Brave New World, Black Mirror, and the Comfortable Cage
Huxley's soma and Black Mirror's Nosedive both describe a prison you volunteer for: comfortable, entertaining, and never once felt as captivity.
Books & Ideas
George Orwell and the Guilt That Shaped His Writing
Before writing 1984, George Orwell shot an elephant he didn't want to kill just to look strong. How that guilt shaped his…
The Odyssey: The Real Story Behind Nolan’s New Film
Before Nolan's new film, revisit the original Odyssey: Odysseus's ten-year war, twenty-year journey home, and the myth that still shapes how we…
Lady Macbeth and the Psychology of Suppressed Guilt
Lady Macbeth is usually read as simply evil. Shakespeare's play is really a case study in ambition, suppressed empathy, and what guilt…
What Robert Greene’s Mastery Gets Right About Genius
Talent doesn't arrive finished. Robert Greene's Mastery and the life of Leonardo da Vinci show why the gap between taste and skill…