In early 1947, the playwright Tennessee Williams wrote to the producer Irene Selznick because Elia Kazan, who had been tapped to direct the Broadway première of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” was balking. Who else could direct “Streetcar”? Williams rejected the […]
Israelis want Benjamin Netanyahu to say sorry and go away. A survey released this week by the Israel Democracy Institute found that a staggering 87 percent of Israelis think the prime minister should take responsibility for the events of October
Download a transcript. Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Wherever You Listen Sign up to receive our weekly cultural-recommendations newsletter. For many of us, daily life is defined by a near-constant stream of decisions, from what to buy on
There are markers that sit on top of DNA and change over the course of one’s lifetime, and they can even be passed down to future generations. These “epigenetic” markers alter how genes are expressed — without changing their codes
Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Overcast | Pocket Casts The ongoing stalemate over extending a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has 2 million people still trapped in the rubble-strewn Gaza Strip with dwindling medical, food, and
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in the winter of 2022, the rock group Bi-2 was on a nationwide tour. The group, a stalwart of the Russian music scene for more than two decades, is known for its
Disease name: Polymerase gamma-related diseases, called POLG-related diseases for short Affected populations: POLG-related diseases are a group of rare, incurable conditions caused by inherited gene mutations. These disease-causing mutations are carried by up to 2% of people of Northern European
Dinosaurs, Carl Sagan, and nuclear war. There was a moment in the not-so-distant past when we learned what drove the dinosaurs extinct — and that discovery, made during the Cold War, may have helped save humans from the same fate.
When it comes to intercontinental trade in the Middle Ages, the Silk Road seems to get all the love. But the movement of people and goods between kingdoms and continents was made possible in large part by water. This week,
In the spring of 2011, Lady Gaga, then twenty-five years old and on the cusp of releasing her second full-length studio album, “Born This Way,” did something unexpected—at least for a pop star of snowballing fame. I’m not talking about
