Breaking News
society
Stop helicoptering other people's kids
How old do you need to be to see a movie alone in New York City? I recently found out. My daughter had been asking for permission to go to...
UCLA receives $20 million donation to find 'antidote' to unkind modern world
The world needs more kindness, especially now, and researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles are going to investigate how to bring out more of it.
Social services used to build character — now they blame society
In the mid-19th century, Charles Loring Brace, the son of a Connecticut school teacher, moved to New York, determined to do something about the wave of children he saw living...
The tragic — and overlooked — fallout from the ’60s sexual revolution
Declining life expectancy, mass shootings, alarming rates of mental illness, rising white nationalism, the opioid crisis: By many measures, our society is in trouble, and we are ignoring a root...
Fashion-loving fake heiress gets 4-12 years for high-society scam
She won’t be wearing designer labels for a while. Fake heiress Anna Sorokin, who scammed her way into New York society, was sentenced Thursday to four to 12 years in...
The decline of sex is the end of civilization
Americans are in a prolonged sexual dry spell, and that could have long-range repercussions. This should be a golden age for sex — if not the swinging-from-the-chandelier kind, then at...
Give thanks: The world has actually gotten a lot better
"It was the worst of times." The words are Charles Dickens’, from the opening paragraph of a novel set in the 1790s, but the sentiment is familiar today. Americans are...
This new bank will do your chores for free
We all know the saying “time is money.” In some American communities, time literally does have a value. About 200 communities around the United States participate in “time banking,” a...
9 charts that prove there's never been a better time to be alive
Guys, it’s really not that bad. In fact, it’s the best it’s ever been. That’s Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker’s argument in his new book “Enlightenment Now” (Viking). We may be...
It's not anti-feminist to want to look good
Several times a year, usually after a particularly good run of parties, dinners and travel, I look down at the number on the scale and realize it’s about five pounds...
These suits are made out of sweat pants, and fashion has finally been perfected
While they're super comfortable, the one downside to sweat pants is that they don't look classy. That is, until now, because "sweats suits" have debuted, and they're as dapper as...
Driverless cars and America's anti-social future
There aren’t many places to mingle these days. Sure, there are shared spaces: parks, coffee shops, crammed subways and sidewalks. But it’s the rare place that lends itself to promoting...
Have we been telling time wrong?
It’s 10 o’clock in Brooklyn. But what time is it in Queens? The question may seem ridiculous, but according to this new book by British historian Greg Jenner about the...
Why preaching 'girl power' is destined to backfire
My kids and I were singing along, loudly, to “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyonce, as you do, when my 3-year-old son asked, “Can we listen to ‘Run the World...
Sleep-deprived teens are a real danger to society
Teens who don’t get enough sleep may be putting their lives at risk. Most American teens don’t get enough sleep — defined as eight hours or more — on an...
How Batman evolves along with America's fears
Batman used to carry a gun. It’s true. Back in the 1930s, not only did he carry a gun, but he killed bad guys with it. The very first official...