One of the first questions we ask when meeting someone is, “What’s your personality like?” The answers usually come quickly. Introverted. Extroverted. Shy. Confident. Creative. Logical. Funny. Serious. Optimistic. Anxious. These descriptions can be useful because they help us communicate patterns we notice about ourselves and others. Psychology has long recognized that...
Walk into almost any bookstore or scroll through social media, and you’ll find an endless stream of advice promising a better version of yourself. Become more disciplined. Heal your inner child. Wake up earlier. Meditate longer. Journal more consistently. Build better habits. Break limiting beliefs. Optimize your morning routine. Read fifty books a year. Take cold showers. Practice...
There is a quiet assumption woven into many of our lives: I’m not quite ready yet. We tell ourselves that life will truly begin after we lose the weight, find the relationship, earn the degree, leave the job, heal the trauma, make more money, become more disciplined, or finally feel confident. The list changes from person to person, but the underlying pattern remains remarkably consistent...
Most of us grow up with a comforting story about morality. Good people do good things. Bad people do bad things. If someone lies, cheats, manipulates, steals, or causes suffering, we assume there must be something fundamentally wrong with them. Likewise, if someone is kind, generous, and compassionate, we assume they are incapable of causing serious harm. Reality is far more unsettling. History...
Most people assume they are living their own life. After all, you chose your career—or at least it feels like you did. You have your own opinions, your own goals, your own relationships, your own routines. From the inside, your life appears uniquely yours. Yet psychology, sociology, and neuroscience all point toward an uncomfortable reality: human beings are profoundly shaped by their...
Executive summary Zionism is a modern movement supporting Jewish national self-determination in the historic Land of Israel or Palestine. It developed in the late nineteenth century in response to European nationalism, antisemitism, persecution and debates about the political future of Jewish communities. Criticism of Zionism is not inherently antisemitic. Zionism is a political and nationalist...
Research report current through July 21, 2026 Executive findings AIPAC began in the early 1950s as a small Washington lobbying operation focused principally on obtaining diplomatic and financial support for the newly established State of Israel. It gradually became one of the most organized foreign-policy advocacy groups in the United States, building influence through congressional lobbying...
We spend much of our lives trying to gain control over something that may never have been ours to possess. Few ideas feel more reassuring than the belief that we are in control of our lives. We make plans, set goals, build routines, buy insurance, save money, exercise, study, and carefully consider our decisions. These are all meaningful activities, and they often improve our lives. They...
We spend so much time thinking about life that we often forget to experience it. Have you ever reached the end of a week and wondered where it went? Or looked back at an entire year and realized you remember only a handful of moments clearly? Life has a strange way of slipping past us. Not because we’re careless. Not because we don’t value it. But because the mind is almost always...
We don’t just forget once. Somehow, we keep forgetting the same lesson over and over again. Almost everyone has experienced a moment that changed the way they saw life. A serious illness. The death of someone they loved. A near accident. The end of a relationship. The birth of a child. For a while, everything feels different. The ordinary becomes extraordinary. A simple conversation feels...
