The media must stop underestimating the severity of this illness — I can still remember the incredulous expression on my mother’s face as I tried to walk her through all the different precautions I knew she would have to take to protect herself from the coronavirus. “Don’t go anywhere you don’t need to go,” I told her. “And when you do…

Is it really so bad to grow old? — What is the value of a consoling arm around your shoulders as you let out a good cry? Or the attentive gaze of a friendly coworker listening to you vent about your overbearing boss? Or the well-timed joke meant to momentarily distract you from the mountain of bills sitting on…

WARNING: This piece contains LOTS OF BIG SPOILERS from the new Joker movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop right here and do not go any further— unless of course you’re not planning to ever see the movie, in which case, please continue on! I’ve been battling a severe…

Your brain is a truly wondrous creation, a magnificent machine composed of soft tissue, nerve cells, and blood vessels working in harmony to produce a unique, intelligent, and sentient human being. Like every other machine, however, the brain is vulnerable to malfunctions, producing errors in the cognitive processes that influence…

I sympathize with you. I really, truly do. When I turned 18, I registered as an independent and never looked back. Like you, I wasn’t terribly fond of either party. And honestly, I don’t feel that much differently today than I did back then. I have always disliked the Republican…

After today’s Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, American women no longer have a constitutional right to an abortion. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Congress could seek to codify the right to an abortion, but they won’t. Democrats simply don’t have the numbers…

Then, finally, came the diagnosis. I had obsessive-compulsive disorder. — I thought it was just a quirk, and nothing more. I thought I was just an odd little kid with an odd little habit. But in hindsight, the severity of it was a pretty big clue that something was terribly wrong. My mind wasn’t functioning as it ought to be. …

If you’re a regular consumer of foreign media, you already know that American entertainment is infinitely more violent than the movies, music, books, and video games produced in many other cultures. Thankfully, however, most Americans don’t act that violence out in real life. But what about the ones who do…

You walk into a bakery, and in the front display case you see a piping hot batch of chocolate chip cookies. But just as you whip out your wallet to purchase a few, the shop’s owner emerges from the kitchen with a fresh plate of peanut butter cookies and places…