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NOW Toronto looks at the Pickering nuclear plant and its role in providing fuel for space travel.

In some places like California, traffic is so bad that airlines actually play a role for high-end commuters. CBC reports.

Goldfish released into the wild are a major issue for the environment in Québec, too. CTV News reports.

China's investments in Jamaica have good sides and bad sides. CBC reports.

A potato museum in Peru might help solve world hunger. The Guardian reports.

Is the Alberta-Saskatchewan alliance going to be a lasting one? Maclean's considers.

Is the fossil fuel industry collapsing? The Tyee makes the case.

Should Japan and Europe co-finance a EUrasia trade initiative to rival China's? Bloomberg argues.

Should websites receive protection as historically significant? VICE reports.

Food tourism in the Maritimes is a very good idea. Global News reports.

Atlantic Canada lobster exports to China thrive as New England gets hit by the trade war. CBC reports.

The Bloc Québécois experienced its revival by drawing on the same demographics as the provincial CAQ. Maclean's reports.

Population density is a factor that, in Canada, determines political issues, splitting urban and rural voters. The National Observer observes.

US border policies aimed against migration from Mexico have been harming businesses on the border with Canada. The National Post reports.

The warming of the ocean is changing the relationship of coastal communities with their seas. The Conversation looks.

Archival research in the digital age differs from what occurred in previous eras. The Conversation explains.

The Persian-language Wikipedia is an actively contested space. Open Democracy reports.

Vox notes how the US labour shortage has been driven partly by workers quitting the labour force, here.

Laurie Penny at WIRED has a stirring essay about hope, about the belief in some sort of future.

Anthropology.net notes a remarkably thorough genetic analysis of a piece of chewing gum 5700 years old that reveals volumes of data about the girl who chew it.

'Nathan Burgoine at Apostrophen writes an amazing review of Cats that actually does make me want to see it.

Bad Astronomy reports on galaxy NGC 6240, a galaxy produced by a collision with three supermassive black holes.

Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog writes about the mechanics of journalism.

Centauri Dreams argues that the question of whether humans will walk on exoplanets is ultimately distracting to the study of these worlds.

Crooked Timber shares a Sunday morning photo of Bristol.

The Dragon's Tales notes that India has a launch date of December 2021 for its first mission in its Gaganyaan crewed space program.

Andrew LePage at Drew Ex Machina looks at the Saturn C-1 rocket.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog considers if the vogue for minimalism meets the criteria to be considered a social movement.

Far Outliers ?notes how, in the War of 1812, some in New England considered the possibility of seceding from the Union.

Gizmodo looks at evidence of the last populations known of Homo erectus, on Java just over a hundred thousand years ago.

Mark Graham links to a new paper co-authored by him looking at how African workers deal with the gig economy.

io9 announces that the Michael Chabon novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, is set to become a television series.

Joe. My. God. shares a report that Putin gave Trump anti-Ukrainian conspiracy theories.

JSTOR Daily considers what a world with an economy no longer structured around oil could look like.

Language Hat takes issue with the latest talk of the Icelandic language facing extinction.

Language Log shares a multilingual sign photographed in Philadelphia's Chinatown.

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the document release revealing the futility of the war in Afghanistan.

The LRB Blog looks at class identity and mass movements and social democracy.

Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution suggests that, even if the economy of China is larger than the United States, Chinese per capita poverty means China does not have the leading economy.

Diane Duane at Out of Ambit writes about how she is writing a gay sex scene.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections reflects on "OK Boomer".

Roads and Kingdoms interviews Mexican chef Ruffo Ibarra.

Peter Rukavina shares his list of levees for New Year's Day 2020 on PEI.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a map indicating fertility rates in the different regions of the European Union.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains how quantum physics are responsible for vast cosmic structures.

Charles Soule at Whatever explains his reasoning behind his new body-swap novel.

Window on Eurasia notes how the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Paris show the lack of meaningful pro-Russian sentiment there.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell talks about his lessons from working in the recent British election.

Arnold Zwicky looks at a syncretic, Jewish-Jedi, holiday poster.

Charlie Stross at Antipope shares an essay he recently presented on artificial intelligence and its challenges for us.

P. Kerim Friedman writes at {anthro}dendum about the birth of the tea ceremony in the Taiwan of the 1970s.

Anthropology net reports on a cave painting nearly 44 thousand years old in Indonesia depicting a hunting story.

Architectuul looks at some temporary community gardens in London.

Bad Astronomy reports on the weird history of asteroid Ryugu.

The Buzz talks about the most popular titles borrowed from the Toronto Public Library in 2019.

Caitlin Kelly talks at the Broadside Blog about her particular love of radio.

Centauri Dreams talks about the role of amateur astronomers in searching for exoplanets, starting with LHS 1140 b.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber looks at what is behind the rhetoric of "virtue signalling".

Dangerous Minds shares concert performance from Nirvana filmed the night before the release of Nevermind.

Bruce Dorminey notes new evidence that, even before the Chixculub impact, the late Cretaceous Earth was staggering under environmental pressures.

Myron Strong at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about how people of African descent in the US deal with the legacies of slavery in higher education.

Far Outliers reports on the plans in 1945 for an invasion of Japan by the US.

L.M. Sacasas at The Frailest Thing gathers together a collection of the author's best writings there.

Gizmodo notes the immensity of the supermassive black hole, some 40 billion solar masses, at the heart of galaxy Holm 15A 700 million light-years away.

Russell Arben Fox at In Media Res writes about the issue of how Wichita is to organize its civic politics.

io9 argues that the 2010s were a decade where the culture of the spoiler became key.

The Island Review points readers to the podcast Mother's Blood, Sister's Songs, an exploration of the links between Ireland and Iceland.

Joe. My. God. reports on the claim of the lawyer of the killer of a mob boss that the QAnon conspiracy inspired his actions. This strikes me as terribly dangerous.

JSTOR Daily looks at a study examining scholarly retractions.

Language Hat shares an amusing cartoon illustrating the relationships of the dialects of Arabic.

Language Log lists ten top new words in the Japanese language.

Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the dissipation of American diplomacy by Trump.

The LRB Blog looks at the many problems in Sparta, Greece, with accommodating refugees, for everyone concerned.

Marginal Revolution links to a paper suggesting the decline of the one-child policy in China has diminished child trafficking, among other crimes.

Sean Marshall, looking at transit in Brampton, argues that transit users need more protection from road traffic.

Russell Darnley shares excerpts from essays he wrote about the involvement of Australia in the Vietnam War.

Peter Watts talks about his recent visit to a con in Sofia, Bulgaria, and about the apocalypse, here.

The NYR Daily looks at the corporatization of the funeral industry, here.

Diane Duane writes, from her own personal history with Star Trek, about how one can be a writer who ends up writing for a media franchise.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections considers the job of tasting, and rating, different cuts of lamb.

The Planetary Society Blog looks at a nondescript observatory in the Mojave desert of California that maps the asteroids of the solar system.

Roads and Kingdoms interviews Eduardo Chavarin about, among other things, Tijuana.

Drew Rowsome loves the SpongeBob musical.

Peter Rukavina announces that Charlottetown has its first public fast charger for electric vehicles.

The Russian Demographics Blog considers the impact of space medicine, here.

The Signal reports on how the Library of Congress is making its internet archives more readily available, here.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel considers how the incredibly isolated galaxy MCG+01-02-015 will decay almost to nothing over almost uncountable eons.

Strange Company reports on the trial and execution of Christopher Slaughterford for murder. Was there even a crime?

Strange Maps shares a Coudenhove-Kalergi map imagining the division of the world into five superstates.

Understanding Society considers entertainment as a valuable thing, here.

Denis Colombi at Une heure de peine announces his new book, Où va l'argent des pauvres?

John Scalzi at Whatever looks at how some mailed bread triggered a security alert, here.

Window on Eurasia reports on the massive amount of remittances sent to Tajikistan by migrant workers, here.

Arnold Zwicky notes a bizarre no-penguins sign for sale on Amazon.

The town of Innisfil is looking forward to some very futuristic developments. Global News reports.

Jeremy Deaton at CityLab reports on how, buffered by the Great Lakes, Buffalo NY may end gaining from climate change.

The Ottawa chain Bridgehead Coffee has been sold to national chain Second Cup. Global News reports.

Many of the more eye-raising installations in the Gay Village of Montréal have since been removed. CTV News reports.

Warming huts for homeless people in Winnipeg were torn down because the builders did not follow procedures. Global News reports.

Open Democracy looks at innovative new public governance of the city budget in Amsterdam, here.

Singapore, located in a well-positioned Southeast Asia and with working government, may take over from Hong Kong. Bloomberg View makes the case.

Architectuul looks at the Portuguese architectural cooperative Ateliermob, here.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait looks at how white dwarf WD J091405.30+191412.25 is literally vapourizing a planet in close orbit.

Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog explains
Centauri Dreams looks at the slowing of the solar wind far from the Sun.

John Holbo at Crooked Timber considers the gap between ideals and actuals in the context of conspiracies and politics.

The Dragon's Tales reports on how the ESA is trying to solve a problem with the parachutes of the ExoMars probe.

Far Outliers reports on what Harry Truman thought about politicians.

Gizmodo reports on a new method for identifying potential Earth-like worlds.

io9 pays tribute to legendary writer, of Star Trek and much else, D.C. Fontana.

The Island Review reports on the football team of the Chagos Islands.

Joe. My. God. reports that gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy will compete for the United Kingdom in 2020.

JSTOR Daily looks at how early English imperialists saw America and empire through the lens of Ireland.

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money does not like Pete Buttigieg.

The LRB Blog looks at the London Bridge terrorist attack.

The Map Room Blog shares a map of Prince William Sound, in Alaska, that is already out of date because of global warming.

Marginal Revolution questions if Cuba, in the Philippines, is the most typical city in the world.

The NYR Daily looks at gun violence among Arab Israelis.

The Planetary Society Blog considers what needs to be researched next on Mars.

Roads and Kingdoms tells the story of Sister Gracy, a Salesian nun at work in South Sudan.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper noting continued population growth expected in much of Europe, and the impact of this growth on the environment.

Strange Maps shares a map of fried chicken restaurants in London.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why a 70 solar mass black hole is not unexpected.

John Scalzi at Whatever gives his further thoughts on the Pixel 4.

Window on Eurasia notes that, last year, 37 thousand Russians died of HIV/AIDS.

Arnold Zwicky starts from a consideration of the 1948 film Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Bad Astronomer considers how a stellar-mass black hole of 70 solar masses got so unaccountably huge.

Alex Tolley at Centauri Dreams considers the colours of photosynthesis, and how they might reveal the existence of life on exoplanets.

The Dragon's Tales shares some links on humans in the Paleolithic.

Jonathan Wynn at the Everyday Sociology Blog considers the scripts of jokes.

Gizmodo reports on the repurposed China-Netherlands radio telescope operating from an orbit above the far side of the Moon.

JSTOR Daily considers the political rhetoric of declinism.

Language Log considers the controversy over the future of the apostrophe.

James Butler at the LRB Blog notes a YouGov prediction of a Conservative majority in the UK and how this prediction is not value-neutral.

Marginal Revolution shares a paper from India noting how caste identities do affect the labour supply.

Ursula Lindsay at the NYR Daily considers if the political crisis in Lebanon, a product of economic pressures and sectarianism, might lead to a revolutionary transformation of the country away from sectarian politics.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections looks at some of the many complicated and intermingled issues of contemporary Australia.

The Planetary Society Blog reports on the latest projects funded by the ESA.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel shares ten beautiful photos taken in 2019 by the Hubble.

Strange Company reports on the strange unsolved disappearance of Lillian Richey from her Idaho home in 1964.

Window on Eurasia shares a Russian criticism of the Ukrainian autocephalous church as a sort of papal Protestantism.

Arnold Zwicky considers the positive potential of homoeros.

CBC reports on suggestions that Kingston should plan for a population expected to grow significantly in coming decades, to not just expand but to have intensified development downtown.

The rental housing market for Kingston is very tight, not only because of large student populations. Global News reports.

Kingstonist reports on Queen's plans to build a large new student residence on Albert Street, here.

The Whig-Standard carries an account of the new Queen's principal being interrogated by Kingston city council over issues of friction between school and city, including costs for policing (and not only at Homecoming weekend).

This summer, farmers in the Kingston area saw poor crop production as a consequence of the weather. Global News reports.

Happily, the budget of the city of Kingston was made to accommodate costs for Murney, the police force's horse. Global News reports.

Weston Food's plant in Kingston has seen forty jobs cut. Global News reports.

Lake Ontario Park, in the west of the city, may be reopened to limited camping. The Whig-Standard reports.

Kingston hockey player Rebecca Thompson is now playing for the team of Queen's. Global News reports.

Queen's University is not alone in urging its exchange students in Hong Kong to evacuate. The Whig-Standard reports.

Yesterday, a plane crashed in the west of Kingston, killing all seven people aboard. CBC reports.

Chris Morris at Kingstonist has a long feature examining the Kingston Street Mission, interviewing outreach worker Marilyn McLean about her work with the homeless of the city.

Kingston-born street nurse Cathy Crowe talks about homelessness, in Kingston and across Canada. Global News reports.

The family of Royal Military College cadet Joe Grozelle, who disappeared from his campus and was later found dead two decades ago, wants his fate reinvestigated. Global News reports.

A hundred students at a Kingston public school are being taught how to skate, part of a pilot program. Global News reports.

Bad Astronomy notes the very odd structure of galaxy NGC 2775.

Dangerous Minds reports on the 1987 riot by punks that wrecked a Seattle ferry.

Bruce Dorminey reports on a new suggestion from NASA that the massive dust towers of Mars have helped dry out that world over eons.

The Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how changing technologies have led to younger people spending more social capital on maintaining relationships with friends over family.

This forum hosted at Gizmodo considers the likely future causes of death of people in coming decades.

In Media Res' Russell Arben Fox reports on the debate in Wichita on what to do with the Century II performance space.

Joe. My. God. reports on the decision of Hungary to drop out of Eurovision, apparently because of its leaders' homophobia.

JSTOR Daily reports on the debunking of the odd theory that the animals and people of the Americas were degenerate dwarfs.

Language Hat reports on how the classics can be served by different sorts of translation.

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers how Trump's liberation of war criminals relates to folk theories about just wars.

The LRB Blog reports from the ground in the Scotland riding of East Dunbartonshire.

Marginal Revolution shares a paper suggesting that, contrary to much opinion, social media might actually hinder the spread of right-wing populism.

The NYR Daily looks at the nature of the proxy fighters in Syria of Turkey. Who are they?

Drew Rowsome interviews Sensational Sugarbum, star of--among other things--the latest Ross Petty holiday farce.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why we still need to be able to conduct astronomy from the Earth.

Strange Maps explains the odd division of Europe between east and west, as defined by different subspecies of mice.

Window on Eurasia notes how Chinese apparently group Uighurs in together with other Central Asians of similar language and religion.

Arnold Zwicky explores the concept of onomatomania.

(A day late, I know; I crashed after work yesterday.)

Antipope's Charlie Stross has a thought experiment: If you were superwealthy and guaranteed to live a long health life, how would you try to deal with the consequence of economic inequality?

Vikas Charma at Architectuul takes a look at the different factors that go into height in buildings.

Bad Astronomy notes S5-HVS1, a star flung out of the Milky Way Galaxy by Sagittarius A* at 1755 kilometres per second.

The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly shares photos from two Manhattan walks of hers, taken in non-famous areas.

Centauri Dreams looks at habitability for red dwarf exoplanets. Stellar activity matters.

Maria Farrell at Crooked Timber shares words from a manifesto about data protection in the EU.

Dangerous Minds shares photos from Los Angeles punks and mods and others in the 1980s.

Bruce Dorminey notes a ESA report suggesting crew hibernation could make trips to Mars easier.

Gizmodo notes that the Hayabusa2 probe of Japan is returning from asteroid Ryugu with a sample.

Imageo shares photos of the disastrous fires in Australia from space.

Information is Beautiful reports on winners of the Information is Beautiful Awards for 2019, for good infographics.

JSTOR Daily explains how local television stations made the ironic viewing of bad movies a thing.

Kotaku reports on the last days of Kawasaki Warehouse, an arcade in Japan patterned on the demolished Walled City of Kowloon.

Language Hat notes how translation mistakes led to the star Beta Cygni gaining the Arabic name Albireo.

Language Log reports on a unique Cantonese name of a restaurant in Hong Kong.

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Guns and Money links to an analysis of his suggesting the military of India is increasingly hard-pressed to counterbalance China.

The LRB Blog notes the catastrophe of Venice.

Marginal Revolution notes a paper suggesting states would do well not to place their capitals too far away from major population centres.

Justin Petrone at North! remarks on a set of old apple preserves.

The NYR Daily looks at how the west and the east of the European Union are divided by different conceptions of national identity.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections reports from his town of Armidale as the smoke from the Australian wildfires surrounds all. The photos are shocking.

Emily Lakdawalla at the Planetary Society Blog lists some books about space suitable for children.

Drew Rowsome reviews the Canadian film music stand, inspired by the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper noting that, in Switzerland, parenthood does not make people happy.

The Signal notes that 1.7 million phone book pages have been scanned into the records of the Library of Congress.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains the concept of multi-messenger astronomy and why it points the way forward for studies of astrophysics.

Strange Maps looks at how a majority of students in the United States attend diverse schools, and where.

Strange Company explores the mysterious death of Marc-Antoine Calas, whose death triggered the persecution of Huguenots and resulted in the mobilization of Enlightenment figures like Voltaire against the state. What happened?

Towleroad hosts a critical, perhaps disappointed, review of the major gay play The Inheritance.

Understanding Society's Daniel Little looks at the power of individual people in political hierarchies.

Window on Eurasia shares an opinion piece noting how many threats to the Russian language have come from its association with unpopular actions by Russia.

Arnold Zwicky explores queens as various as Elizabeth I and Adore Delano.

Anthrodendum features a guest post from editors introducing a series on fieldwork and trauma.

Crooked Timber's John Quiggin takes a stab at trying to define neoliberalism as an ideology, not just a catch-all phrase.

The Crux looks at desalination, a difficult process that we may need to use regardless of its difficulty.

D-Brief notes that narcissism is linked to lower levels of stress and depression.

Jezebel notes the return and legacy of Bratz dolls.

Joe. My. God. shares the Sam Smith cover of the Donna Summer classic "I Feel Love", along with other versions of that song.

JSTOR Daily considers if graphene will ever become commercially usable.

Dan Nexon at Lawyers, Guns and Money links to an analysis warning about commercial debt. Another 2008?

Marginal Revolution points to some papers suggesting that cannabis usage does not harm cognition, that the relationship is if anything reversed.

Daphne Merkin at the NYR Daily looks back at her literary life, noting people now gone.

Drew Rowsome reviews the new Daniel MacIvor play Let's Run Away.

The Volokh Conspiracy looks at how the Trump Administration lost two cases against sanctuary cities.

Window on Eurasia considers, briefly, the idea of Gorbachev giving to Germany Kaliningrad, last remnant of East Prussia.

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative looks at the rises in health spending directed towards young people. Is this a warning sign of poor health?

Arnold Zwicky looks at Gaysper, and then at other queer ghosts.

Bad Astronomy notes the mystery of distant active galaxy SDSS J163909+282447.1, with a supermassive black hole but few stars.

Centauri Dreams shares a proposal from Robert Buckalew for craft to engage in planned panspermia, seeding life across the galaxy.

The Crux looks at the theremin and the life of its creator, Leon Theremin.

D-Brief notes that termites cannibalize their dead, for the good of the community.

Dangerous Minds looks at William Burroughs' Blade Runner, an adaptation of a 1979 science fiction novel by Alan Nourse.

Bruce Dorminey notes a new study explaining how the Milky Way Galaxy, and the rest of the Local Group, was heavily influenced by its birth environment.

JSTOR Daily looks at why the Chernobyl control room is now open for tourists.

Dale Campos at Lawyers. Guns and Money looks at the effects of inequality on support for right-wing politics.

James Butler at the LRB Blog looks at the decay and transformation of British politics, with Keith Vaz and Brexit.

Marginal Revolution shares a paper explaining why queens are more warlike than kings.

Omar G. Encarnación at the NYR Daily looks at how Spain has made reparations to LGBTQ people for past homophobia. Why should the United States not do the same?

Corey S. Powell at Out There shares his interview with physicist Sean Carroll on the reality of the Many Worlds Theory. There may be endless copies of each of us out there. (Where?)

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel explains why 5G is almost certainly safe for humans.

Strange Company shares a newspaper clipping reporting on a haunting in Wales' Plas Mawr castle.

Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps looks at all the different names for Africa throughout the years.

The Volokh Conspiracy considers, in the case of the disposal of eastern Oklahoma, whether federal Indian law should be textualist. (They argue against.)

Window on Eurasia notes the interest of the government of Ukraine in supporting Ukrainians and other minorities in Russia.

Arnold Zwicky looks at syntax on signs for Sloppy Joe's.

Bad Astronomy looks at ALMA's observations of the birth of binary star system, here.

The Buzz, at the Toronto Public Library, announces the Governor-General's Literary Awards from 2019, here.

Centauri Dreams notes how we might be able to find a wormhole at the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Crux commemorates the enormously successful and long-lasting Voyager missions.

D-Brief notes a self-tending swarm search and rescue drones.

Bruce Dorminey notes how the first discoveries of exoplanets were a consequence of innovative technology and thinking.

Steve Attewell at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes that he is talking about the new idea in X-Men of a mutant nation-state over at Graphic Policy Radio.

The LRB Blog notes Manif pour Tous mobilizing against new human reproduction laws in France.

Marginal Revolution looks at how the drug war in Mexico has been getting worse.

Neuroskeptic considers: What traits would a human population adapted to contemporary environmental pressures exhibit?

The NYR Daily looks at a new exhibition of critical Internet-related art by Meriam Bennani.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at a remarkable double gravitational lens, and what it reveals about the universe.

Window on Eurasia notes that although half of working-age people in Uzbekistan have been educated in the Latin script, many remain fluent in Cyrillic.

Arnold Zwicky considers the many implications of fried pickles with ranch dressing.

Bad Astronomy notes a new detailed study suggesting that asteroid Hygeia is round. Does this mean it is a dwarf planet?

The Buzz notes that the Toronto Public Library has a free booklet on the birds of Toronto available at its branches.

Crooked Timber looks forward to a future, thanks to Trump, without the World Trade Organization.

D-Brief notes how the kelp forests off California were hurt by unseasonal heat and disease.

Bruce Dorminey notes an impending collision of supergalactic clusters.

Karen Sternheimer at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how judgement can complicate collective action.

Language Hat looks at the different definitions of the word "mobile".

https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=44807

Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money notes how, if anything, climate scientists make conservative claims about their predictions.

Marginal Revolution wonders if planned power outages are a good way to deal with the threat of wildfires in California.

The NYR Daily looks at the ethnic cleansing being enabled by Turkey in Kurdish Syria.

Corey S. Powell at Out There interviews archeologist Arthur Lin about his use of space-based technologies to discovery traces of the past.

The Power and the Money's Noel Maurer looks at the staggering inequality in Chile, driver of the recent protests.

At Roads and Kingdoms, Anthony Elghossain reports from the scene of the mass protests in Lebanon.

Drew Rowsome tells how his balcony garden fared this year.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel looks at stellar generations in the universe. (Our sun is a third-generation star.)

Strange Company looks at the murder of a girl five years old in Indiana in 1898. Was the neighbor boy twelve years old accused of the crime the culprit?

Denis Colombi at Une heure de peine takes a look at social mobility in France.

Understanding Society's Daniel Little considers economic historians and their study of capitalism.

Window on Eurasia looks at the pro-Russian policies of the Moldova enclave of Gagauzia, and draws recommendations for Ukraine re: the Donbas.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes how a photo of the Large Magellanic Cloud makes him recognize it as an irregular spiral, not a blob.

Centauri Dreams celebrates the life of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber takes issue with one particular claim about the benefits of war and empire.

The Crux looks at fatal familial insomnia, a genetic disease that kills through inflicting sleeplessness on its victims.

D-Brief looks at suggestions that magnetars are formed by the collisions of stars.

Dangerous Minds introduces readers to the fantasy art of Arthur Rackham.

Cody Delistraty considers some evidence suggesting that plants have a particular kind of intelligence.

The Dragon's Tales notes the expansion by Russia of its airbase in Hneymim, Syria.

Karen Sternheimer writes at the Everyday Sociology Blog about the critical and changing position of libraries as public spaces in our cities.

Gizmodo looks at one marvelous way scientists have found to cheat quantum mechanics.

Information is Beautiful outlines a sensible proposal to state to cultivate seaweed a as source of food and fuel.

io9 notes that, in the exciting new X-Men relaunch, immortal Moira MacTaggart is getting her own solo book.

JSTOR Daily notes how the now-defunct Thomas Cook travel agency played a role in supporting British imperialism, back in the day.

Language Log notes that the Oxford English Dictionary is citing the blog on the use of "their" as a singular.

Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers the grounds for impeaching Donald Trump.

The LRB Blog looks at the politics of Mozambique at the country approaches dangerous times.

Sean Marshall notes the southern Ontario roads that run to Paris and to London.

Neuroskeptic notes a problematic scientific study that tried to use rabbits to study the female human orgasm.

Steve Baker at The Numerati looks at a new book on journalism by veteran Peter Copeland.

The NYR Daily makes the point that depending on biomass as a green energy solution is foolish.

The Planetary Science Blog notes a 1983 letter by then-president Carl Sagan calling for a NASA mission to Saturn and Titan.

Roads and Kingdoms interviews photojournalist Eduardo Leal on his home city of Porto, particularly as transformed by tourism.

Drew Rowsome notes the book Dreamland, an examination of the early amusement park.

The Russian Demographics Blog shares a paper considering, in broad detail, how the consequence of population aging could be mitigated in the labour market of the European Union.

Strange Company reports on a bizarre poltergeist in a British garden shed.

Window on Eurasia notes the new strength of a civic national identity in Kazakhstan, based on extensive polling.

Arnold Zwicky, surely as qualified a linguist as any, examines current verb of the American moment, "depose".

Bad Astronomer notes the latest news on interstellar comet 2/Borisov.

The Broadside Blog's Caitlin Kelly emphasizes how every writer does need an editor.

Centauri Dreams notes how the gas giant GJ 3512 b, half the mass of Jupiter orbiting a red dwarf star closely, is an oddly massive exoplanet.

Gina Schouten at Crooked Timber looks at inter-generational clashes on parenting styles.

D-Brief looks at the methods of agriculture that could conceivably sustain a populous human colony on Mars.

Bruce Dorminey argues that we on Earth need something like Starfleet Academy, to help us advance into space.

Colby King at the Everyday Sociology Blog looks at how the socio-spatial perspective helps us understand the development of cities.

io9 looks at Proxima, a contemporary spaceflight film starring Eva Green.

JSTOR Daily looks at how the intense relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia began in, and reflected, the era of Jim Crow.

Language Hat notes a report suggesting that multilingualism helps ward off dementia.

Language Log takes issue with the names of the mascots of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Lawyers, Guns and Money notes the emergence of a ninth woman complaining about being harassed by Al Franken.

Marginal Revolution links to a new paper arguing that the Washington Consensus worked.

The NYR Daily shares an Aubrey Nolan cartoon illustrating the evacuation of war children in the United Kingdom during the Second World War.

At Out of Ambit, Diane Duane shares a nice collection of links for digital mapmakers.

The Planetary Society Blog looks at how the European Space Agency supports the cause of planetary defense.

Roads and Kingdoms interviews Kenyan writer Kevin Mwachiro at length.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel reports on how a mysterious fast radio burst helped illuminate an equally mysterious galactic halo.

Strange Company reports on the mysterious and unsolved death in 1936 of Canadian student Thomas Moss in an Oxfordshire hayrick.

Frank Jacobs at Strange Maps notes how Mount Etna is a surpassingly rare decipoint.

Understanding Society considers the thought of Kojève, after Hegel, on freedom.

Window on Eurasia looks at the falling numbers of Russians, and of state support for Russian language and culture, in independent Central Asia.

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell looks at how individual consumer responses are much less effective than concerted collective action in triggering change.

Arnold Zwicky reports on some transgender fashion models.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes that mysterious Boyajian's Star has nearly two dozen identified analogues, like HD 139139.

James Bow reports from his con trip to Portland.

Caitlin Kelly at the Broadside Blog notes the particular pleasure of having old friends, people with long baselines on us.

Centauri Dreams describes a proposed mission to interstellar comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov).

The Crux notes how feeding cows seaweed could sharply reduce their methane production.

D-Brief notes that comet C/2019 Q4 is decidedly red.

Bruce Dorminey notes a claim that water-rich exoplanet K2-18b might well have more water than Earth.

Gizmodo reports on a claim that Loki, biggest volcano on Io, is set to explode in a massive eruption.

io9 notes that Warner Brothers is planning a Funko Pop movie.

Joe. My. God. notes the claim of Donald Trump that he is ready for war with Iran.

JSTOR Daily looks at how people in early modern Europe thought they could treat wounds with magic.

Language Hat considers how "I tip my hat" might, translated, sound funny to a speaker of Canadian French.

Language Log considers how speakers of Korean, and other languages, can find word spacing a challenge.

Lawyers, Guns and Money looks at the partisan politics of the US Supreme Court.

At the NYR Daily, Naomi Klein makes a case for the political and environmental necessity of a Green New Deal.

Peter Watts takes apart a recent argument proclaiming the existence of free will.

Peter Rukavina tells how travelling by rail or air from Prince Edward Island to points of the mainland can not only be terribly inconvenient, but environmentally worse than car travel. PEI does need better rail connections.

The Russian Demographics Blog examines how different countries in Europe will conduct their census in 2020.

Window on Eurasia shares the arguments of a geographer who makes the point that China has a larger effective territory than Russia (or Canada).

Yorkshire Ranter Alex Harrowell looks at a 1971 prediction by J.G. Ballard about demagoguery and guilt, something that now looks reasonably accurate.

Arnold Zwicky considers models of segregation of cartoon characters from normal ones in comics.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait notes how variable gravity is on irregular asteroid Bennu.

Bruce Dorminey reports on how the European Southern Observatory has charted the Magellanic Clouds in unprecedented detail.

The Dragon's Tales shares a collection of links looking at the Precambrian Earth.

Andrew LePage at Drew Ex Machina reports on the late 1950s race to send probes to the Moon.

Gizmodo shares some stunning astronomy photos.

JSTOR Daily reports on the saltwater roads, the routes that slaves in Florida used to escape to the free Bahamas.

Language Log looks at some examples of bad English from Japan. How did they come about?

Paul Campos at Lawyers, Guns and Money rejects the idea of honouring people like Condoleezza Rice.

Marginal Revolution considers the idea of free will in light of neurology.

Corey S Powell at Out There interviews James Lovelock on his new book Novacene, in which Lovelock imagines the future world and Gaia taken over by AI.

Window on Eurasia notes the water shortages faced by downstream countries in Central Asia.

Bad Astronomy notes the remarkably eccentric orbit of gas giant HR 5138b.

Centauri Dreams notes the impact that large-scale collisions have on the evolution of planets.

Chris Bertram at Crooked Timber noted yesterday that babies born on September 11th in 2001 are now 18 years old, adults.

The Crux notes that some of the hominins in the Sima de los Huesos site in Spain, ancestors to Neanderthals, may have been murdered.

D-Brief reports on the cryodrakon, a pterosaur that roamed the skies above what is now Canada 77 million years ago.

Dangerous Minds looks at the political artwork of Jan Pötter.

Gizmodo notes a poll suggesting a majority of Britons would support actively seeking to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations.

io9 has a loving critical review of the first Star Trek movie.

JSTOR Daily shares, from April 1939, an essay by the anonymous head of British intelligence looking at the international context on the eve of the Second World War.

Language Log notes a recent essay on the mysterious Voynich manuscript, one concluding that it is almost certainly a hoax of some kind.

Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns and Money considers the future of the labour movement in the United States.

Marginal Revolution considers what sort of industrial policy would work for the United States.

Yardena Schwartz writes at NYR Daily about the potential power of Arab voters in Israel.

Jim Belshaw at Personal Reflections explains why, despite interest, Australia did not launch a space program in the 1980s.

Drew Rowsome provides a queer review of It: Chapter Two.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes how government censorship of science doomed the Soviet Union and could hurt the United States next.

Window on Eurasia notes how, in the Volga republics, recent educational policy changes have marginalized non-Russian languages.

Arnold Zwicky shares a glossy, fashion photography-style, reimagining of the central relationship in the James Baldwin classic Giovanni's Room, arranged by Hilton Als.

Joshua Clipperton writes, here at CTV News, about how tennis like the Rogers Cup is much more popular in Montréal than in Toronto for a variety of reasons.

The CFL's Montreal Alouettes and Toronto Argonauts are set to play another exhibition game in Moncton, as Touchdown Atlantic tries to gather support for an Atlantic Canadian franchise.

Guardian Cities considers, with interviews, how Brexit might impact the town twinning that united British communities with those of wider Europe.

Guardian Cities notes how churches and other houses of worship are starting to market themselves as spaces for coworking.

I think it entirely possible that space settlements may end up evoking the company towns of Earth. Slate has it.

Bad Astronomy's Phil Plait reports on the fragility of asteroid Ryugu.

Centauri Dreams looks at the JUICE probe, planned to explore the three icy moons of Jupiter.

John Quiggin at Crooked Timber reports on the fact that Jimmy Carter was warned in the 1970s about the possibility of global warming.

D-Brief notes that the Earth might not be the best world for life, that watery worlds with dense atmospheres and long days might be better.

Jessica Poling at the Everyday Sociology Blog writes about the construction of gender.

Far Outliers looks at the Nigerian city of Agadez, at one point a sort of port city of the Sahel.

Gizmodo asks a variety of experts their opinion on which species is likely to be next in developing our sort of intelligence. (Primates come up frequently, though I like the suggestion of bacterial colonies.)

JSTOR Daily looks/a> at the genderless Quaker prophet Publick Universal Friend.

Lawyers, Guns and Money comments on the interview of Amy Wax with The New Yorker.

Marginal Revolution shares the enthusiasm of Tyler Cowen for Warsaw and Poland.

Peter Pomerantsev writes at the NYR Daily about how the alt-right has taken to culture-jamming.

Starts With A Bang's Ethan Siegel notes the exceptional power of cosmic rays.

Window on Eurasia shares the lament of a Chuvash writer about the decline of her people's language.

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