The All Too Human Behavioral Geneticists

A review of Aaron Panofsky’s Misbehaving Science: Controversy and the Development of Behavior Genetics

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a social theorist of our generation, possessed of rich data and much sociological insight, must be in want of Bourdieu. In what follows, I will try to explicate why I think the ironic meaning of this statement is as true as its literal ...
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The All Too Human Behavioral Geneticists

Can Behavior Genetics Free Itself From Racial Supremacy?

An excerpt from “Misbehaving Science”

Behavior genetics has always been a breeding ground for controversies. From the “criminal chromosome” to the “gay gene,” claims about the influence of genes like these have led to often vitriolic national debates about race, class, and inequality. In Misbehaving Science, Aaron Panofsky traces the field of behavior genetics back to its ...
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Can Behavior Genetics Free Itself From Racial Supremacy?

Statues for Predators

Poland struggles with the entanglements of the Catholic Church and Solidarity

Less than two years ago, the Charlottesville alt-right march and various other white nationalist rallies threw into renewed spotlight the racist aspects of the politics of commemoration in the United States. Communities across the country, from Baltimore to New Orleans, began to assess more openly and more critically the value ...
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Statues for Predators

“Finding Neverland,” Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church and LGBTQ Christians

Past Present Episode 170

In this episode, Niki, Natalia, and Neil discuss “Leaving Neverland,” a new documentary about Michael Jackson’s alleged child abuse, the legacy of late “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church’s decision to tighten its restrictions on same-sex marriage and gay clergy. Here are some links and references ...
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“Finding Neverland,” Luke Perry, and the United Methodist Church and LGBTQ Christians

What To Do About Racial Supremacy in Behavior Genetics?

An interview with Aaron Panofsky

Behavior genetics has always been a breeding ground for controversies. From the “criminal chromosome” to the “gay gene,” claims about the influence of genes like these have led to often vitriolic national debates about race, class, and inequality. In Misbehaving Science, Aaron Panofsky traces the field of behavior genetics back to its ...
Read More
What To Do About Racial Supremacy in Behavior Genetics?

We Must Stop Using Hyperbole that Foments Needless Anger and Division Among Progressives

Defeating Trump Politically Part 7

The tag line on Facebook poses the question: “Is Diane Feinstein a Bigger Climate Threat Than Trump?” The headline of the actual article in The New Republic is less curious: “Diane Feinstein is a Bigger Climate Threat Than Trump.” The actual article, and the author who wrote it, is done a great injustice ...
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We Must Stop Using Hyperbole that Foments Needless Anger and Division Among Progressives

Dear Rep. Omar: Can We Talk About Anti-Semitism?

Her words enter a public sphere that is already populated with ideas and agendas and history

Over the past two weeks my newsfeed has been taken over by Ilhan Omar stories. And just as it has divided the left of the political spectrum, it has also divided my carefully curated cohort of lefty friends. But something about the back and forth has felt very off to ...
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Dear Rep. Omar: Can We Talk About Anti-Semitism?

The Existential Status of The Simpsons

Pondering the Homeric Dasein of Springfield

One of the ongoing jokes on The Simpsons -- which is currently celebrating 30 years on air, as the longest-running primetime scripted series on U.S. television -- is that the viewer is consistently denied knowledge of which state Springfield is located in. In a recent interview with podcaster Marc Maron, Krusty the Klown ...
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The Existential Status of The Simpsons

Too Good to Be True

Lessons Learned from Hudson Yards

Amazon bailed on its HQ2 plans in Long Island City when residents started questioning the project’s billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. Unfortunately, we didn’t ask the same questions concerning Hudson Yards, now set for a March 15 “grand opening.” Why? Probably because we were told the project wouldn’t cost ...
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Too Good to Be True

Comforting Lies or Unpleasant Truths?

The job of a historian

After 25 years, I am still hearing the same objections to my historical work and the same dismissive attitude because of who I am, i.e. a woman and a foreigner. And yet, very few people seem to know what history is really about. Here are ten of the misconceptions that ...
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Comforting Lies or Unpleasant Truths?