In the next-to-last episode of the FX/Hulu miniseries “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” Claire Danes, playing a wound-too-tight 40ish Broadway agent and mother, suddenly starts to shatter. And when she does, she lets loose a 45-second scream that seems…

Imagine sitting on a park bench next to a tiger. Thoughts would race through your head: Is it aggressive? Is it protective? Is it too boisterous, or too loud? And, of course: Is it hungry? Now imagine sitting on that bench with a small white rabbit:…

The pale, flavorless truth about Thanksgiving is that nobody shows up to dinner stoked about the turkey. Oh, sure, the behemoth bird hogs a lot of real estate. But the queen of the meal, the soul of the celebration, is often literally on a pedestal.…

The terms “ancient school of philosophy” and “sweeping the culture” rarely — OK, never — appear in the same sentence, but in recent years, Stoicism, or what some call New Stoicism, has become the exception. You can, if you like, subscribe to a Daily…

One day, in the middle of the middle of the pandemic, I made an utterly unremarkable foray to the supermarket — that is, until I got to the checkout line. The customer ahead of me in line made a remark about the high lottery jackpot, paid and left.…

In February, a video from Kyiv went viral, but it had nothing to do with war and death. It showed an Associated Press correspondent, Philip Crowther, giving the same TV report in six languages: English, Luxembourgish, Spanish, Portuguese, French and…

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who think today, Tuesday 2.22.22, also known as Twosday, is a big deal, and people who think it’s just two too much. Nobody likes that second kind. Wedding planners claim this day is doing land-office…

Among the sentiments the pandemic has underscored is this: Being a person in this world is hard and lonely. And you can’t really blame anyone for trying to find a cure for that. In that vein, you may have come across the concept of “twin flames” in…

Among the sentiments the pandemic has underscored is this: Being a person in this world is hard and lonely. And you can’t really blame anyone for trying to find a cure for that. In that vein, you may have come across the concept of “twin flames” in…

When the world and time were new, China’s Jade Emperor decided to make the zodiac calendar, and he invited all the animals to compete in a great race to fill the 12 slots. Asia Society The Asia Society in Houston will celebrate the New Year on Feb.…

The question of what to eat, day in and day out, has been political for decades. Are you a vegan? How adorable, not to mention annoying and elitist. Also, your almond milk is killing the honeybees. Pescatarian? The oceans are already over-fished. You…

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how much I hate capitalism. No, not the kind that makes you drag yourself out of bed to earn a paycheck. Hating that is as useful as hating rain. I’m thinking about the capitalism we internalize when we assess our…

Are you cheugy? As they say, if you have to ask … But let’s back up a bit. “Cheugy” (rhymes with “loogie”) is a term coined in 2013 by a California high school student to describe people, mostly female, who always seem to be slightly behind the…

The scene is a motel in northwest North Dakota, 2019. A woman and her very chic, very New York adult daughter are the only female guests in a motel stuffed with oil and gas workers. The women emerge from the elevator and run smack into two…

In an old, old Bullwinkle cartoon, Boris Badenov (the original Russian troll) recites a poem called “How to be Happy (Though Miserable),” and if any invitation to self-help sums up 2020 better, I don’t know what it is. Remember March and April? The…

Although the idea of comfort as a life goal has been circling the culture for years, it has become a bona fide obsession in this pandemic year. But scroll back just a couple of years ago to when we were all caught up by the Danish cozy-comfort…

Maybe our triple-threat misery of pandemic/economic collapse/racial strife will have an upside. Maybe we’ll emerge smarter about science, more frugal, more generous and compassionate. Or maybe we’ll just ditch our bras for good. The internet is awash…

“The happiest conversation is that of which nothing is distinctly remembered but a general effect of pleasing impression.” — Samuel Johnson Small talk has a terrible reputation. It’s lite, insincere, as disposable as a plastic straw. It’s called…

Friday the 13th has a way of sneaking up. Whether you're truly superstitious or not, you're likely to mark the day.

It has come to my attention that you are interested in growing a home vegetable garden. You are not alone. According to the National Gardening Association, in 2017, some 35 percent of households grew their own food, an increase of 2 million families…