Headlines

How Human Civilization Began

In a recent video , Kurzgesagt explores what we know about the first human civilizations that formed some 12,000 years ago and how they led to the first cities and the invention of writing. What we know about human history is only a fraction of the full story. Much of the rest

10 Years of Kottke.org Membership

An important KDO milestone whooshed by the other day and I was so heads-down on tuning up the new search engine (more on that below) that I missed it. So: it’s been 10 years since I started the KDO membership program ! (Quick recap of the value proposition from the membership

Film Meets Art

Vugar Efendi has made a pair of videos showing scenes from films that have been inspired by famous paintings. The second video is especially good, showing references in There Will Be Blood, Lost In Translation, and a Jacques-Louis David reference from About Schmidt. [This is a

Believing and thinking

The separation of church and state has an unspoken psychological basis: we choose what we believe, but not what we think - by Neil Van Leeuwen & Jacob Eisler Read on Aeon

The emotions of voting

Futility: It might feel like it doesn’t matter.Fear: Of choosing wrong, or doing it wrong.Responsibility: It isn’t given, it’s taken. Which is why so many leave it on the table.Possibility: Showing up to have your say could change things for the better.Identity: This is what

Have I Befriended a Murderer?

For five years, I’ve investigated a man convicted of bludgeoning his wife to death. Somewhere along the way, the line between journalism and friendship blurred.