Can the language someone uses be as unique as their fingerprints? As I describe in my forthcoming book, “Linguistic Fingerprints: How Language Creates and Reveals Identity,” that was true in the case…
Tag: Death
How Black Americans combated racism from beyond the grave
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently published a story about a Black cemetery in Buckhead, a prosperous Atlanta community. The cemetery broke ground almost two centuries ago, in 1826, as the graveyard of Piney…
Astrud Gilberto spread bossa nova to a welcoming world – but got little love back in Brazil
Astrud Gilberto didn’t set out to be an ambassador of bossa nova, the laid-back Brazilian musical genre with rhythms recognizable to music lovers around the world. According to Gilberto, who died on…
In the face of death, destruction and displacement, beauty plays a vital role in Gaza
A small group of children in Gaza sit on a lavender and white blanket around a small tray of beverages, singing “Happy Birthday” to a young girl. Like kids her age around…
What’s behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill?
In March 2023, a Utah woman named Kouri Richins published a children’s book titled “Are You With Me?” which she characterized as an effort to help her three young sons process the…
Why ‘Barbie’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ made 2023 the dead girl summer
Ariel and Barbie have quite a bit in common: They’re both frozen in time, and they both yearn to live as humans do. The fantastic seascapes and perfect dollhouses of “The Little…