Martín de Hidalgo as the Official Tequila of the storied fútbol club and signals a broader push by the spirits...
When Reality Starts Sounding Like Fiction
There’s a strange problem facing anyone trying to write fiction today: reality keeps getting there first. Wars unfold live on our phones. Political figures feel less like leaders and more like characters written for maximum attention. Events that would have once been dismissed as too on-the-nose or implausible now pass as ordinary headlines. It’s not...
Scientists Discover How the Twelve Apostles Were Formed – and Their Real Age
Scientists at the University of Melbourne have uncovered for the first time how Australia’s iconic Twelve Apostles were formed, finding tectonic plate movements over millions of years lifted and tilted the giant structures out of the sea. Until now, the evolution of the Twelve Apostles had not been well known. University of Melbourne lead researcher Associate Professor Stephen Gallagher from the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences said the tectonic event helped shape the Apostles...











