Culture Watch

Some background on Brett Kavanaugh's 2006 hearing on C-Span: "Mr. Kavanaugh testified at a hearing on his nomination as a judge on U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Among the issues he addressed were his qualifications and service as White House counsel, his rating by the American Bar Association, and various legal matters in which the administration had been involved during his tenure as counsel. Many members expressed frustration with his vague answers to specific questions. " Tune in this week to the Senate Judiciary hearings. more »

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Every aspect of life today is characterized by multiple choice. The Bachelor and Bachelorette must decide which of twenty-five suitors would be the best mate. Kindergartners must choose which action hero or Disney princess should decorate their backpacks. Women have to determine which of dozens of costly wrinkle creams will live up to their hype. A far cry from the only skincare choice I had in my youth — Pond's Cold Cream at 25 cents a jar. Unfortunately, I’m a stress eater; so all of the decision-making I face in my day-to-day life inevitably leads me to ice cream — which only compounds the problem. Do you know how many flavors Baskin-Robbins offers these days?! more »

On 8 September 1944 at the district registrar’s office, Ashfield, Payne-Scott married William Holman Hall, a telephone mechanic. In 1950 CSIRO management officially heard of her marriage. Since public service rules at the time required women to resign upon marriage, she lost her permanent position and became a temporary employee — a loss of status she indignantly protested in keeping with her fearless, unconventional character and passionate commitment to her political views. She left CSIRO and radio astronomy in 1951, when she was expecting her first child. more »

More than two in ten report loneliness or social isolation in the U.K. and the U.S., double the share in Japan. More than a fifth of adults in the United States (22 percent) and the United Kingdom (23 percent), as well as one in ten adults (nine percent) in Japan, say they often or always feel lonely, feel that they lack companionship, feel left out, or feel isolated from others, and many of them say their loneliness has had a negative impact on various aspects of their life. For example, across countries, about half or more reporting loneliness say it has had a negative impact on their personal relationships or their physical health. While loneliness is often thought of as a problem mainly affecting the elderly, the majority of people reporting loneliness in each country are under age 50. They’re also much more likely to be single or divorced than others. more »