Oct. 28 – Nov. 2 Could penises become obsolete? Sure. Christie has a few beers with friends and reviews a book. Ann & Richard each won a Windsor chair. Ann talks about Windsor chairs. Richard talks about naked ladies. What’s happening with old nuclear materials scattered around the Arctic? Nothing good, says Jessa. Two pieces […]
Christie
First, a disclaimer. This is the kind of discussion that happens when friends talk evolutionary biology over a bottle of wine. (Specifically, me, my husband Dave–whose knowledge of evolution comes from reading New Scientist magazine — and our friend Kevin.) Christie: Penises make no sense. They’re floppy, vulnerable appendages and males spend an inordinate amount […]
October 15 – 19 “People who expose fraud are often ostracized and harassed and may find themselves fired or blacklisted. They have stress-related health problems, including shingles, psoriasis, autoimmune disorders, panic attacks, asthma, insomnia, temporomandibular joint disorder, migraine headaches, and generalized anxiety.” Christie examines why whistleblowers do it anyway. Cassie explains why people run marathons […]
Fiscal year 2012 was a record year for whistleblowers. According to the Taxpayers Against Fraud Educational Fund, the U.S. government recovered more than $9 billion through lawsuits invoking the False Claims Act, legislation that gives private citizens the right to sue those that commit fraud against government programs (and share in any fines that are eventually collected). A […]
October 8 – 12 This week, Christie remembered Karen, and reminded us that the “beating cancer” narrative is pernicious and false. From his review, I can’t tell if Richard liked Einstein on the Beach, or endured it. Tom tells us about a book made at scales small that light particles are too fat for perception. […]
In the photo, Karen is smiling. We’re clowning around, engulfed in a spring day with nowhere to be but out on our bikes. Breast cancer has already pushed its way into Karen’s life, but the demon is on hiatus, and she has gleefully stuffed her bra to announce that cancer can take her breasts but […]
Back in February, a scandal broke out at Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the breast cancer advocacy group with the trademarked pink ribbon. That scandal centered around the group’s decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening efforts. But the flap over Planned Parenthood obscured an even more scandalous problem at Komen — the group’s […]
24 – 28 September In which Cameron informs us that gull poop carries drug resistant bacteria that infests beaches, lakes and even dumps. Delightful stories abound of the falcons and dogs that have been dispatched to chase them off. But that makes me wonder: after they’re chased off, where do they take their pestilent cargo? […]