Category Archives: Uncategorized

By some accounts (see, for example, this one), the modern-day origins of Saint Valentine’s Day go back to the 14th Century, and according to this report in The Scotsman, this amorous occasion was celebrated in Scotland as far back as … Continue reading →

Down below, on sidewalks, in fallen leaves, and across the forest floor, a covert invasion is taking place. Ant colonies, revered and studied for their complex collective behaviors, are being infiltrated by tiny organisms called myrmecophiles. Using incredibly sophisticated tactics, … Continue reading →

This weekend, I showcased two new books authored or edited by faculty at my home institution: Ty Matejowsky’s Smothered and Covered: Waffle House and the Southern Imaginary (University of Alabama Press, 2022; see here) and David Head and Timothy Hemmis’s … Continue reading →

I hate to be that guy, but why do celebrities who fly on private jets like to lecture us little people about climate change? Exhibit A: Taylor Swift, who has called climate change one of the most “horrific situations that … Continue reading →

Mark my words, very few people will remember this — not even the ads! — two years from now. I’m with these guys: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/10/584757764/there-is-a-competition-to-avoid-learning-who-won-the-super-bowl-for-some-reason

Alternate title: Dierdre McCloskey’s list of 108 fictional market failures Are “market failures” real? Or are they make-believe entities (like the aether in physics) invented by economists to justify their preferred public policies and all manner of nefarious and ultimately … Continue reading →

What a glorious time to be alive! Another book that caught my attention during the “Faculty Authors’ Celebration” at my home institution last week was A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation, … Continue reading →

Earlier this week, my home institution, the University of Central Florida (UCF), hosted its fourth biennial “Faculty Authors’ Celebration” to honor professors who have published literary works in the previous two years, and among my favorite works to be showcased … Continue reading →

“Adam Smith wrote and lectured on a wide variety of topics during his lifetime—astronomy, jurisprudence, moral philosophy, the origins of languages, and, of course, political economy, just to name a few—but what does Smith have to say, if anything, about … Continue reading →