Top Stories - Quillette (Page 43)

Humanity's Greatest Foe: Pandemics Through the Ages

The blind struggle against infectious diseases began to end when the microscope allowed for the discovery of the bacilli responsible for anthrax, tuberculosis, and cholera in the late 19th century.

Adam Rowe

23 Mar 2020 · 12 min read

COVID-19 Science Update for March 23rd: The Wealth Paradox

For the first time in a week, the daily number of new global confirmed COVID-19 deaths has dropped—from 1,690 to 1,660. That’s a small drop, but it’s important.

Jonathan Kay

23 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

'Against Democracy'—A Review

Against Democracy is an interesting and engaging read.

Adam Wakeling

22 Mar 2020 · 15 min read

That Elusive Feeling We Call Love

Love is irrational, intense and all-consuming—and we dream of being loved in return.

Elena Shalneva

22 Mar 2020 · 17 min read

COVID-19 Science Update for March 21st: What Is Germany Doing Right?

There are reports of ventilator shortages, and the possibility of an Italian-style horror show, with doctors deciding whose parents live and whose parents die, seems real.

Jonathan Kay

22 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

Bernie Sanders and the ‘Revolutionary’ Whitewashing of Communist Tyranny

But Sanders’ position is exceptional in that it flies in the face of both mainstream Democrats and Republicans, including even fellow progressive leftist Elizabeth Warren.

Tony Frangie Mawad

21 Mar 2020 · 10 min read

How Iran’s Dictators Laid the Foundation for the Country's Coronavirus Crisis

While the disease itself is, of course, an apolitical phenomenon, Iran’s repressive, theocratic political system has played a role in the especially high toll that coronavirus is taking on the Iranian people.

Shay Khatiri

21 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

As Brazil Confronts Coronavirus, Bolsonaro and His Supporters Peddle Fake News

When thousands of people took to the streets anyway, the president himself shared videos of the demonstrations, even though he’d recommended their suspension.

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

20 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

Is the New York Times Bad For Democracy?

If the Times is implicated in the declining health of smaller news organizations, then it’s not serving the values of democracy as well as it righteously claims.

Chang Che

20 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

Winning the War on Coronavirus

The governments of the US, UK, and other nations have made real progress, but they must go much further in being transparent about their vision of how to win the war on coronavirus, and what they are doing to achieve it.

Michael Shellenberger

19 Mar 2020 · 9 min read

The Complicated Science of a Medically Assisted Death

Physicians started to prepare families for the possibility of a delayed death.

Anita Hannig

18 Mar 2020 · 12 min read

A Librarian’s Timeless Mission: Supporting Social Justice Through Freedom of Speech

Believing in freedom of speech means believing in freedom of expression for all. The late Elliot L. Shelkrot, long-time head of the Philadelphia Public Library, once said that democracy depends on an informed population.

Quillette

17 Mar 2020 · 8 min read

The Misleading Racial Achievement Gap Statistic

As it turns out, focusing too heavily on closing the racial achievement gap to the exclusion of other priorities can be counterproductive to a school system’s mission and purpose, which is to educate all its students.

Kenny Xu

17 Mar 2020 · 6 min read

Francis Bacon’s Very, Very Ordered Chaos

Dyer hated the way Bacon painted him and watched with incredulity as rich collectors bought one huge, violently distorted portrait after another.

Devon Britt-Darby

16 Mar 2020 · 8 min read

The Boy Scouts' Bankruptcy, and the Scourge of Childhood Sex Abuse

During my many years as an academic, roughly half my time was devoted to research and clinical work with convicted sex offenders, many of whom had sexually abused children. The experience was harrowing. And my decision to eventually shift research areas accompanied the realization that I had numbed myself emotionally

Debra Soh

13 Mar 2020 · 5 min read