Chanequa Walker-Barnes, a professor of practical theology and pastoral care at Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia, has an unusual approach to Lent. Instead of giving up chocolate or fasting, “sometimes I’ll say I’m giving up self-neglect,” she told me. … … Read more
Body language and the understanding thereof is a crucial part of communication. It is often assumed that humans can innately recognize other’s emotions, but there is growing evidence that the ability to decipher these emotions is not instinctive but shaped … Read more
Expressing gratitude helps bring us closer to our partner. Among relationship-promoting behaviors, the role of gratitude has some of the strongest scientific evidence behind it, said Sara Algoe, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and … Read more
Conversations abound about the impact of the American working class on our nation’s politics. But all too often, African-Americans are not included in these conversations, even though they have been essential to our country’s productivity ever since the days of … Read more
China’s baby bust is happening faster than many expected, raising fears of a demographic collapse. And coping with the fallout may now be complicated by miscalculations made more than 40 years ago. … Once a generation of young people has … Read more
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, commonly survive in some of Earth’s most challenging environments. The microscopic animals are so extraordinary that they have even traveled to the International Space Station for research. … Lead author Amanda Smythers at the … Read more
In China, Lunar New Year, which begins on Saturday, is a time of intense travel and the only time of year many can make it home. For those living abroad, making a trip can be impossible, whether because of finances … Read more
Three-fifths of parents with adult children gave them financial help in the past year, Pew Research reports in a new study. … Parents, for their part, seem ever more inclined to carry on with parenting well past the age a … Read more
The toilet brushlike specimen from a Canadian quarry hints at the evolutionary experiments that occurred during a 15-million-year gap in the fossil record. “This is a totally new and different kind of plant” than had been found in the Late … Read more
The United States, we’re told, is increasingly a house divided. Conservatives and progressives are so alienated from each other that conversation is virtually impossible. But are we really as divided as we’re led to believe? The podcast “Hidden Brain” begins … Read more
