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Opinion
On the Verge of De-Extinction
Coming soon to an ecosystem near you: cloned mammoths, dodoes, and other long-dead beasts. Or semi-cloned, anyway. Scott McLemee learns the difference.
Opinion
Post-Post-Racial America?
Does the arc of the universe bend toward justice? Scott McLemee looks into a philosopher's book on racial profiling and police homicide.
Opinion
Sense and Sensibility
Historians are recovering the sounds, smells and other sensory details of the past. Scott McLemee checks the record.
Opinion
Patience and Fortitude
Three years ago, the New York Public Library almost succumbed to a dubious renovation plan. Scott McLemee reports on a book about what happened next.
Opinion
Firing Line
"What is it with Americans and guns?" the world asks. Scott McLemee looks for interpretations of free-range mayhem in the U.S.A.
Opinion
Transcendental Medication
A historian of journalism's new book takes us back to the psychedelic… 1950s? Scott McLemee goes along for the trip.
Opinion
Thenceforward and Forever Free
It's the most important American political document scarcely anyone remembers a word of. Scott McLemee reports on a new book putting the Emancipation Proclamation in context.
Opinion
The Archive Is Closed
Social-media researchers have more than enough material for their research -- and that's getting to be a problem. Scott McLemee makes some inquiries.