“You say I’m ancient? I say I’m wise,” President Biden told reporters at a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Since his most recent fall, many wonder if he has the physical capacity to maintain the role of America’s leader — And at the Air Force Academy a few days ago, Biden joked that “when I was graduating from high school 300 years ago, I applied to the Naval Academy.” After tripping on the sandbag, he sought to laugh that off too. “I got sandbagged,” he said. — The New York…

The debt ceiling is an issue that resurfaces in American politics time and again, often leading to intense debate and sometimes, governmental gridlock — This recurrent issue raises pertinent questions, such as: why does the debt ceiling hold us hostage, and is there a better way? Although the recent vote by Congress appears to have waylaid the budget crisis (overwhelmingly, in fact: 314–117 in favor of raising the debt limit), at least temporarily until…

The pen is mightier than the brush — In February 2023, The Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam, opened the ‘biggest Vermeer exhibition ever’, selling nearly half a million tickets. The initial offering sold out in just a few days. In 2015, on my last visit to the museum I was struck by the crowds jostling before the painting of ‘The…

The “hikikomori” problem explained — There is absolutely nothing that made me feel like I was going crazy than staying at home all day, not going outside, watching TV or playing video games, and not socializing or talking to any friends. I’m glad to have left my childhood home and now be in a continual…

In 1375, celebrated Jewish mapmaker Elisha ben Abraham Creques created a mapped visualization of what he perceived as the known world. “Measuring nearly ten feet in width and spread across six parchments,” this beautifully detailed map depicted rulers, prophets, and foreign lands; however, at the map’s center was the illustration…

On May 26th, people around the world come together to celebrate Sally Ride Day Today, we celebrate and honor the life and achievements of Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman astronaut to travel to space. This special day serves as a reminder of her groundbreaking accomplishments, her contributions to…

Part I: The Rise and Fall of the Kidarites — In the middle of the 4th century CE, a tempestuous storm erupted across the vast Eurasian Steppes, shattering the tranquility of ancient civilizations. Like ghosts, ruthless warriors came from endless pastures and wreaked havoc on the proud empires of India and Persia. They were the White Huns, a haunting enigma…

Navigating Virtue, Happiness, and Balance in Modern America — To banish fear, corruption, and injustice in our government, we must invoke the founding ideas and virtues that got us this far. Three months before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, John Adams, the founding father who would become the second United States President, outlined his views on government…

People realized an above-ground transportation system could not handle calamitous natural disasters — “It was as if New York had been a burning candle upon which nature had clapped a snuffer, leaving nothing of the city’s activity but a struggling ember.” — The Sun, March 13, 1888. The subway today is the gold standard of public transportation for not only America but the…