The Leftovers Is a Great Model for Coping With Other People's Religion

Rich Juzwiak · 12/07/15 03:03PM

“Everybody is wondering what and where they all came from,” rang out Iris DeMent’s jubilant voice every week during the opening credits of HBO’s second season of The Leftovers. She continued: “Everybody is worrying about where they’re gonna go when the whole thing’s done / But no one knows for certain and so it’s all the same to me / Think I’ll just let the mystery be.” DeMent’s voice—a happy medium between a screech and a honk—and the words it carried over her bluegrass ditty were inevitably the most joyous part of every episode. Hers was a point of view almost entirely missing from a show obsessed with people’s points of view: blissful willful ignorance.

Circa, News App Nobody Used, Purchased By Conservative Television Conglomerate

J.K. Trotter · 12/07/15 02:48PM

Remember Circa, the breathlessly hyped news app that attempted to summarize stories by breaking them down into small, flavorless nuggets of content? The app abruptly stopped publishing in June after finally depleting $5.27 million in venture capital, but today the Wall Street Journal reported that it has finally found a benefactor: the conservative-leaning television news conglomerate Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose venture capital division recently acquired all of Circa’s assets for just $800,000.*

Study: More Useless Liberal Arts Majors Could Destroy ISIS

Sam Biddle · 12/07/15 02:29PM

It’s generally assumed that the last thing the world needs is more kids pursuing a degree in philosophy, sociology, and other fields of study that generate annoying adults and bloggers. But a new study says that if we had fewer scientists and engineers, ISIS would starve.

Hamilton Nolan · 12/07/15 01:02PM

The city of Albuquerque is trying the radical approach of giving homeless people jobs. Perhaps not as satisfying a solution as just outlawing homelessness, but it has the advantage of working.