When America staggers to the polls on Tuesday, it will mark the end of a political season that has felt at times as if Hieronymus Bosch were directing episodes of “Crossfire” crosscut with “The Anna Nicole Show.”
Everybody lies. Studies show that we engage in deception two times day on average — and that’s not just “yes-your-hair-looks-great” pleasantries, but actual lies meant to mislead people on matters of at least passing consequence. And here’s an even more unsettling bit of news: The closer the relationship, the bigger the whoppers. As University of Virginia psychologist Bella DePaulo puts it, “"You save your really big lies for the person that you're closest to.” Ouch.
The new "Star Trek" movie may have zoomed past Paul Feig’s "Ghostbusters" reboot in theaters. But controversy surrounding the remake, including an outpouring of fanboy disparagement (even Donald Trump chimed in), and the racist and sexist Twitter trolling of actress Leslie Jones suggest that cultural reverberations continue to echo.
Creating buzz -- that curious mixture of baloney and authenticity that generates excitement -- is not exactly new as a campaign strategy. But Donald Trump is taking it to new heights.
The year 2016 has so far witnessed the death of three musical greats: Prince, David Bowie and Merle Haggard. When Haggard died, National Public Radio felt comfortable announcing“Country Music Legend and Icon, Dies at 79.” Those two terms are often considered interchangeable, but are they? Is there a difference?
An icon can show us who we are. But a legend shows us who we could be.
Trump and Kardashian have both acted as barometers for how far a person can go and how low a culture can sink.
With its elaborate plot to fool car emissions regulators, the German car company has set the pace for a new era of inventive, turbocharged cheating.
He has been poisoned, jailed and his close aides are either being prosecuted or have fled abroad. His anti-Kremlin opposition movement is now also likely to soon be outlawed as extremist.