Blog

Valentine’s Day arrives each year wrapped in red cellophane and high expectations. For couples, it can feel like a romantic performance review; for single people, an anxiety-inducing reminder that love has a deadline.  Beneath the flowers, cards, and prix-fixe dinners...

In a nondescript building in Nevada, an operator finishes a 12-hour shift controlling an MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Middle East. They use a joystick and monitor not unlike those found in gaming setups worldwide. Later that day, they might unwind by playing Call of...

When the United States and China entered a full-scale trade conflict in 2018, few agricultural sectors felt the impact as significantly as the wine industry.  More than a luxury good, wine occupies a pivotal position at the intersection of agriculture, culture,...

Dorian Gray, the beautiful young protagonist of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, is granted a terrible gift: eternal youth purchased by transferring all consequences of his indulgence, cruelty, and corruption into a portrait that ages in his place. As he...

In 2018, I  faced more loss than ever before. My paternal grandmother, Walt, passed away at 99. My great-aunt Virginia, with whom I shared a bond as deep as with any grandparent, passed at 100. A month later, her sister—my maternal grandmother Laura—died at 104. My...

Creativity is one of the most powerful forces humans possess. It allows us to imagine alternatives, question the familiar, and redesign the systems that shape our lives. When societies face stagnation—political, social, or educational—our capacity to envision new...

From the time we can read, Americans are told stories about heroes, prophets, and perfection. We grow up with bearded white gods who reward the faithful and Founding Fathers who were elevated to the level of demigods in our foundational mythology. These myths shape...

Joseph Campbell once said that we can understand a society’s priorities by looking at its grandest structures. Once, churches dominated the skylines—palatial sanctuaries that housed the faiths and moral hopes of humanity. Today, glass-and-steel skyscrapers of...

Writing books often draws from experiences, perspectives, inspiration, and purpose. This is a look back at my visit to the Sant’Ambrogio Market in Florence, which offered all of these at once. This wasn’t just a class outing—it became a moment of cultural immersion...