Popular culture drums into us the theme that each person’s nature is different. So far, we are oddly selective. For example, the idea of a promiscuous nature is greeted much more warmly than the idea ...

“What are you being so mean for, miss?” asks Humphrey Bogart’s character in “The African Queen.” “A man takes a drop too much once in a while, it’s only human nature.” Katharine Hepburn’s character ...

The Origins of Politics: How Evolution and Ideology Shape the Fate of Nations, by Nicholas Wade (HarperCollins, 256 pp., $32.00) No matter how he lands on one’s radar, Wade is worth reading. His ...

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. If you want to know a political leader’s governing philosophy, you could cut through a lot of bluster by just ...

American children are taught that democracy is the best form of government. I remember teachers saying that popularly elected governments are the “natural” endpoint of all societies. But is this true?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana University's slogan is "Never Daunted." It's in the school's fight song and is printed on T-shirts sold across campus. But Indiana senior linebacker Aiden Fisher admitted ...